Tier 1 RStore Storage#

Tier 1 RStore is high-speed, networked research storage designed for individual researchers or groups who need fast, reliable storage for research instruments, active collaboration and file sharing. Unlike Tier 1 HPC, RStore is not mounted on the HPC compute nodes and is intended for general research use outside of the cluster.

Important

Charges of $85/TB/year apply to storage usage exceeding the 10 TB base allocation, effective July 1, 2026. See RT Announcements for full details.

Storage Details#

Detail	Value
Technology	Vast, SSD
Starting quota	100 GB minimum
Base allocation	10 TB at no cost (if eligible faculty member)
Cost beyond base	$85/TB/year (effective July 1, 2026)

Prerequisites#

Active Tufts account
Faculty sponsorship for research storage share
Off-campus access requires Tufts VPN

Requesting Storage#

Submit a Research Storage Request to:

Request a new RStore share
Increase an existing quota

Only Tufts University faculty can be the PI of a research storage share. Use the Data Storage Finder to confirm RStore is the right tier for your needs.

Access Methods#

Network Drive (SMB/NFS)#

RStore is typically connected directly to end user workstations or laptops. It can be mounted as a network drive on Windows or Mac for direct file access over the Tufts network. Off-campus access requires Tufts VPN.

Mac#

Open Finder and press Command+K.

Enter the path to your RStore share:

smb://rstore.it.tufts.edu/RStoreDriveName

Click Connect.

Windows#

Open File Explorer and right-click This PC.
Select Map network drive….
In the Drive dropdown, select a drive letter (R, S, T, etc.).
In the Folder text box, enter the path to your RStore share:
```
\\rstore.it.tufts.edu\RStoreDriveName
```
For Tufts-owned computers, click Finish.

For personal computers, check Connect using different credentials before clicking Finish, then enter your Tufts credentials at the prompt:
- Username: TUFTS\Tufts_Username
- Password: Tufts_Password
Confirm the domain shown reads TUFTS, then click OK.