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The University’s central storage platform for research information, called Vault, provides alternative storage platforms for storing computational data. Using Vault central computing storage services and resources , University researchers, faculty researchers, and post-doctoral researchers are able to:

• Share research data in a collaborative environment
• Store large-scale computational research data
• Request additional storage for further data analysis

Vault Data Storage Options

Northwestern researchers, faculty researchers, and post-doctoral researchers can choose from three options depending on their storage needs and data requirements:

Collaborative Research Data Storage

Vault Collaborative Research Data Storage is a Web-based tool that allows University researchers to upload, store, and share large research related documents with colleagues via a Web link or URL. Colleagues within or outside of the University can also send files to the account holder.

Eligible researchers can request a Vault Collaborative Research Data Storage account to receive 50GB of storage space at no charge.

Additional storage can be purchased on a cost per 100GB increment basis. A letter of intent must be submitted by the eligible researcher to request this additional storage.

Supplementary Research Data Storage

Vault Supplementary Research Data Storage is connected to Quest, the University’s high performance computing (HPC) system and select research instrumentation through lower-bandwidth IP networking.

This storage platform is intended to facilitate data analysis pipelines, workflow, and meet the need for persistent storage of large-scale results from Quest computations.

Eligible researchers are required to submit a letter of intent to request this additional storage on a cost per 500GB increment basis.

High Performance Research Data Storage

Vault High Performance Computing (HCP) Research Data Storage connects to Quest, the University's high performance computing (HPC) system through an InfiBand fabric enabling high-speed access to read and write data.

This storage platform is for projects that require additional amounts of this highly connected storage to support research objectives and should only be considered when Vault Supplementary Research Data Storage is not sufficient to support a particular research application.

Eligible researchers must submit a letter of intent to request this additional storage on a cost per 500GB increment basis.

Training and Support

The technical research computing staff at NUIT provides consultation on new applications and technologies related to HPC and research computing. NUIT also offers regular research workshops and training sessions on the use of Quest, Vault, and other computing resources.

Additional Information

Support Contacts

Vault Support

NUIT Academic & Research Technologies
vault-help@northwestern.edu