Working with Research Storage shares (Ceph)

Here are some practical tips for working with your Research Storage shares on the Ceph Storage Cluster.

Checking Permissions

Checking Permissions from a Linux system

Using the Linux CLI, permissions can be viewed using the getfacl command.

eg. getfacl /data/researchHome/myname/

This will display the rwx permissions for the primary owner and group, as well as any additional users and/or groups granted access via ACLs.

Checking Permissions from a Windows system

  1. Using File Explorer, go to \\research-files.unbc.ca\
  2. Right-click on the share folder, and select Properties
  3. Select the Security tab
  4. This page will list all the users/groups applied to the folder, as well as their granted permissions

Checking Permissions from a Mac system

The simplest way to check permissions on your share from a Mac system would be by logging (ssh) into a Linux system where the share is Ceph mounted (eg: klinaklini.unbc.ca), and then use the getfacl command as mentioned above for Linux.

Restoring Files from Snapshots

Restoring Files using a Linux system

These instructions assume you are using a command line interface (CLI).

  1. Navigate to your network share. Either the main folder, or any sub-folder.
    • eg: cd /data/researchHome/myname
  2. Navigate into the hidden .snap folder (this folder is not visible, even when using the ls -a option)
    • cd .snap
  3. The .snap folder will contain a number of folders named "scheduled-<date>-<time>". These can be viewed with ls.
  4. Navigate into the desired snapshot folder
    • eg: cd scheduled-2024-04-26-00_00_00_UTC
  5. Locate and copy out any files you wish to restore, back to the share folder
    • eg: cp myfile.txt /data/researchHome/myname/myfile_restoredcopy.txt

Restoring Files using a Windows system

  1. Using File Explorer, go to \\research-files.unbc.ca\
  2. Right-click on the share folder, and select Properties
  3. Select the Previous Versions tab
  4. Select the desired snapshot, and then the Open button
    • Do not click the Restore button, unless you want to overwrite absolutely everything in the current folder with the version from the selected snapshot
  5. Find the file(s) or folder(s) you wish to restore, and copy them out of this snapshot folder and into the current folder

If you want some screenshots of this process, see the Recovering Lost Files in UNBC File Shares guide.

If the 'Previous Versions' tab is empty, that probably means this share hasn't been configured to display snapshots via SMB. Submit an IT Support request to have this adjusted.

Restoring Files using a Mac system

The simplest and the recommended method would be by logging (ssh) into a Linux system where the share is Ceph mounted (eg: klinaklini.unbc.ca), and then follow the instructions above for a Linux system.

However, files can also be restored locally on a Mac system if the share is SMB mounted. In that case, one has to open a terminal in the location of the share (right-click on the share and select 'New Terminal at Folder'), and then cd .snap to enter the snapshots folder and continue as per the Linux instructions.

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