Server Space Limits

All faculty and staff at Cuesta College have access to network-based resources that allow them to store important documents, emails and other digital work. The largest and highest use storage resources are the network shares (P and G drives) mapped to most computers at logon and each user’s email mailbox (Inbox and associated folders.) This document discusses the limitations of these storage resources and the policy to protect them.

A user’s mailbox and network shares are considered essential tools for many faculty and staff. Therefore, the availability and integrity of these storage resources are high priorities for Computer Services. Backups run a minimum of once every business day and for some data, as often as every few hours. In addition, all of the systems that support these resources have full redundancy so that any single failure does not result in downtime or data loss.

Because these storage resources are made available to every Cuesta College faculty and staff, the total size of the storage required to provide these resources is large. As of September 2006, the requirements for P and G drives and email was almost one-half a terabyte. Based on current growth treads and increasing user demand, we expect this to increase to a full terabyte within the next three years. The cost to maintain this much storage with frequent backups and at the required levels of redundancy is substantial. Because storage is expensive, availability typically lags behind demand. Therefore, storage is scarce.

Storage is also a shared resource. The underlying systems that support P and G drives and email stores are common. Increased use by one category, individual, or group of individuals implies less use by another category, individual, or group. In some cases, excessive use by one individual can lead to unavailability for all – “Out of Disk Space.” In order to prevent such occurrences and to accommodate a fair use for all, the Cuesta College Technology Committee has endorsed a Quota policy for these storage resources. This policy has been further endorsed by Cabinet.

Quota Policy

All three resources apply limits (a quota) to individual or department use of the resource. When a user or department reaches their quota for the resource, that person or department must either decrease their use of the resource or request a higher quota. Lower level quota requests are granted automatically. Higher level quota requests must be approved by the Technology Committee. Any request should be initiated by placing a work order at support.cuesta.edu.

The quota levels (and approval process) for each resource are identified below.

Personal (P) Drive
  • Tier 1 - 50 MB
    • All accounts are automatically placed in this tier.
    • A warning message will be emailed to the user when usage is at or above 45 MB (5 MB remaining.)
    • Write access will be disabled at 50 MB.
  • Tier 2 - 500 MB
    • Assignments to Tier 2 are approved upon request.
    • A warning message will be emailed to the user when usage is at or above 475 MB (25 MB remaining.)
    • Write access will be disabled at 500 MB.
  • Tier 3 - 2.5 GB
    • Assignments to Tier 3 require approval by the Technology Committee or the VP of Administrative Services.
    • A warning message will be emailed to the user when usage is at or above 2425 MB (75 MB remaining.)
    • Write access will be disabled at 2.5 GB.
  • Tier 4 - 5.0 GB
    • Assignments to Tier 4 require approval by the Technology Committee or the VP of Administrative Services.
    • A warning message will be emailed to the user when usage is at or above 4.9 GB (100 MB remaining.)
    • Write access will be disabled at 5.0 GB.
Group (G) Drive

Access to a department network file share is given to all instructional or administrative departments at Cuesta College upon request. Individual access is given to users based on their department association. On Windows, this network share is mapped to the G: drive. On Macs, an alias to this share is typically placed on the desktop.

Because department use of shared network storage varies so greatly at Cuesta College, it is not feasible to assign pre-existing quotas to G drives. Instead, quota limits are assigned to each department based on historical use. Changes to these levels will require approval by the Technology Committee or the VP of Administrative Services.

Email
  • Tier 1 – 80/120 MB
    • All email accounts are automatically placed in this tier.
    • A warning message will be sent to the account when it is at or above 78MB.
    • Sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 80MB.
    • Receiving and sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 120MB.
  • Tier 2 – 160/200 MB
    • Assignments to Email Tier 2 are approved upon request.
    • A warning message will be sent to the account when it is at or above 156MB
    • Sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 160MB
    • Receiving and sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 200MB
  • Tier 3 – 240/280 MB
    • Assignments to Email Tier 3 require approval by the Technology Committee or the VP of Administrative Services.
    • Warning message will be sent to the account when it is at or above 232MB
    • Sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 240MB
    • Receiving and sending email will be prohibited when the account is at or above 280MB

Summary

Computer Services, in conjunction with the Technology Committee and Cabinet, have implemented this Quota policy to help maintain reliable and equitable access to network resources for all faculty, staff, and departments. The overriding goal is to provide a useful service to our constituents. If you have questions about this policy or use of these resources, please contact Computer Services at x3248.

 

(Approved Sept 27 2002)
(Email space limits updated April 2004)
(P & G drive space limits updated April 2006)
(Original policy)
 

 
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