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Workspaces

With workspace you can create a temporary directory for your data on /work. It is intended for temporary data storage. The current maximum duration is 30 days (with extendability) with a quota of 5 TB. The workspace is not backed up and is removed on the expiration date. The files are still available for another 30 days and can be restored within that time frame.

Warning

After the 30-day grace period has expired, the data will be permanently deleted without further notice!

Creating a workspace

To create a workspace, use ws_allocate <name> <duration>.

For example:

ws_allocate MySpace 10

This creates a workspace named MySpace for 10 days. The command returns the path to the new directory. The maximum allowed duration is 30 days. If you do not set a time the workspace duration is 1 day.

$ ws_allocate roots 1
Info: creating workspace.
/work/ak46soti-roots
remaining extensions  : 6
remaining time in days: 1

Listing workspaces

Use ws_list to list owned workspaces. Options include verbosity and sorting.

$ ws_list
id: roots
     workspace directory  : /work/ak46soti-roots
     remaining time       : 4 days 3 hours
     creation time        : Thu Jan 16 13:26:42 2025
     expiration date      : Sat Feb 15 13:26:42 2025
     filesystem name      : ws
     available extensions : 5

Releasing workspaces

Use ws_release <name> to release a workspace. This makes the ID reusable but does not delete data immediately. The releases workspace is stored for additional 30 days before it is deleted. Real deletion usually occurs during the nighttime. During these 30 days it can be restored and still counts towards your quota. You can also delete data from a workspace before releasing it. This way you can free up space before the workspace is released.

It is also possible to delete all data while releasing the workspace. This way you will regain your quota. Be aware though, that the data can then no longer be restored! To delete data while releasing extend the command with the --delete-data flag like ws_release --delete-data <name>. The following prompt gives you 5 seconds to abort the command before the deletion is done.

ws_release --delete-data test2
Info: deleting files workspace as --delete-data was given
Info: you have 5 seconds to interrupt with CTRL-C to prevent deletion
Info: deleted 739 files

Restoring a workspace

Info

Restoring a workspace requires a new workspace to be created first!

First create a new workspace to which the data from the released workspace should be restored. After your new workspace is created, use ws_restore -l to get a list of all your restorable Workspaces, with there full names, username-workspace~name-unique~number. To restore the data, use ws_restore <workspace~to~restore> <new~workspace~name>.

For example:

ws_restore ku294muny-test-1713162655 newworkspace

This restores the date from the workspace named ku294muny-test-1713162655 to the workspace newworkspace.

Extending workspaces

Extend a workspace using ws_extend <name> <days>. Each call consumes an extension, unless the new expiration date is shorter than the previous one. You can extend the workspace 6 times for 30 days each, which means a maximum workspace duration of 180 days.

$ ws_extend roots 30
Info: extending workspace.
/work/ak46soti-roots
remaining extensions  : 4
remaining time in days: 30

Reminder eMails

Set a reminder email before a workspace expires with

ws_send_ical <workspace~name> "<your~email>".

Please check whether you have received the notification. We recommend that you use your university email, as other email providers may block these emails.

Sharing

Create a group workspace with -g. Use -G <groupname> for writable group workspaces like ws_allocate <name> <duration> -g -G "sc_users". This shares (writable) the folder with every user. Share workspaces (read only) with ws_share share <workspace> <username>.

To see a a list of users the workspace is shared with, use ws_share list <workspace~name>.

You can request manageable groups to make access management easier. Just replace sc_users in the example above with your requested group to allow access to that group.