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Main navigation

  • About
    • What is Research Data Management
    • Data Management Terminology
    • Where To Start
    • RDM Blog
    • RDM Mailing List
    • RDM Projects
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • Plan & Design
    • Biomedical Data Lifecycle
    • Clinical Data Management
    • Data Policies and Compliance
    • Data Management Plans
    • Active and Short Term Projects
    • Roles and Responsibilities
    • Directory Structure
    • File Naming Conventions
  • Collect & Analyze
    • Collaborative Tools & Software
    • Electronic Lab Notebooks
    • Documentation & Metadata
    • Reproducibility
    • Analysis Ready Datasets
    • Image Management
    • Version Control
  • Store & Evaluate
    • Storage Options
    • Data Safety
    • Data Security
    • Data Retention
    • Archives and Records Management
    • Data Destruction
  • Share & Publish
    • Data Sharing
    • Open Access
    • Data Use Agreements
    • Intellectual Property
    • Scholarly Products
    • Preprints & Publishing
    • Data Repositories
  • Training & Events
    • RDMWG Calendar
    • RDM Seminar Series
    • Harvard Library Open Access Week
    • Harvard Library Love Data Week
    • From Data to Discovery Series

Storage Options

  • Store & Evaluate
    • Storage Options
    • Data Safety
    • Data Security
    • Data Retention
    • Archives and Records Management
    • Data Destruction

Storage Options

Review institutional storage options to better understand where to store data based on behavior, performance, and means of access. The type of data you are working with, or the Data Security Level, will dictate where and how that data needs to be stored or handled.

  • Harvard University Collaborative Matrix: Aligns Harvard’s Data Security Levels with storage platforms
  • HMS IT Research Data Storage Offerings: HMS offers three primary storage types with distinct behaviors, performance, and means of access
  • FAS Data Storage Offerings: FASRC offers three different software applications with variety of performance characteristics

Back-up Strategies

Having at least one backup can help prevent data mishaps. Harvard systems automatically provide secure backup in geographically distributed locations.

  • CrashPlan (Code42): Ensures critical data is recoverable in the event of a loss or compromise or data. CrashPlan is available to HMS and HSDM quad-based personnel for free. CrashPlan is also available for FAS departments, Central Administration, and other schools through Harvard University IT (HUIT).
    • Backs up continually over almost any network on or off-campus
    • Recovers documents from any computer via a web browser
    • Stores document copies for a minimum of 60 days

Research data that is temporarily not in Harvard systems benefits from following the 3-2-1 Rule.

  • 3-2-1 Rule: General fail-proof backup strategy:
    • Three copies of the data (e.g., original + external/local + external/remote)
    • Two types of storage formats (e.g., external hard drive + cloud location)
    • One storage type is offsite (e.g. geographically distributed location)

Paper-Based Records and Physical Media

Physical research records, including data in paper format and the supporting records that make that data intelligible can be stored at the Harvard Depository, Harvard University’s off-site storage and retrieval facility, on a fee-for-service basis.

  • This climate-controlled, off-campus facility provides a strictly regulated media preservation environment, precise inventory-tracking controls, efficient online retrieval ordering, and dependable overnight delivery of materials requested from storage.
  • Records sent to the depository must be prepared in compliance with Harvard University's Archives and Records Management guidelines.
  • Common formats sent off-site are paper records, photographs, sound and audio recordings, video, and data on external drives and tapes.
  • While at HD, these formats are maintained according to best practices for temperature and humidity control; however, data are not migrated to new formats.

To learn more about sending physical records and media off-site, please contact the Archives and Records Management (ARM) program, or call (617) 432-2170.

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