CUAHSI takes extensive measures to ensure that HydroShare remains functional and your data is accessible in perpetuity.
HydroShare is hosted on two VMWare clusters, one in the data center at the Renaissance Computing Institute at the University of North Carolina and one in the University of North Carolina's ITS Manning data center. Each cluster is continuously monitored, and data are replicated between providing data redundancy. In case of failure, the system automatically switches to the backup to ensure continuous access. There are at least 3 redundancies of data at all times, a single failure would not affect the availability of the data. Data and metadata are stored in multiple locations, and retention policies implemented to prevent data loss. The underlying data storage system, IRODS, is designed to provide redundancy and data replication to address and monitor the deterioration of storage media.
Backup of data and systems is performed through iRods on different levels. A snapshot is created and maintained on a regular schedule currently for each system:
- Weekly for the most recent two weeks
- Daily for the most recent five days
- Hourly for the most recent six hours
HydroShare adheres to the FAIR archival standard. Please see the HydroShare publication agreement for details on published data custody and publishing and distribution rights.
The CUAHSI team is dedicated to cultivating FAIR data principles within HydroShare and in the HydroShare user community. FAIR Data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reproducible. We work to achieve this by encouraging metadata and publishing best practices throughout our repository.
Learn more about HydroShare collaborators here.