Glossary
Oak Filespace Types#
| Filespace Type | What is it for? | Who's Eligible? | Additional Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
groups | Filespace dedicated to a specific PI and their collaborators | Faculty doing sponsored research | ⭐ Most popular space ✅ Accessible From Sherlock ✅ Accessible From SCG ✅ Eligible for our optional Backup service |
projects | Filespace dedicated to a group of collaborators who span multiple PI groups. | Anyone with a PTA doing sponsored research at Stanford | ✅ Accessible From Sherlock ✅ Accessible From SCG ✅ Eligible for our optional Backup service |
orgs | Filespace shared among a Stanford Organization or Center. Usually spanning multiple PIs or subgroups | Please email SRCC-support@stanford.edu for additional information | ✅ Accessible From Sherlock ✅ Accessible From SCG ✅ Eligible for our optional Backup service |
schools | Filespace shared among a Stanford School. Usually spanning multiple PIs or subgroups | Please email SRCC-support@stanford.edu for additional information | ✅ Accessible From Sherlock ✅ Accessible From SCG ✅ Eligible for our optional Backup service |
datasets | Filespace dedicated to hosting shared datasets. | Please email SRCC-support@stanford.edu for additional information | ✅ Accessible From Sherlock ✅ Accessible From SCG ❌ Eligible for our optional Backup service ✅ Accessible without an Oak account (SUNet ID Required) |
scg | Filespace used by the Genetics Bioinformatics Service Center's SCG cluster. | The SCG Informatics Cluster resources are available for use by labs engaged in genetics and bioinformatics research. | May also be referred to as lab_$PINAME. ✅ Accessible From SCG ❌ Not accessible from Sherlock ❌ Not eligible for our backups ℹ️ More information at https://login.scg.stanford.edu/ |
filesystems (ZFS) | General-purpose NAS replacement, LFS share. | Anyone with a PTA doing sponsored research at Stanford. | ❌ Not accessible from Sherlock or SCG. ❌ Not eligible for Oak Backups. ⚠️ SMB or NFS Gateway required (additional fees apply). |
Other common terms#
Gateway#
- Gateways are services that provide access to data on Oak through various applications or protocols. Oak is made up of many pieces of storage equipment. These pieces of equipment communicate using a high-performance fiber network technology called Infiniband.
- Gateways have connections to our Infiniband network, as well as the broader Stanford network. This allows our users to enjoy the performance advantages that our Infiniband network provides, while ensuring access through services and protocols that wouldn't otherwise be available in traditional network environments
Infiniband#
- Infiniband is a networking standard that features high bandwidth and low latency. Current Infiniband devices are capable of transferring data at up to 800 Gbits/sec with less than a microsecond (μs) latency. As of this writing, the most recent Infiniband versions we use are NDR (Next-Generation Data Rate) at 400Gb/s and HDR (High Data Rate) at 200 Gbits/sec.
PTA#
- PTA is an acronym used for a project-task-award combination representing an account in Stanford's Oracle Financials. PTAs are used to categorize expenditures by funding source. More information is available at Stanford's Fingate page
Native Oak#
- Native Oak refers to Oak file spaces that align with the original design of the Oak filesystem. This includes spaces such as
group,project,org,school, anddatasets. In contrast, SCGlab_*andfilesystem(ZFS) spaces are not part of the original system design and are subject to certain limitations. These limitations include restricted access from the Sherlock cluster and ineligibility for the Oak Backup service.