BUShare U-Drive

Student Network Storage (U-Drive)

Student Network Storage (U-Drive) provides students with 5GB of local network storage for the academic year. This storage is ideal for students who are working with data files that require faster input/output for image manipulation, graphics, CAD Systems, etc. Most of this work would occur in computer labs or in the BingView (VDI) environment.

U-Drive storage can be requested by faculty for an entire class or by individual students who need local network storage for working with larger sized files. At the end of each final summer session, storage is backed up to the student's Google Drive as a .zip file. Keep in mind, that at the end of the last summer session, all data in a student's U-Drive will be zipped up into a folder designated by the academic year and copied to the student's Google Drive. The local U: drive data will then be deleted. Students will need to request U-Drive storage for the next year if they need it, otherwise they will be able to use Google Drive for their data storage.

How do I request it?

Faculty should request student storage for their class at least 1 month before the semester starts using the Request Form in IT Self Service: Service Now. Student storage for classes will be created 2 days before class starts and any students who are added after the first day will need to request a U-Drive individually after the initial class load is added to the system. Students enrolled in a Watson College course will automatically receive a U-Drive and do not need to request a U-Drive. 

Individual students can request a U-drive account for the academic year by using the Request Form in IT Self Service.

How do I access it?
In computer labs managed by ITS and in BingView, your U-Drive will be accessible when you log into the computer as a mapped drive.

Students that want to manually mount their 'U-Drive' from a Mac OS or Windows OS need to map their drive as follows below...

Mapping BUShare to your U-Drive on Windows OS | Mac OS | Linux

Mapping BUShare to your U-Drive on Windows OS 

Target Audience: Students that want to manually mount their 'U-Drive' from a Windows OS computer not bound to an Active Directory domain (BU or PODs, for example).

STEP 1:

Click "This PC", "Start" or "My Computer" depending on OS.

Select "Map network drive..." in pop up menu.

STEP 2:

Use Drive: pulldown to choose "U:".

Then in "Folder:" text box, enter \\BUShare.bu.binghamton.edu\[your PODs ID]$
for example, \\BUShare.bu.binghamton.edu\baxterbearcat1$

Then check both boxes as shown below.

Click "Finish".

STEP 3:

Enter "BU\" followed by your PODs ID in the first text box,
for example, BU\baxterbearcat1.

In the second text box, enter your PODs password.
You will not see your password, it will be hidden.

Check the "Remember my credentials" box, if this is your private trusted computer.
Then click on the "OK" button.

STEP 4:

You should now see the files on your BUShare U-Drive.

If you do not, make sure you have your PODs user credentials correct. If you're still having difficulty contact the Help Desk.

Mapping BUShare to your U-Drive on MAC OS

El Capitan (10.11.x); Sierra (10.12.x); High Sierra (10.13.x); Mojave (10.14.x)

Target Audience: Students that want to manually mount their 'U-Drive' from a macOS computer. 

Configuration Method: Finder > Go > Connect to Server

Prerequisites: Access to U-Drive is not automatic. U-Drive storage can be requested by faculty for an entire class or by individual students who need local network storage for working with larger sized files.

STEP 1: Open 'Connect to Server' Window for Configuration

In the Finder's Menu Bar, choose
Go > Connect to Server

STEP 2: Connect to Server

In the Server Address field, type:
smb://bushare.bu.binghamton.edu/yourpodsid$
You must include the $.
Click 'Connect'

TIP: Click the '+' sign to save the Server URL to 'Favorite Servers' for future use.

STEP 3: Enter your PODs credentials, for example: baxterbearcat1

Type in your PODs password, it will be hidden.
Click 'Connect'.

STEP 4: Completion: Your U-Drive will mount on the desktop

If you do not see your U-Drive on the Desktop, go to: Finder > Preferences.
In the Finder Preferences window, tick 'Connected servers'.

Mapping BUShare to your U-Drive on Linux

### mkdir /<mount point>
### /bin/mount -t cifs -o rw,username=<username>,domain=pods //<sharename><share domain>/<username>$ /<mount point>
### You will be asked for a password. A credentials file can be created so that is not needed for every login