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Guidance on short term Data Management
for DClinPsy Trainees at the University of Sheffield
Dr Richard R. Plant 20120207
JISC DMSPpsych Project
Introduction This is a guide to keeping your documents and files safe over the short term whilst studying at the University of Sheffield. It is not a definitive guide and nor is it intended to provide guidance on long term archiving. Also it is not a guide to confidentiality, the Data Protection Act or anonymising personal data. It is purely about data security and preservation over the short term.
Think about what’s the worst that could happen to your documents and files? Your house could burn down, your laptop might get stolen, your hard drive melt or you sit on your memory stick! This guide is intended to help ensure you don’t lose the actual files and documents themselves over and above the media they were stored on.
Good practice suggests that you should have copies of your important files in three separate locations. Often this means a copy at home on your laptop, a copy at work or on campus and a nowadays a copy in the cloud. By cloud we mean somewhere like Dropbox or other could based file storage accessed via the internet, e.g. LiveDrive, Mozy, SkyDrive and Live Mesh, Box, Carbonite, Jungle Disk, SpiderOak, SugarSync, Syncplicity and Apples iCloud amongst others.
So when the worst does happen, and it will at least once over your career, you can shrug it off and carry on regardless.
Central IT provision through CiCs If you are a trainee at Sheffield you will generally make use of a managed desktop computer provided by CiCs (Corporate Information and Computing Services). This means that wherever on campus you login your files will be accessible from that computer. The files themselves are not stored on the computer you are working on but are held on central University servers. As your files are held on central servers they are backed up nightly. As standard you will also get access to the approved set of applications, e.g. Word, Excel etc.
The Managed Desktop environment comes in three broad flavours:
Open Access: Is available across various locations across campus for all students to have access to as required.
Departmental: Images are typically used by particular departments in specified rooms used by their own faculty students. These are broadly speaking identical to open access workstations. However designated departmental technicians have administrative access rights to these PCs for the purpose of installation of specialist academic software.
Staff: Again almost identical. Used by various clerical, academic and support staff across campus. Certain specified CiCS front-line support technicians have admin rights to these images. Also users are able to utilise a non-volatile storage located on the local physical hard disk. From: http://fconolly.staff.shef.ac.uk/overview3.htm
So to sum up with a managed desktop all your documents, internet bookmarks and the like will be available from wherever you login on campus (drive U:). You will also have access to a shared area, or drive letter, that everyone in Psychology can access (drive M:). You can also save documents etc. on your desktop or in MyDocuments or similar. P a g e | 2
For more information you can contact the CiCs helpdesk via various methods. Their primary contact page can be found here: http://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/support.
How much storage will I get? By default you will receive 500Mb of central storage for your files and documents. This roughly equates to:
Movies Fine mode (13Mbps/CBR) 5 min. Normal mode (9Mbps/VBR) 7.5 min. Economy mode (6Mbps/VBR) 11.25 min.
Photos 10 Megapixels, 3648x2736, Fine mode 192
Music ACC, MP3 HQ mode, 128Kbps 8.5hrs
If you would like to increase your file store limits you can email [email protected] or ring 21111 from an internal phone. You also have the option of visiting the helpdesk in person (Computing Centre, Hounsfield Road). For more details see: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cics/support/help. Increases to your storage allowance are negotiated on a case-by-case basis and initially it might be best to speak to your departmental IT liaison. In the case of Psychology this is currently Chris Smith ([email protected] | phone 29773).
What if I accidently delete a file? Unfortunately files do get overwritten or deleted from time-to-time. We all do it! If you are using a CiCs managed desktop you can use Explorer to select your U: drive and then right click to bring up a “Salvage files” menu. This will let you attempt to recover files that you have accidently deleted. You can sort by title, date or size to help you locate the deleted file(s). You should do this as soon as possible after deletion.
For files that you cannot recover yourself you can ask the CiCs Helpdesk if they can recover them from a backup. However be aware that the chances of recovery at this stage are slim and CiCs are under no obligation to attempt to recover the file(s).
File versioning and sensible filenames It’s often prudent to have more than one version of a file in case you want to go back to an earlier revision. Some Operating Systems have this functionality built in. However if you use a managed desktop machine you will have to make do with manual file versioning unless the specific software you are using supports versioning. To do manual versioning each time you make a major revision to a file or document you are working on simply append a sensible incrementing suffix, e.g.
Sensible filenames are also a must. In short you should give your files names that you yourself would be able to understand in the coming months and years. This is in addition to encoding versioning information in the file name. So for example, “stuff.doc”, might be better titled as “Final DClinPsy Thesis RRP 20120206 v4.doc”.
What if I want to work on something at home? If you want to work on files or documents at home you have one centrally supported option. That is to use “myFileStore” though MUSE (My University of Sheffield Environment). There is a general guide to working from home or off-campus from CiCs at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/remote P a g e | 3
To download a file which you wish to edit at home login into MUSE and then click on “myFileStore”.
The blue arrow shows the shared storage that everyone across the Psychology department can access and the red arrow shows you personal filestore that you use on campus when logged into a managed desktop computer.
If you want to work your thesis say, you will need to navigate to where it is stored using the pane on the left and then tick the box on the left next to the file.
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Then click on the “File” menu and then on “Download...” This will download the file onto the computer you are working on.
You should then save the file somewhere on your local machine.
Once you have saved the file you can work on it as normal. Remember you are working on a local copy of the file and not the one on the University servers. Hence the file is not backed up until you upload it using myFileStore. Also remember if you download a copy to work on at home and overwrite a previous copy on your local machine you will replace it with the one you just downloaded. So be careful about what you overwrite! It’s a good idea to give the files a different filename to help you keep track of versions.
Once you’ve edited the document to copy the file back onto the University servers through myFileStore click on “File” and then “Upload…”. “Browse” your local hard drive and select the file and click “Open”. Then finally click on the “Upload” button.
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The file you have been working on will then be stored on the central server, be backed up as a matter of course, and also be available on your managed desktop machine when working on Campus.
Remember if you edit the file on campus through your managed desktop then that will be the most recent version of the file and not the one on your own computer at home. To work on the latest version at home you would need to download it again from myFileStore, work on it and then upload it again as outlined.
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What about taking information off-site and implications for personal information/confidentiality? CiCs offer general advice on taking data offsite as shown below. For specific cases such as the NHS they suggest you contact the appropriate liaison person.
Personal Information on Portable Computers and Media
Background
There have been a number of recent well-publicised cases where CDs or laptops containing personal information have either been lost or stolen. The Information Commissioner now takes the view that 'where such losses occur and where encryption software has not been used to protect the data, enforcement action will be pursued.'
Policy
Personal Information may only be created, processed or stored on portable computers or portable media where all of the following criteria have been satisfied:
That alternative means of working have been explored. There should be an important operational or business reason to handle the information this way. That you have the authority to do so. The information must be protected using an approved encryption system.
Where appropriate such information must also be securely deleted or destroyed once it is no longer necessary to process it in this way. This policy applies equally to printed (hard) copies of personal information.
Practical Advice
Take care to keep laptops, data stick etc in a secure place and not left unattended. If you are accessing personal information on your home computer ensure that you follow the university guidelines on security (see link on top right) Limit the amount of personal information you access or remove from campus to only what you need. If sending information to others by email, cd or as a hard copy follow the principles of Data Protection (see link on top right) Where personal information is stored within a portable computer, other electronic media or sent by email to an outside body ensure it is encrypted. The alternative methods of working are outlined in our 'Working from Home' pages (see link on top right).
The CiCS Helpdesk is available to advise on these issues or, if required, upon recommended encryption software.
Please fill in the form below (follow link) to request advice.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/remote/advice
If Personal Information is Lost
In the event of any loss or theft of any computing device or media containing Personal Information you must inform your Head of Department and the Director of CiCS immediately. If this occurs out of hours then please contact Security Control (0114 222 4085).
For current advice see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/remote/information
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In respect to NHS trust requirements :
Personal Information - Advice for Individuals studying or working within NHS Trusts
If the data held on a laptop relates to STH NHS Foundation Trust patients then any loss of data would be the responsibility of the Trust. The data flow needs to be registered by the investigator with the Trust Information Governance Department (if this has not already been done via the Trust Research Department and arrangements made for it to be encrypted).
Trust Research Department (http://sth-research.group.shef.ac.uk/research/dpa.html)
For more information about data protection within the NHS please contact:
STH Data Protection Officer:
email : [email protected]
UOS Med-IT Team Leader:
email : [email protected]
For current advice see: http://www.shef.ac.uk/cics/remote/nhs
Using cloud based services such as Dropbox as a viable backup strategy and secure method of transporting files Dropbox is an independent cloud based storage solution that is not supported or endorsed by the University of Sheffield or supported directly or indirectly by central services such as CiCs.
Dropbox is similar to the myFileSore services provided as part of CiCs managed desktops. However it gives you more storage (currently 2Gb or 4x as much), more flexibility and is easier to use. A key feature is the ability to automatically sync documents and files between computers you work on. For example, if you edit a file on one machine it will automatically be uploaded to Dropbox from where you can edit it on any other computer in the world.
Dropbox was founded by Drew Houston conceived the idea after repeatedly forgetting his USB drive while he was a student at MIT! So you could think of Dropbox as an internet cloud based USB drive or memory stick.
There is one caveat to its use on campus. That is, unless you are a member of staff you will not be able to install the Dropbox software on managed desktops. This means that you will need to use the web based client to upload and download files while on campus. On your own machine at home you won’t have this restriction and the automated syncing will operate as normal.
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Installing Dropbox on your own personal machine at home or staff machine on campus To take full advantage of all Dropbox’s features you will need to install a small bit of software on your computer. The software helps sync your documents and files to and from Dropbox. It is available for PC, Mac’s, Linux machines and popular mobile phones.
To start the process visit www.dropbox.com and download the Dropbox software by selecting the appropriate link. In this example I’m using Microsoft Windows 7.
If prompted say “Yes” when asked if you want to install and once started click on the “Install” button and then follow the on-screen instructions.
If you don’t have an existing Dropbox account you will need to set one up. If you do you can simply login to get going. If you don’t have one click on “I don’t have a Dropbox” account and click on “Next” to create you account.
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You will need to enter your name, email address and password plus name your computer. When you’re done click on “Next”.
You will then be asked how much Dropbox storage you want. Currently above the free 2Gb is charged at a monthly rate.
Finally you will be asked to choose your setup type. Generally choose Typical. This just means what folders will be synced and files and documents uploaded to Dropbox. Don’t worry you can change these later.
On Windows a special folder will have been created into which you can drop files and documents you want to share with Dropbox. You could for example select a special project folder if you wished, e.g. your thesis folder. This would be synced to Dropbox each time you updated a file or document on your computer at home. Remember for managed desktops you would need to do this manually through the web interface. More on this later.
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Finally you will be shown your Dropbox folder and some example files will be put in it by Dropbox. This includes a simple “Getting Started” guide which you are advised to read. You should also receive an email from Dropbox that helps you get started with the services and features it offers.
A Dropbox icon will also be shown in the task pad as shown with the red arrow. If you right click you will be given a range of options and additional information.
Any files or documents which are in this Dropbox folder will automatically be synced to Dropbox as well as a copy kept on your local machine. You could create a “My Thesis” folder under the Dropbox folder if you wanted and work on your files from there. Alternatively just drag and drop files into that folder so they are synced to Dropbox. By "synced" we mean automatically uploaded.
So in effect you have two copies of each file or document you are working on at the moment. One on your machine and one in the ether or the cloud. Should your computer break or be stolen you'd simply install Dropbox on another computer, login and all your files will magically appear on the new computer!
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Using Dropbox on a managed desktop on Campus This part of the guide assumes that you have a Dropbox account and that you have already installed the Dropbox software on your own computer that is not part of the managed desktop environment on campus. Bear in mind that this is not intended to be a definitive guide to using Dropbox but rather to cover the basics of what most users do on a daily basis.
From your managed desktop on campus, or elsewhere, visit the Dropbox website and login with the email address and password you registered with.
You will be presented with a personalised dashboard which looks similar to that shown below. To access files you have already synced to Dropbox or to upload new or changed ones from your managed desktop click on the "Files" tab.
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Any files (blue arrow) and folders (red arrow) you have created will be shown. You also have the option to "Upload" new files and folders, create "New folders", "Share a folder", "Show deleted files" and do even "More". If you have a lot of files and folders you can also make use of the search functionality to locate them.
Downloading a file from Dropbox To download a file or folder from Dropbox one option is to simply click on its name.
You will then be prompted to save the file onto your managed desktop. Don't forget when you save it onto your U: drive or your desktop the master copy of the file will then be stored on the University filestore. Once you have downloaded the file or document you will be able to work on it as normal.
As you are using a managed desktop you won't have been able to install the Dropbox software on the computer you are using you will need to manually upload it if you want to back it up or work on it at home for example.
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To get more options single click on the whole entry for the file or folder. At which point a dropdown menu will appear. From here you have the option to "Download", "Move..." to another folder, "Rename...", "Copy to..." another folder or "Delete..." the file or folder. Download in this menu is equivalent to single clicking on the filename and downloading.
Uploading files to Dropbox Remember as you are using a managed desktop and are unlikely to have the Dropbox software installed you will need to manually upload a files and documents using a web browser once you have edited them or created completely new files.
This is pretty straightforward however there is one caveat that applies. In short ADSL or broadband connections are asynchronous, that's the "A" in ADSL. This basically means that uploading to the internet is slower than downloading. Generally uploading on a standard 8Mb broadband connection is about 384k. In other words uploading to the Internet and Dropbox can be 20x slower! So just allow for this fact when you decide to upload or sync a lot of files from home. Of course on campus upload connection speeds are far better. It may also be the case your home broadband is faster than the illustration given. You can use http://www.speedtest.net to check your current connection speed.
To upload a new file or folder or replace an existing one click on the upload tab. You will then be presented with an "Upload to 'Dropbox'" dialog. To select files, documents or folders to upload click on "Choose files".
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Then select the file, document or folder you want to upload. In this example "My Thesis.doc" has been selected. Finally click on "Open". Depending on what version of Windows you are using the dialog boxes may look slightly different. To start the upload click on the "Start upload" button.
A progress bar will then show how much of the upload has taken place and an estimate of how long remaining will be given.
If you are uploading a file, document or folder with the same existing name then the version already on Dropbox will be overwritten. However Dropbox will keep several versions of the file so that you can rollback to a previous version if you need to. See the section on versioning and undeleting files for more details.
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Uploading multiple files at once is just as simple. However when you choose which files, documents or folders to upload you must carry out a multi-select. To do this you have a two options. The first is to drag over the files you want to upload as shown below (red arrow). The second option is to hold down the CTRL key and single click on each file you wish to upload (green arrow). The selected files will then be shown in the filename box (blue arrow).
Again a progress bar will be shown. Obviously the more files you upload the longer it will take.
Remember that when you login to a computer where you have installed the Dropbox software, e.g. your computer at home, the newer files on Dropbox will automatically be synced or downloaded. So again you meet the theory of having identical files in three separate locations:
A copy on campus via your managed desktop filestore A copy on Dropbox in the cloud A copy on your own personal machine
Versioning and recovering or undeleting files on Dropbox Fortunately you don't have to remember to keep adding a "ver 1" etc. to the end of filenames when using Dropbox. However it is still recommended practice to do so as the University filestore won't automatically do this. In short if you upload a file, document or folder to Dropbox with the same name then a version of the old file will be saved. For example if I upload a Word document with the same name then several previous versions of the file will also be kept. However you can't automatically see all these versions at once on Dropbox. To see them click on the file in question and then on "Previous versions" when the dropdown menu appears.
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To "Restore" an older version select it and then click on the "Restore" button as shown below. Note however your newer version will be overwritten. You can download the file to check it is the correct version before doing this by clicking on the "Preview" magnifying glass icon. Save this file to a temporary area so that you don't overwrite any files with the same name you have on your managed desktop or other computer you are working on.
If you delete a file you can recover it by clicking on the "Show deleted files" tab.
When you choose to show undeleted files any deleted files, documents or folders are shown in light grey to indicate they have been deleted (red arrow). To recover them click on the filename and then on "Undelete" from the drop down menu as shown (blue arrow).
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Finally you will be asked if you want to "Undelete" the selected file.
You also have the option to "Permanently delete" or to recover "Previous versions". You should be careful about permanently deleting files. The "Previous versions" option works as described.
Dropbox events To help you track what's been done with your various documents, files and folders Dropbox keeps a time based log of events. This let you see exactly how you have interacted with Dropbox. An example event log is shown below. To see an event log click on the "Events" tab.
In this example you can see that I added a new computer and linked it to my Dropbox account by downloading and installing the Dropbox software. I then added, or uploaded, a new file called "My Thesis.doc". Then I downloaded it and edited it. Then I decided to restore an older version on Dropbox and then I deleted it. You should read event logs from the bottom up.
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Background to Dropbox
According to Dropbox, founder Drew Houston conceived the idea after repeatedly forgetting his USB drive while he was a student at MIT. He says that existing services at the time "suffered problems with Internet latency, large files, bugs, or just made me think too much." He began making something for himself, but then realized that it could benefit others with the same problem. Houston founded Dropbox, Inc. in 2007, and shortly thereafter secured seed funding from Y Combinator. Dropbox officially launched at 2008's TechCrunch, an annual technology conference. Both the Dropbox server and desktop client software are primarily written in Python. The desktop client uses GUI toolkits such as wxWidgets and Cocoa. Other notable Python libraries include Twisted, ctypes, and pywin32. The software does not use any third-party file sync or version control libraries and was built from scratch.
The Dropbox client enables users to drop any file into a designated folder that is then synced with Dropbox's Internet service and to any other of the user's computers and devices with the Dropbox client. Users may also upload files manually through a web browser. Through these usages, it can be an alternative to sneakernet (physical transportation of removable media), and other traditional forms of file transfer, such as FTP and e-mail attachments.
While Dropbox functions as a storage service, its focus is on synchronization and sharing. It supports revision history, so files deleted from the Dropbox folder may be recovered from any of the synced computers. Dropbox's version control also helps users know the history of a file they may be currently working on, enabling more than one person to edit and re-post files without complications of losing its previous form. The version history is limited to 30 days. A paid option for unlimited version history called "Pack-Rat" is available.
The version history is paired with the use of delta encoding technology. To conserve bandwidth and time, if a file in a user's Dropbox folder is changed, Dropbox only uploads the pieces of the file that are changed when syncing. Though the desktop client has no restriction on individual file size, files uploaded via the web site are limited to a maximum of 300 MB per file. To prevent free users (who get 2 GB of free storage) from creating multiple free accounts, Dropbox includes the content of shared folders when totaling the amount of space used on the account.
Dropbox uses Amazon's S3 storage system to store the files; though Houston has stated that Dropbox may switch to a different storage provider at some point in the future. It also uses SSL transfers for synchronization and stores the data via AES-256 encryption. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropbox_(service)