The Information Technology and Communications Office has significantly increased the Home Directory quota for all students, faculty and staff from a range of 75 to 125 megabytes to a new capacity of one gigabyte, or 1,000 megabytes.
Home Directory is an online storage service run by ITC. According to the ITC Web site, the service is intended to eliminate the need for floppy disks or other removable storage devices, as files stored on Home Directory can be accessed from any computer with Internet capability.
The quota change to Home Directory occurred at the beginning of this month, according to Martha Stearns, associate director of communications and systems for ITC. Prior to the change, undergraduates were limited to 75 megabytes, graduate students to 100, and faculty and staff to 125 megabytes.
Although ITC has set the quota at one gigabyte, they may have to return to the tiered system, Stearns said.
"If we experience problems, we'll probably have to reduce [the quota] some for students," Stearns said. "If every student decides to use a gig, it could cause performance problems."
ITC had been looking into expanding the quota for awhile and simply needed the money and equipment to do so, Stearns said, adding that ITC has not experienced any problems with the increased space so far.
Several students said they found the changed allotment useful. Third-year Engineering student Mansij Hans said he uses Home Directory quite often and is pleased with the increased space.
"I put a lot of my research files on Home Directory, so I can access them from different places like my lab, my home or my place on JPA," Hans said. "It gives a lot of flexibility. I think the upping is great for me, just from being in the sciences -- a lot of the files are really, really big."
Hans said he found out about the change from a friend who discovered it accidentally. He also said he wished ITC had officially informed students of the increased quota.
"I definitely think [some notice] would have been helpful," he said. "It would have saved me a few days of having to carry things around. It definitely would have been helpful, but now people have found out anyway."
Read More
U.Va. loses over $60 million in federal research cuts
By Bertie Azqueta | YesterdayThe impacted grants include three from the NIH, seven from the NEH, one from the United States Agency for International Development and four from the State Department.
Department of Education reverses course, awards Federal Executive Institute to U.Va.
By Ford McCracken | 4 days agoThe ED had previously awarded the institute to Charlottesville City Schools.
Students reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis
By Bertie Azqueta | 5 days agoAt the University, students shared a range of perspectives on his legacy of reform, inclusivity and his impact on the global Catholic community.
