Backups & Restorations
CAEN performs regular system backups for file protection in the event of a hardware failure, or someone's accidental deletion. Full backups for all systems are performed weekly and incremental backups are performed daily. This means that lost files or directories usually can be restored to versions that are approximately one day old.
Personal Backups
Preforming your own personal backups let you free up your online disk space by removing unused files without losing them permanently. They also are useful if you are graduating and want to make copies of your personal files to take with you. It is much easier and faster to burn the files yourself to a CD-R on a CAEN PC or download them to your personal computer, but the CAEN backups team can assist you as well. Use Contact CAEN to set up a time when you can get your backups made. Note: Frequent requests for backups will be assessed a fee.
NAS File Restoration
The first place to look for a file that you may have accidentally deleted from your network-attached storage (NAS) space is in the checkpoint (.ckpt) directory. The .ckpt directory contains read-only copies of your NAS space that are made several times every day, up to one month old. Specifically, it is a mount point for the backup NAS volume of your home directory, and is usually first and best place to look for a lost file. This directory does not count towards your NAS quota. For more tips on retrieving these backups yourself, please click here.
If you cannot find the missing file in your .ckpt directory (i.e. it was deleted or modified more than one month ago), and you would like to have it restored from the CAEN Backups team, use the Account Backup Request form to submit your request. Be sure to provide the name and location of the files, the date of the deletion, and the last day the file was modified. Allow five business days to process a restoration request.
AFS/IFS File Restoration
All ITCS AFS (or IFS) home directories contain a directory called .oldfiles. This is a separate, read-only AFS volume that contains the most recent backup copy of your files. It is useful for retrieving copies of files you accidentally delete. It has no affect on your home directory's overall quota.
For information on .oldfiles, and on obtaining backup copies of the files in your AFS home directory, see the ITCS web page at:
