The DSBU, in collaboration with the Scientific Computing and Research Support Unit (DCSR), assists researchers in selecting the most appropriate storage solution for their research data at every stage of the data lifecycle. We provide guidance and support to ensure that researchers choose the best-suited platform based on the sensitivity of the data (sensitive or non-sensitive), the volume of data, and specific computing requirements. Our goal is to help you manage your data efficiently and securely, aligning with your research needs.
Division calcul et soutien à la recherche (DCSR) – link
💰 Cost: see the price list on UNIL IT center authenticated access. Billing: Costs are charged to research groups- link
Access to DCSR infrastructures(research data storage and computing): Access Form
| Need | Service | Description | Access Link |
| Storage of administrative data | Central NAS server (nas.unil.ch\FBM) | Managed by FBM IT with standardized folder structures for departments. | FBM IT Support |
| Storage of non-personal and non-sensitive research data | DCSR NAS Research- link | Secure server at UNIL for storing and sharing research data with designated collaborators. – Access: VPN required – Speed: High upload/download rates – Reliability: Highly resistant to hardware/software failures – Security: Virus protection, data loss prevention – Backup & Protection: – Incremental snapshot backup – Full daily backup (twice per day, 90-day retention) – Data replication (one copy) every 4 hours on a second NAS in another building 💰 Cost: – Only U1 costs are invoiced to the PI – First TB is free – 120 CHF per TB/year (2 copies) Data Management Plan: To open a new project directory on this infrastructure, the PI must make a request accompanied by a DMP (Visite our dedicated webpage for more information on our collaborative DSBU tools and templates to built your DMP). | DCSR NAS Research |
| Storage of unlimited number of object | Amazon S3- link | Scalable object storage service for storing and retrieving unlimited data in “buckets.” It organizes data into containers called “buckets.” Each bucket can store an unlimited number of objects, which are the fundamental entities stored in S3. | Object Storage S3 |
| Storage of sensitive research data (< 2 TB per group) | Tresorit-based service (DCSR) – link | Secure storage service compliant with the Swiss Federal Law on Human Research (LRH). – Security features: End-to-end encryption, access logging, file versioning. – Storage limit: 2 TB per research group. To determine if your data is sensitive (e.g., religious data), check the FAQ . | Tresorit DCSR |
| Computing and storage of sensitive research data (> 2 TB per group) | Urblauna (DCSR) – link | High-capacity computing cluster for large-scale sensitive research projects exceeding 2 TB. Storage resources: – Fast scratch SSD storage: /scratch/beegfs (112 TB, not purged) – Data directory: /data (160 TB for static datasets, including TCGA, ADNI, etc. **Not backed up**) ⚠ data directory is NOT BACKED UP – Archive with encrypted tapes: /archive (600 TB) 🔹 Data is transparently copied onto two tape libraries in two different datacenters for disaster recovery. | Urblauna |
| Computing and transient storage for non-sensitive research data | Curnagl (DCSR) – link | High-performance computing cluster at UNIL: – 96 nodes with AMD Zen2/3 CPUs (4608 cores, 54 TB RAM) – 8 machines with 2x A100 GPUs – Networking: 100Gb/s HDR Infiniband & Ethernet in a fat-tree topology – Storage: – 2 PB disk-backed filesystem – 150 TB SSD-based scratch system – 1.6 TB local NVMe drives per node ⚠ Dedicated storage (work) is for active projects only and not for long-term storage. **External access**: Only via file transfer protocols (scp). | Curnagl HPC |
| Real-time collaborative editing of non-sensitive derived research data | OneDrive (Microsoft 365) – link | Used for real-time document collaboration. – Research raw data only passes through this service for the duration of the collaborative edition (e.g. while wrtting a paper). – Raw data **must** be moved to the DCSR NAS after editing. – Can store **research-related** files (protocols, presentations, references, etc.). | OneDrive |
| Transfer of non-sensitive research data | Filetransfer- link | – Send or receive large files via email notification. – Max size: 4 TB – No installation required (web-based) -Expiration date configurable – Guest invitations supported | Filetransfer |
| Transfer of sensitive research data | SWITCHfile sender- link | Secure file transfer service. – **Must use password encryption for sensitive data.** – Max size*: 300 GB – No installation required (web-based) – Expiration date configurable – Guest invitations supported | SWITCHfile sender |
| Long-term storage of non-sensitive research data | LTS (DCSR)-link | – This service concerns data stored on the DCSR NAS that is no longer in current use. – Not an external data repository. – **Retention**: 10 years (renewable). | DSBU Support |