Applying for a storage project

NAISS and UPPMAX systems are suitable for analysing active datasets. A storage project is needed if you are planning to work on Rackham with more than 100 GB.

N.B.: If you need a place to store data for backup or some other convenience, please do not request a project at UPPMAX.

Before submitting a proposal for storage project

1. Are you working with sensitive personal data? Please apply for a SENS project instead.
2. Make sure you have a compute project. You can use the same compute project for multiple datasets. A submitted proposal for a compute project is sufficient.
3. Make sure you actually need a new storage project. It is often easier to manage one large storage area than multiple smaller areas. If you already have a storage project, a new project can be appropriate if, for example, a different group of people will be working with the different datasets. Contact UPPMAX support if you need an increased allocation in an existing storage project.
4. Backup on Crex exists as a 30-day incremental backup. Keeping a primary copy of your data elsewhere is recommended, because it does happen that users accidentally destroy their own data and don't notice for more than 30 days.
5. Note that storage project proposals must be submitted before the 23rd of each month. See the evaluation section below.

Submitting a proposal for storage project

1. Figure out how much raw data you're going to get, in GB.
   • If you're going to work from existing databases, this is relatively straightforward.
   • If a data generating infrastructure is producing data for you, they can provide an estimate.​
2. Estimate the "expansion factor", i.e. how much additional data you'll produce when analyzing the raw data.
3. Calculate a final estimate of your total storage needs. This is "GB of raw data" times "expansion factor". Keep in mind that you can work on the data in "chunks", rather than do everything at once.
   • ​If you need less than 128 GB: you don't need a storage project! Just use your compute project's storage.
   • ​If you need less than 10 TB: you need a Small storage project.
   • ​If you need less than 100 TB: you need a Medium storage project.
   • ​If you need more than 100 TB: you need a Large storage project (call for proposals open 2x per year, contact UPPMAX support for more information).
4. Go to SUPR. Log in.
5. Go to the appropriate storage round (Rounds -> Storage rounds). Small Storage or Medium Storage. Create a new proposal.
6. Complete the proposal and submit.
   1. Project Title should be the topic of your activity.
   2. Edit Basic Information.
      1. Abstract should summarise your research plan. If you are working with human, clinical, or medical data, please clearly state that this is not sensitive personal data.
      2. Resource Usage should describe the data you're going to store. Include a detailed itemisation of the data that covers the entire allocation of the project, and reasoning that motivates why described data needs to be present concurrently. Describe which central databases you will be using, if any (see available databases here).
      3. Data Management Plan should answer at least the following questions:
         1. The type of data to be stored (genomes, fastq files, image data, .tiff files, etc). Use compressed file types.
         2. Whether the data can be considered sensitive personal data.
         3. A brief timeplan for the data. Where will you move the data when/if you are done working on it at UPPMAX? When do you expect this to occur?
         4. Do you have a copy of the primary data stored elsewhere? While UPPMAX takes steps to ensure the integrity and survival of your data, this is not a guarantee and we recommend taking a personal responsibility for your data.
         5. Describe what you are doing to make your data FAIR.
   3. Add co-investigators (if any).
   4. If someone other than the PI needs control over the project, assign a co-investigator the role of proxy.
   5. Add the Crex resource to the proposal and set the Requested Capacity to your total storage needs. You may ignore the other fields, if any.
   6. Submit the Proposal.

Proposal evaluation

Due to the growing amount of data on Crex, the storage system attached to Rackham and Snowy, we cannot always approve all storage projects.

Our goal is to ensure that as many researchers as possible can continue to work without being affected by a lack of space on Crex. The bottom line is that we will have to deny allocations to projects if users continue to store inactive data on the system. Additionally, we need to encourage responsible and correct use of the system, as well as promote high-quality research.

Small and Medium storage allocations are made on a monthly basis. Each month, we grant allocations that sum up to the amount of space that was freed on the system. The available space will be announced in the UPPMAX Newsletter for that month. Requests will be accepted until the 23rd of each month, and decisions will be made by the 30th. Requests that come after the 23rd will be decided upon in the following month.

In the event that we have to deny projects due to a lack of available space, we will rank all Small and Medium storage requests (new projects, continuation projects, and allocation increases) according to the following factors:

• Motivation (detailed itemisation of the data that covers the entire allocation of the project, and reasoning that motivates why described data needs to be present concurrently)
• Track record (previous history, as recorded in SUPR)
• Scientific productivity (from Activity Reports, if applicable)
• FAIR
• Data formats, e.g. proper compression
• Use of nobackup (describe what needs backup etc)
• Use of central reference databases in /sw/data (http://docs.uppmax.uu.se/databases/overview/)
• Time plan
• Plan for data after analysis, including a destination for it
• Whether you follow the recommendation of keeping your own copy of the data elsewhere

When applying for a new project, a continuation project, or emailing us about storage quota increase, please include as much of the above information as possible.

We understand that the reality of scientific research does not always coincide with a strict monthly schedule and a formal grading rubric. We therefore reserve the right to be flexible and will endeavour to work with you in special circumstances.