Network-Attached Storage
- What is my NAS space, or Windows home directory?
- How do I access my NAS space?
- What is the difference between how my NAS space is used on CAEN's lab computers running Windows Vista, and CAEN Virtual Sites running Windows XP?
- Who is eligible to receive NAS space?
- Which password should I use when logging in to access my NAS space?
- Can I get more NAS file space?
- How do I check the quota usage in my NAS space?
- Why is there a folder in my NAS space called profile.V2?
- Why are there folders in my NAS space called windat and/or windat.V2?
- Why can't I save anything to the Desktop or Documents folder on a CAEN PC?
- Why can't I copy a particular file to my NAS space?
- When I connect to the Internet from home, I cannot access my NAS space or mount it as a network drive. Why is this, and how can I get around it?
- How can I obtain a previous copy of a file that I have mistakenly altered/deleted?
What is my NAS space, or Windows home directory?
CAEN provides 5 GB of Network-Attached Storage (NAS) space to all College of Engineering (CoE) faculty and actively enrolled CoE students. 1 GB is provided to regular CoE staff, and to Non-Engineering students who obtain CAEN computing accounts. Also referred to as a Windows home directory, this space is stored on CAEN’s NAS server: storage.engin.umich.edu.
Accessing this space is quick and easy, and it is much more reliable than using removable media like CDs to store files. For more information on accessing your NAS space, see our instructions at:
How do I access my NAS space?
A CAEN account holder's space is stored on CAEN's network-attached storage (NAS) server, storage.engin.umich.edu. Accessing this space is quick and easy, and it is much more reliable than using removable media (like CD-R) to store files.
Password Considerations
Accessing your space on CAEN's NAS server requires that you know your ITCS Active Directory (UMROOT) password. This password is different from your ITCS Kerberos (UMICH.EDU) password. If you have never set this password before and/or you are having trouble logging in, you should reset your ITCS Active Directory (UMROOT) password on the following ITCS web page:
Contact ITCS at 764-HELP for questions or further help with the password.
Accessing Your NAS Space
Accessing Your NAS Space on CAEN Computers
Windows
When using Windows machines in CAEN computer labs, your NAS space will be mounted to the N: network drive under My Computer. This is similar to how ITCS AFS home directories are mounted to the H: network drive:
Linux
From any CAEN Linux machine, you can connect to your storage space using the smbclient program. Simply type the following command:
smbclient //storage.engin.umich.edu/home -U UMROOT/uniqname
where uniqname is your U-M uniqname. Enter your ITCS Active Directory UMROOT password when prompted. This will give you a text-based interface to the files in your storage space, similar to a DOS command window. For more information, type man smbclient at the prompt
Accessing Your Space on a Personal Computer
Note: If you are attempting to access your NAS space from off-campus, and you connect to the Internet via a commercial service provider (ISP) such as Comcast, you may not be able to access your space directly. For security reasons, many ISPs block this kind of "Windows-based" file/network traffic, preventing the space from being directly accessible.
To circumvent this, CAEN recommends using an SFTP or SCP program to access this space. See the Accessing your NAS space via SFTP & SCP section below. You can also bypass this block by establishing a remote virtual private network (VPN) connection.
Windows
There are a few ways to access your NAS space from your personal Windows computer. When off-campus, you should use SFTP or SCP. When on-campus, the easiest way would be set up your computer to automatically mount the drive, similar to how it is done on CAEN PCs. Open My Computer. In the resulting window, from the Tools menu, select Map Network Drive. You will see the following window:
Select the letter you would like to use for the Drive, and for the Folder enter \\storage.engin.umich.edu\home. Make sure to put a check in the box labeled Reconnect at logon. You may also accomplish this by opening a Command Prompt, and typing the following:
net use n: \\storage.engin.umich.edu\home
If you are on your personal computer, or a computer that does not offer a UMICH.EDU login option, you will be prompted to log in with your ITCS Active Directory UMROOT password. Enter your password as follows:
Remember to put UMROOT\ before your uniqname. Your storage space will appear under My Computer as a network drive N:.
Another way to access your storage space from your on-campus, personal computer is to open the Run dialog box from the Start menu, or open Windows Explorer. Enter the following to open your home directory, and click OK:
Once you have logged in (as previously described), your home directory will appear:
Mac OS
On your personal Mac computer, select Connect to Server from the Go menu:
For the Server Address type smb://storage.engin.umich.edu/home and click the Connect button. You will be prompted for your ITCS password in the UMROOT domain:
Enter your password and click OK. Your home directory will open and be mounted as a drive on the desktop.
Accessing Your Space via SFTP & SCP
CAEN users may access their NAS space using their favorite Secure FTP (SFTP) client from home, or on campus. Simply open the client and connect to vs3.engin.umich.edu. For your User Name use UMROOT\uniqname, where uniqname is your U-M uniqname:
After logging in with your UMROOT password, you should see a view similar to what is shown below (depending on what SFTP/SCP client you use):
This will give you access to everything stored in your home directory. Special linked folders are also available for access to course files, and filed redirected from the Desktop and My Documents folders of a CAEN PC. See information about the windat folder below for more information on this redirection.
Accessing Your Space via WebDAV
WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a technology used by some applications to provide secure access to files over the web. Some programs and operating systems have WebDAV access built-in. Below are a few common examples:
Windows
Note: In order to access your NAS space over the web using the Windows Explorer-type view, your browser must support WebDAV. Currently, Internet Explorer is the only browser that supports this.
- In Internet Explorer, from the File menu, select Open...
- In the Open window, enter https://vs3.engin.umich.edu, and make sure to check the box next to Open as Web Folder:
- Click the OK button, and you will be prompted to log in. For User name, enter UMROOT\uniqname, and use your ITCS UMROOT Password:
- After you log in, you will be presented with an Explorer window in which you can access your files, similar to below:
This will give you access to everything stored in your space, including files redirected from the Desktop and My Documents folders of a CAEN PC. See information about the windat folder below for more information on this redirection.
Mac OS X
- From the Mac OS X Go menu, select Connect to Server...
- In the resulting window, enter https://vs3.engin.umich.edu as the Server Address, and click Connect:
- You will be prompted to log in. For your Name, enter UMROOT\uniqname, and use your ITCS UMROOT Password:
- After you log in, your space will be mounted to a drive on your Desktop called Home, and you will be presented with window in which you can copy, paste and edit your files, similar to below:
Note: If you don't have access to any applications or operating systems that use WebDAV, your best option may be to use your favorite SFTP or SCP client, as described immediately before this section.
The windat Folder
Every CAEN lab Windows computer is set up to redirect and save certain files to a user's NAS space. Depending on the operating system, these files are contained in a folder called either windat or windat.V2.For further information on which files/folders are redirected, please see:
Note: When saving/storing files, you should remember that these folders are stored in your NAS space. So, you should be careful about the number and size of files you store here, as you may go over your NAS quota. If you do go over your NAS quota, you may have trouble logging into CAEN PCs.
Public Storage
Each home directory on CAEN's NAS server is provided with a Public directory, similar to the one that exists in ITCS AFS home directories. This is where you can put files to which others will have access.
Permissions are set upon personal NAS directories such that access to root home directories of a user is restricted to only that user (unless the user specifically changes the permissions on their directory). This means that in order to be able to access another user's Public space, you will first need to know the full path to their Public directory.
First, access the root of the NAS server at \\storage.engin.umich.edu\ (i.e. leave off home). You will be presented with a window similar to the one shown below. You will see the file system volumes listed for every user's home directory, categorized by the first letter of their U-M uniqname (If you do not see the Comments listed as shown below, select Details from the View menu):
So, if you need to access the Public directory of a user whose first letter of their uniqname is u, their directory would be located (in the above example) in home_fs08 - Home Directories T - Z. You would then need to type the following path in the Address bar:
Delegating Access and Permissions
NAS directories are only accessible by their owner, with the exception of the Public folder. Users have the right to change permissions on their files/directories if they wish to grant others access to them. For example, if you want to give someone access to a folder in your directory, go to \\storage.engin.umich.edu\home. Right-click on your folder, and select Properties. When the Properties window appears, click the Security tab to view the permissions on that directory:
As the above picture shows, CAEN has set up these directories to be accessible when you are logged in with your ITCS account. In order to grant someone else access to your folder, click the Add button. The following window will appear:
Enter the uniqname of the person to whom you would like to grant access and click OK. You will then be able to specify what access they should have, ranging from simply listing the contents of your directory to being able to modify and save files. Check the boxes that apply to the access you wish to grant and click OK.
Recovering Files via Checkpoints
A checkpoint is a point-in-time copy of all the files and directories in the NAS file system. A series of hourly, nightly, and weekly checkpoints are performed regularly. This can be very useful for self-service file recovery of recently changed or deleted files. The checkpoint mechanism is independent of and in addition to CAEN's normal tape backup mechanism.
To access the backup copy of any directory in your storage space, you simply need to add .ckpt (short for checkpoint) to the path of the directory. For example, if you wanted to access the backup checkpoint for your Public directory, located at:
You would simply enter the following in the Address bar of your window:
You will then be presented with a window containing a list of folders, each one named for the date and time the snapshot was taken:
Choose the date/time for which you need a backup copy, and double-click the folder. Note: These folders are read-only and the files in them cannot be modified. You also cannot save files to these folders. If you wish to modify any files in your backup directories, you first will need to copy the files from the .ckpt directory to modify them.
Further Help
More general information on CAEN NAS file space can be found in the rest of our FAQs at:
For further assistance with accessing your NAS file space, visit the CAEN Hotline in the Duderstadt Center, or contact by phone at 764-CAEN. You may also Contact CAEN on the web and a CAEN staff member will respond as soon as possible.
What is the difference between how my NAS space is used on CAEN's lab computers running Windows Vista, and CAEN Virtual Sites running Windows XP?
Folder Redirection in Windows Vista vs. Windows XP
The great majority of CAEN lab PCs run the Windows Vista operating system. Lab users may notice some differences between how certain files are redirected to their NAS space on lab PCs and the Windows XP environment available through the Virtual CAEN Labs service:
- In Windows XP, only the Desktop & My Documents folders are able to be redirected to an individual's NAS space. These are stored in a folder at \\storage\home\windat.
- Windows Vista allows us to redirect many more folders: Videos, Pictures, Music, Saved Games, Links, Favorites, Documents, Desktop, AppData, Start Menu, Contacts, & Searches. These are stored in a folder at \\storage\home\windat.V2. A new redirection folder (windat.V2) was created because the default names for folders is different between XP and Vista. For example, My Documents is now just called Documents. For backwards compatibility, there are links on the Vista desktop pointing to the XP windat folder: Old My Documents & Old Desktop
The Downloads folder is not redirected to the NAS. If you wish to keep a downloaded file, you must move it from the Downloads folder to your NAS space (i.e. the N:\ drive) or a redirected folder.
Roaming Profiles in Windows Vista
To allow CAEN lab users to have their environmental settings travel with them from lab to lab, Roaming Profiles have been enabled. When you log into a CAEN Vista computer for the first time, a profile is created; and when you log out, the profile is copied to the your NAS space and stored in \\storage\home\profile.V2. Within this directory are three hidden files: ntuser.pol, ntuser.ini & ntuser.dat. Each time you log into a CAEN PC, these files are copied locally and applied to your account. Similar to the redirected folders described above, changes made to the profile will become available on any CAEN Vista computer.Who is eligible to receive NAS space?
The following individuals may receive NAS space on storage.engin.umich.edu:
- College of Engineering (CoE) students, enrolled in courses for the current semester.
- Regular faculty and staff of the CoE, including research fellows and professors emeriti.
- Anyone who has paid the CAEN account fee for the current term, as described by clicking here.
Which password should I use when logging in to access my NAS space?
Authentication to the NAS server uses your ITCS Active Directory (UMROOT) password; your user name is UMROOT\uniqname, where uniqname is your U-M uniqname. This password is different from your ITCS Kerberos (UMICH.EDU) password.
If you have never set your UMROOT password before and/or you are having trouble logging in, you may set it here:
Can I get more NAS file space?
No, CAEN cannot increase individual NAS quotas. However, eligible students, faculty and staff do have access to additional AFS file space provided by ITCS.
How do I check the quota usage in my NAS space?
There are a few ways to check the quota of your NAS space. If you are on a CAEN PC, simply open up My Computer. You will see a listing of network drives. Find the N: drive, and look at the Total Size and Free Space values for your quota and usage (Note: If you do not see these values listed, select Details from the View menu of the Explorer window).
Otherwise, in order to check your quota from a non-CAEN PC, you must first locate your folder in the root of the file system. Go to \\storage.engin.umich.edu\. You will then see the file system volumes listed for every users' NAS space, categorized by the first letter of their U-M uniqname (Note: If you do not see the comments listed, select Details from the View menu of your Explorer window). Locate your folder, right-click on your folder, and select Properties. You will then see the total space usage of your NAS space. For example, joeuser is currently using 38.1 MB:
Why is there a folder in my NAS space called profile.V2?
Roaming Profiles are enabled for all CAEN computer lab users. When you log into a CAEN Vista computer for the first time, a profile is created; and when you log out, the profile is copied to the your NAS space and stored in \\storage\home\profile.V2. Within this directory are three hidden files: ntuser.pol, ntuser.ini & ntuser.dat. Each time you log into a CAEN PC, these files are copied locally and applied to your account. Changes made to the profile will become available on any CAEN Windows Vista computer.
Note: Roaming Profiles are not available with Virtual CAEN Labs running Windows XP.
Why are there folders in my NAS space called windat and/or windat.V2?
One great feature for CAEN account holders is the fact that CAEN Windows machines are set up to redirect/save files that are stored in certain folders to your NAS space:
- On CAEN lab computers running Windows Vista, the following are redirected to NAS space in the windat.V2 folder: Videos, Pictures, Music, Saved Games, Links, Favorites, Documents, Desktop, AppData, Start Menu, Contacts, & Searches
- On CAEN virtual sites running Windows XP, on the following folders are redirected to the NAS in the windat folder: Desktop & My Documents
This means that no matter which CAEN PC you log into, these files will travel with you and be available to you when you log in.
Note: One should be careful about what they store in these folders, as it may put them over their NAS quota. See the following FAQ for more information:
Why can't I save anything to the Desktop or Documents folder on a CAEN PC?
When saving/storing files to the Desktop or Documents folders on a CAEN Windows computer, one should remember that these folders are stored in your NAS space, in a folder called windat.V2, and will have an impact on their space usage. So, CAEN users need to be careful about the number and size of files they store in these folders, as they may go over their NAS quota.
If you do go over your NAS quota, you will not be able to save files to the Desktop or Documents folders, and you may have trouble logging into CAEN PCs. If this happens, please contact the CAEN Hotline at (734) 764-CAEN.
Why can't I copy a particular file to my NAS space?
If you are unable to copy a particular file to your NAS space, the cause is usually one of two issues:
- The file in question is large enough such that you will exceed your quota. In this case, there is not enough room in your NAS space to copy the file, and you will need to clear out some files from your space in order to continue. If you have verified that this is not the case, then...
- The file may be infected with a known computer virus. The NAS server is complimented with frequently updated anti-virus software, and all files are scanned as they are copied to the NAS server. If a file is infected, the NAS will not allow you to copy the file.
If you have verified that the two scenarios listed above are not affecting you, and you still have trouble copying the file, please feel free to Contact CAEN for assistance.
When I connect to the Internet from home, I cannot access my NAS space or mount it as a network drive. Why is this, and how can I get around it?
Broadband Internet service providers (Cable and DSL) often block Windows file-sharing traffic on their networks. This is done to prevent the spread of viruses that take advantage of vulnerabilities in unpatched or outdated Windows operating systems. Due to this blocking, CAEN users may not be able to access their NAS space directly from their home computers (i.e. \\storage.engin.umich.edu\home\).
As a way around this issue, CAEN recommends that users connect to their NAS space using SFTP. See the SFTP section of the following page for more information:
How can I obtain a previous copy of a file that I have mistakenly altered/deleted?
CAEN's NAS server offers access to extensive backups of each user's NAS space through a system of snapshots, or checkpoints. A checkpoint is a point-in-time copy of all the files and directories in the file system. A series of hourly, nightly, and weekly checkpoints are performed regularly. This can be very useful for self-service file recovery of recently changed or deleted files. The checkpoint mechanism is independent of and in addition to CAEN’s normal tape backup mechanism.
To access the backup copy of any directory in your storage space, you simply need to add .ckpt (short for checkpoint) to the path of the directory. For example, if you wanted to access the backup checkpoint for your Public directory, located at:
You would simply enter the following in the address bar of your window:
You will then be presented with a window containing a list of folders, each one named for the date and time the snapshot was taken (i.e. year_month_day_hour.minute.second_EDT):
Choose the date/time for which you need a backup copy, and double-click the folder. Note: These folders are read-only and the files in them cannot be modified. You also cannot save files to these folders. If you wish to modify any files in your backup directories, you first will need to copy the files from the .ckpt directory to modify them.
