File Storage and Sharing

SAS files stored in the Rutgers Active Directory (RAD) storage system can be accessed from off campus via a simple process. The general process is similar for both Windows and Mac users (connect to VPN, then access files). These instructions assume Windows.

Install the VPN client and connect to the Rutgers VPN.
Go to a command line (e.g., press WindowsKey+R, type cmd and press Enter). Then enter this command:
net use * \\rad.rutgers.edu\dfs\sas /u:rad\yourNetID /p:no
Alternatively, you can use the Map Network Drive function in Windows Explorer and specify "Connect using different credentials." * If you use this method, be sure to enter your username as RAD\Netid and not just your Netid.

Enter your Netid password when prompted and take note of the drive letter that gets connected. *
* Note: if you are already logged into a computer that was joined to the RAD domain you may not need to specify credentials.
Use Windows Explorer to browse to the drive letter in question and find the folder / file you're looking for.
When you are finished accessing your files, you can right-click the drive letter and choose to Disconnect it. Or issue a command like this from the command line:
net use <drive_letter>: /delete
Disconnect from the VPN.

Where are my files?

In Rad, all SAS shared files are stored under \\rad.rutgers.edu\dfs\Sas. Most top-level folders in this location correspond with "W:" drives for different departments. Inside your department's W: folder, you'll find the regular directory structure you're used to seeing. There are some other folders at this top level as well, most notably RutgersSAS (for cross-department sharing) and Webpages (where some individuals' web content is stored). If you can't find what you're looking for, please submit a SUBMIT REQUEST and we'll be glad to assist you.

Home directories are stored in a different location than shared files. Each department has its own path. These follow the pattern of \\rad.rutgers.edu\dfs\SASDeptHome -- e.g., \\rad.rutgers.edu\dfs\SasStatisticsHome (no username is to be appended). Hint: Dept will match the W: folder name in \\rad.rutgers.edu\dfs\Sas. To connect a drive letter to your Home folder, you can use the same techniques specified above, altering the path as necessary.

Background:

This utility is meant mainly for machines without the Novell client installed, typically off campus, where "regular" drive mappings are required or desired. (For light use, we still recommend Netstorage or WebDrive.) Use of this utility simplifies the process of mapping drives to the Novell servers for H: and W: access, etc. This behavior can be manually simulated -- the utility is merely a convenience. For more information, please SUBMIT REQUEST.

Requirements:

A VPN connection is required for use off-campus. High speed internet access is also advisable. Admin rights may be required the first time it is run. The following drive letters must also be free: H:, L:, N:, R:, S:, W:, Y:. Note that some drive letters may be in use by local devices on your system (e.g., usb hard drives, storage card readers). In some cases, the drive letters for these devices may be reassigned using the Disk Management utility in Windows (diskmgmt.msc) by those with technical knowledge. Improper use of the Windows disk manager can cause errors, system malfunction, or loss of data. For more information or assistance, please SUBMIT REQUEST.

Instructions:

If you are off-campus, connect to the University VPN.
Download the utility from http://sasdeploy.rutgers.edu/cifs/cifsMapper-rad.exe and double-click it. You can safely ignore any warnings about the executable being unsigned or unknown and allow it to run.
If the utility tells you that a security change is required, click Yes to allow it to happen. If you are warned that admin rights are needed to make the change, re-launch the program As Administrator (i.e., with elevated rights). This is only required the first time. Subsequent runs should be launched "normally" (non-elevated) to allow you to access the drive mappings.*
Follow the prompts to supply Novell context (department), username, and password.
Upon successful drive mapping, access the drive letters through whatever mechanism you normally use -- e.g., Windows Explorer, Word's File --> Open menu, etc.
When you are finished using the drives, run the utility again and choose to Disconnect when prompted. This will unmap the drives. Alternatively, you can disconnect each drive manually -- e.g., in Windows Explorer, right click the drive and choose Disconnect. For performance reasons, it's best to disconnect the drives before disconnecting from the VPN.
Disconnect from the VPN.

* If you are told the drives mapped successfully but don't see them in Windows Explorer, be sure you have run the utility *without* admin rights. For security reasons, newer versions of Windows keep elevated processes separate from "normal" processes like your desktop session. To make the drives accessible to your session, they have to be mapped without elevation.

Network drive space is a resource provided for the sole purpose of storing current work-related data. All employees are responsible for managing their own space, which includes deleting non-essential or old files to keep space utilization at a minimum. Personal files, such as music, photos or video clips are not to be stored on network drives.

Many of these inappropriate file types can be identified by such extensions as: mp3, avi, exe, dll, jpg, mpg, wav, wmv, gif, bmp and sys. There are more, but these are the most common. While these are deemed inappropriate for personal storage, they are considered acceptable if they are used for department-related work such as the design of web pages, presentations and documentation.

Our initial space allocation on the SAS Novell servers is 100MB in each user’s home directory (H:\ drive). Disk space on this drive is to be used to store your work-related information (word processing documents, Excel spreadsheets or presentations) that is personal in nature, such as performance appraisals. In addition, many users also have an L:\ drive, used to store html and graphic files for use in publishing a web page. Only web-related materials should be stored here. Note that the amount of space you have on your H: \ drive is shared with the L:\ drive. For the vast majority of users, 100MB is sufficient, but upon receipt of a request, the drive space will be reviewed for compliance with the data storage policy and additional space may be allocated based upon need and availability of resources.

Users should, on a regular basis, review the contents of their drives and delete any files that are unnecessary or do not comply with the policy. Another misuse of your personal storage space is using it as a backup for your personal computer. An external hard drive should be used for this purpose. For detailed instruction on how to clean up your home directory, please review the Viewing Files in Windows Explorer documentation.

The workgroup drive (W:\ drive) is departmental space for sharing work-related files with multiple users or space for individuals to store their work-related documents. We encourage departmental administrators to use this space to store data even if they are the only ones with access. If you need to have a directory created on the W: drive, submit a confidential REQUEST and provide the name of the directory you would like created, the list of users who should have access to that directory, and the type of access they should have (read or read\write). Documents that are being worked on by several individuals should be stored in the W: drive rather than being emailed back and forth. Not only is this method more efficient, it helps to save resources on the mail server. The W: drive can be accessed using several methods:

NetStorage - allows faculty and staff to securely access their network drives anywhere on campus or at home, using only a web browser. For detailed instructions on how to connect to your network drives through NetStorage, please go to Netstorage documentation and review the NetStorage documentation.
NetDrive - drive mapping utility which allows you to access your network drives. For detailed instructions on how to connect to your network drives through NetDrive, please review the NetDrive documentation.
VPN and Novell Client - uses the internet to provide remote access to network data with the use of the Cisco VPN and Novell Clients. For detailed instructions on how to connect to your network drives using VPN and the Novell Client, please review the Accessing Network drives through VPN Client documentation.

The initial space allocation on the SAS e-mail servers is 100MB per user. As with home directories, additional space will be granted upon request; however, the same policy applies to email as it does to personal space. It is the responsibility of the user to maintain their mailbox by deleting non-essential emails and attachments in an effort to conserve space. For detailed instruction on how to clean up your mailbox, please review the Cleaning up Thunderbird and Zimbra Mailbox documentation.

The system administrators periodically run scripts to identify files on the server that appear to fall outside of our usage guidelines. Any users flagged by that software will be contacted by system administrators to make a final determination regarding the appropriateness of the data being stored.

Activation

Before using Box you will need to activate the service on your NetID.

Go to https://netid.rutgers.edu and select Service Activation on the left of the site.
Log in with NetID and password.
You will see the following screen:
Select the Box Cloud Storage Option
- NOTE: You don’t have to activate the service again if you have [You already have this account.] listed next to the Box option.
Click the “Activate Services” button

Prerequisites:

macOS 10.12 or higher

Installation Steps

Go to https://box.rutgers.edu/downloads/
Click on the operating system type (in your case Mac) and save the file and install the software.
Download the Box Drive installer here
Navigate to where you saved the file. Double-click it to run the Installer
When prompted, select Install for all users of this computer and click Continue
DO NOT change the location. Click Install.
An installation completed successfully window will open once completed.
Click Close to close the installer.
After the installation completes Box Drive will launch.
Enter your email address.
Click Next
Enter your NetID and password
Click Login

A Box folder will be created in Finder Window

using box macs 3

Saving or Moving data to Box

You can create folders just like you do on your own computer and copy\move documents into those folders.
- If you are running low on hard drive space this is a good place to move your data to free up hard drive space on your local computer
The box folder works the same as any other folder on your computer. You can save a document directly to the box folder, drag and drop or cut and paste.
The cloud on the folder indicates it’s in the cloud

using box macs 4

If you Control + click on a box folder and click on Make Available Offline, this will download the data onto your computer

using box macs 5

Logging into Box from any location:

Go to https://box.rutgers.edu/.
Click on login
Log in with your net id and net id password