Users are responsible for backing up their data at all times. This page details approved methods, their respective pros and cons, and applies to workstations and servers.

All university data must be in compliance with Data Management Regulation REG 08.00.03. For additional helpful information, consult the Data Management Framework page.

OIT offers a tool to help guide users to the proper type of storage for their situation. You can access Storage Finder here.

Research Facilitation Service also offers guidance on storage for qualified research projects. You can learn more about their service here.

Google Workspace

NC State Google Workspace accounts have different storage quotas depending on your role and the product. 

This OIT Knowledge Article provides more information on storage quotas and additional storage options. 

This series of articles provides guidance on how to check your storage, reduce it, and what happens if you exceed your quota. 

Employees are responsible for maintaining their emails and files in accordance with the UNC System Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.  Find out more about Google Vault retention and eDiscovery services. 

Increasing Your Storage 

Faculty and Staff can request storage increases to Shared Drives for the cost of $.2 per GB/Yr. (FY26) used over the initial quota. Individual Workspace accounts cannot be increased. 

As a pilot offering, College of Sciences users are eligible for College funded Shared Drive increases up to 250 GB for a single Shared Drive. Contact us and provide the name of an existing drive to increase. 

Shared Drive increases above 250 GB but below 5 TB will need approval from the unit Business Manager and will require a Project ID to cover the cost, which will be billed back annually through the College. 

To request Shared Drives over 5 TB, fill out this OIT request form and you will be billed directly. 

OIT Storage Services

OIT storage can be connected to managed computers. Costs very depending on specific needs. More information can be found here.

Pros	Cons
Data securely stored at NC State	Annual cost, which may increase
Easily connect with any operating system	Backup is not automatic
	Pay per TB of data

Research Storage

For active research projects, OIT offers up to 30TB of storage at no cost. For complete details please read the Research Copmuting’s information on Research Storage.

Code42

Code42 (formerly Crashplan) is an OIT-approved third party backup service. IT can be installed on any operating system and will continuously sync data up to the cloud, ensuring that data is safe at all times. More information can be found here.

Pros	Cons
Continuously running	Annual cost per user
Cloud based	Backup / restore operations are slow
Up to 4 devices per license
Unlimited storage

External Hard Drive

Users may purchase an external hard drive for data backup of their workstation. Apple computers can natively use an external hard drive to take regular complete backups of user data automatically. Similar third party solutions exist for Windows and Linux users.

Pros	Cons
The most cost effective option over time	User must purchase the drive
User controls security (access to physical media)	Higher rate of drive failure (should be replaced every 3 years)
	Can only be accessed by connecting the drive