Computing Services Group

Computer Accounts Policy

1. work within the CS department,
2. are a CS graduate student,
3. are a CS undergraduate student (either a major or enrolled in a CPSC course), or
4. are sponsored by a CS faculty or staff member who pays for your account

Account removal policies

• Student accounts (includes all students):
  Accounts will remain active if the student is in the list of majors from SIMS or is enrolled in a class. The first semester a student is not in either of these lists, their account will be deactivated after the 12th class day. Upon the second consecutive semester of not appearing on either of these lists, the account will be deleted with no backup after the 12th class day.

• Faculty and Staff accounts:
  Accounts will be deactivated upon termination of employment and deleted with no backup after 120 days. Faculty and staff should back up their files before leaving the University.

• Sponsored:
  Accounts will be reviewed annually and deleted on the request of the sponsor. If the account required funding, it will be deactivated when the funding becomes past due and deleted 120 days after.

Backup and restore policy

CSG backs up the departmental file server and other CSG servers that pertain to data of user accounts only. CSG does not offer backup services to other workstations and storage systems belonging to individuals of the department.

CSG routinely backs up the departmental file server and other CSG servers for the purpose of disaster recovery only. Archiving and backup of personal directories for the purpose of data recovery are the responsibility of account owners.

However the departmental file server has a series of snapshots that allow for recovery of data for a period of 4 weeks. Users of the file server should become familiar with how to use the snapshot system to recover deleted files.

Request for recovery of lost research data that is of extreme importance can be made to the CSG. In such a case CSG may provide recovery after careful review and consideration.

The backup system is designed for disaster recovery only, with snapshots on the file server serving as restore capabilities for users. Individuals are strongly encouraged to use personal tape backup systems and CD writers to keep copies of their data in case of accidental deletion or when recovery of data beyond 4 weeks is needed.