How much storage space do I have on ERDA?

There's no space quota as such on the general ERDA storage, but the huge data sets known from high energy physics and bioinformatic databases are examples of data contents not considered suitable for ERDA. Anything within a few tens of terabytes should be fine, and we suggest that you just have a word with us if you want to store more than that: erda-info.it@au.dk

Is My ERDA Data Replicated and Backed Up?

All data on ERDA is automatically replicated over multiple disks with RAID technology. Additionally we frequently make local file system snapshots and syncronize to a remote location on daily basis for disaster recovery situations. Thus, while we do have a number of extra data safety measures, we do not currently guarantee automatic and complete backup of data in your ERDA home folder or in the Workgroup shares. That would simply not be feasible for the biggest data sets there. We are working on implementing a solutionwith external storage available for purchase, .

How do I Transfer Entire Folders to/from ERDA?

In the ERDA web interface you can only upload/download individual files, so if you e.g. want to upload an entire folder structure there, first pack the folder(s) in a zip or tar file, upload it as usual and then use unpack from the right-click menu on the uploaded file.
Likewise you can use pack on a folder in ERDA, download and unpack it locally.
Alternatively you can use the efficient file/folder handling described in the Network Drive Intro and the User Guide. That makes ERDA appear like just another disk drive, so that you can use your local file manager to copy entire folders to ERDA or otherwise work with your data like they were local.

Can I Share, Exchange and Publish Data in e.g. a Read-only Fashion on ERDA?

Yes, depending on the audience and dynamics of the data to share you can use one of three overall methods. For permanent read-only publishing just create a new archive from your Archives page and make sure to mark it for public availability. For more dynamic data you can either share in a read-write manner using the Workgroup shares or make them read-only in the Workgroup administration. Similarly, you can share and publish through the Workgroup web pages. Both shares and webpages are built into the Workgroups and the web pages come in a public and in a group-wide flavor, with publication done by storing data in the public_base and private_base folders.
For quick data exchange with anyone and particularly people not on ERDA, we recommend the Share Link feature. From Files you can create a share link for a file or folder and choose what kind of read and write access your recipients should get. You can use the share by email feature to create upload or download shares with optional password and time limit. The share link method includes the option to send out an invitation with the link directly on email, but they can of course also be manually distributed by other means. Share links can also be accessed with SFTP and WebDAVS as described in the user guide.

DOI

No, currently we cannot offer DOI minting, but in future, we hope to be able to develop ERDA to support this function.

How Are Workgroups Managed?

Workgroups can be created by academic staff (VIP) as well as technical/administrative staff (TAP) and the creator of a workgroup automatically becomes its owner. All user management is left to the owner(s) without interaction from the ERDA system administrators. Co-owners and members can be added either directly using the AU-id or email alias of the user, or indirectly if the user requests owner-/membership on the Workgroups page. The owner then receives an email with info on how to add the user. We recommend the intro guide on Workgroups for further details.

Can I have a shared or separate account for our project?

No, we cannot allow such accounts or account aliasing. In case of suspected or alleged abuse we need to be able to uniquely identify who did what and when, and all kinds of anonymous or shared accounts would prevent that. Please refer to the AU information security policy for further details about identity and traceability requirements.
So basically you need to use your own personal and clearly identifiable account for all logins. What you can do is to use Workgroups to store data in a shared group folder. In that way the data is not bound to your account specifically and you and your project group can easily manage all account access yourselves through the Workgroup admin page.
Similarly share links can be used for access to particular subfolders if you need to e.g. automate data upload from lab machines without storing your personal login there. Please refer to the user guide for more details.

Why can't I use certain characters in file names?

ERDA prevents certain characters like "< > { | } * ? [ ]" in file names. You may already have run into similar limitations when naming files on your own PC or devices. In order to provide a secure and consistent experience across different platforms, web and advanced interfaces ERDA prohibits characters that are known to cause problems. Either because they are so-called control characters with potentially dangerous effect on the storage systems or because they are known to interfere with the web interfacing and presentation. We continuously evaluate the need for allowing more exotic characters but always with focus on not breaking existing interfaces and backends. Feel free to contact us about the possibility of allowing any additional characters.

Can I run MATLAB, Fiji/ImageJ, Java or similar on ERDA?

Yes and no. Typically a number of license and technical limitations prevent similar integration of MATLAB, etc. to what we do with Jupyter. However, you can use ERDA as a network drive, in line with the corresponding intro, and in that way run whatever software installed at your computer on your ERDA data. Combined with a fast network connection that can work well.
For non-graphical MATLAB scripts in particular there is also the option to compile the code into a simple binary, that can run in the Jupyter Terminal using just the MATLAB Compiler Runtime (MCR) - without the strict license restrictions.
Unfortunately we can't offer detailed support on that part, but point to the official vendor documentation and a simple example.

I forgot my password, can I recover or change it?"

For security reasons we generally avoid storing passwords in our systems and only save a one-way derived hash value. Therefore we cannot recover passwords, but we do allow you to change it.
If you are an employee or student at AU you typically log in to ERDA web through the AU OpenID authentication service. It is linked to the central AU user database and therefore employs your usual AU credentials from e.g. AU Mail and AU Net. If you forgot your AU password or e.g. it expired you need to go through AU password change procedures or get in touch with AU IT Support.
If you are an external user on ERDA you can always use the External user sign up button again to renew access and/or change your main ERDA password. Just fill the sign up form as usual including your particular ID fields, the mandatory name and email of your AU contact and a note that you want to change password in the Comment field.
The other ERDA services like SFTP and WebDAVS does rely on local login credentials and you can change them yourself on your ERDA Setup page.

What's wrong, web login suddenly says "No such user (xyz123@au.dk)?"

If you already signed up to ERDA and had access but you begin receiving such errors it is likely that you hit an occasional problem we experience when AU IT changes primary email address of users in their central user database. This typically only happens in relation to significant employment status changes. ERDA just relies on the AU OpenID service for sign up and log in, so the change means that your existing account with e.g. xyz123@post.au.dk is no longer recognized to belong to the ID, which AU OpenID tells us you now have. Rest assured that your ERDA account remains intact, and usually we can fix the problem by assigning the new primary email alias to it. We just need you to contact us as described below to do so.

Why do I get "Account disabled or expired" emails?

We enforce automatic WebDAVS/SFTP/FTPS access expiry for all users in order to reduce the risk of no longer active accounts being abused/hacked that way. We have enforced automatic ERDA account expiry for longer for web access. However, AU users automatically get their account renewed when successfully logging into the web pages through the AU OpenID service, while external users must explicitly renew their account access annually using the sign up form on the front page. With account expiry extended to cover the efficient I/O services any configured access to our WebDAVS, SFTP or FTPS services will also automatically expire when accounts do. Attempts to log in on those services after general account expiry will fail and trigger an email warning that the account is expired. In practice it has limited consequences for external users, who already go through the annual renewal process. AU users solely or mainly using ERDA as network drive or through a WebDAVS/SFTP/FTPS client, will have to get used to regularly renew account access to keep using said I/O services. This can either be done for a whole year at a time by repeating 'sign up' on the front page or for 30 days by a simple web log in. Thus, users solely or regularly using the web access don't need to worry or do anything new. Those who enabled 2-Factor authentication for all ERDA account access can also just continue with their usual web login before their I/O service logins.

Can I get an ERDA account without an AU account?

Yes, as long as you need an ERDA account for a course, workshop or project collaboration with one or more employees at AU it is possible to get one in line with the Sign Up Intro - even if you don't have a general AU account.
Just use the tabs at the top to switch between the different sign up and log in methods. After the ERDA admins receive your account request and your AU employed contact has confirmed you as Peer, your account will be created with your non-AU login. You will automatically receive a brief intro email explaining how to log in, either with your registered email and chosen password or with your x509 user certificate installed.
IMPORTANT: please note that AU management requires ALL such users not employed at AU to explicitly register their ERDA account with their affiliation to a current employee at AU. So please ALWAYS include a reference (name + email) to your contact employed at AU in the comment field, when you fill in the OpenID or certificate account request form.

Can I keep my ERDA account after my AU employment/studies?

Yes, if you keep collaborating with one or more AU employees you can do so in line with the answer above.
Our general username+password access described in the user guide relies on the OpenID login from AU IT and they strictly use the main AU user database. So only users with an active AU account can use that login.
However, we provide two alternative access methods, namely a similar username+password login using our own stand-alone OpenID login service, and another one relying on our x509 user certificates for added security.
You can sign up for a non-AU log in method to your ERDA account by opening one of the other tabs above, clicking the sign up button and filling the web form. You just need to make sure to enter values matching your current account in the form, as well as explicitly reference with whom at AU you will keep collaborating. Please ask us if in doubt.