Active Data Storage
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Storage is charged at $100 per TB, per year, billed through iLab.
Each lab gets its own directory, accessible via the Luria cluster head node and through instruments and personal endpoints over SMB.
Storage is generally not accessible via the public internet, so use of the MIT is required for off-campus connections.
To request access, please send an email to and indicate your lab affiliation.
On Luria, you can access your lab data at /net/bmc-labX/data/lab/<share> or /net/bmc-pub14/data <share>, where <share> is your lab name (your PI's last name in lower case, e.g. sharp or jacks). For example:
or
Note: the above location is only an example. You should change the PATH to your own lab share.
Click on Finder to get a new Finder window.
Click on the Go menu on the top of the screen.
Choose Connect to Server under the Go menu.
Enter the the address of the share, for example: smb://bmc-lab6.mit.edu/share
You should replace "bmc-lab6" with the actual storage server name (e.g. bmc-pub14 or bmc-lab5), and replace <share> with the lab or core name that you are looking to access (e.g., jacks, histology)
Click Connect
Enter your MIT Kerberos username (not email) and Kerberos password. These fields are case sensitive.
If you put in your MIT Kerberos username and password in correctly but are still not able to log in, try appending win\ to your username and trying again. For example, change mykerberos to win\mykerberos.
Now your network drive should be connected. Browse the drive to access your files and folders.
Open the Windows File Explorer.
Click "Map network drive" on the toolbar to open a dialog box.
Choose a drive letter not being used for the network folder in the Drive drop-down list.
In the Folder box, enter the network share path name, e.g. \\bmc-lab3.mit.edu\<share>.
Make sure you use backwards slashes like in the above example, not forward slashes.
You should replace "bmc-lab3" with the actual storage server name (e.g., bmc-pub17), and replace <share> with your lab name (your PI's last name in lower case, e.g. "sharp" or "jacks").
Check the "Connect using different credentials" box. Then, click Finish.
In the Enter Network Password dialog, enter WIN\ followed by your MIT Kerberos username (not email) and Kerberos password.
Click OK to connect.
Default permission of new folders and files: owner read/write, lab members read only and no access for others.
Luria users: use the command chmod to change permissions. For example, use chmod -R g+w to add group write access for a folder
If you are collaborating with your lab members on a folder that needs to be group writable, it is recommended that you set umask 002 in your ~/.bashrc file so that new files/directories will be created with owner and group writing privileges, but read only access for others.
Windows users: Right click your folder or file and then select properties. Go to the security tab to change permissions.
Mac users: To change permissions, access the data via the cifs protocol instead of smb, i.e., cifs://bmc-lab2.mit.edu/<share> instead of smb://bmc-lab2.mit.edu/<share>. Right click your folder or file and then select Get Info. Go to the Sharing & Permissions section to change custom access for group members.
Double-check your MIT Kerberos username and password. Remember, it's your username, not your email address.
Confirm that 1-4 hours have passed after you've been added to the appropriate Moira list that controls access to the storage target.
Confirm whether adding the domain prefix (WIN) makes a difference:
For Windows: Use WIN\your_kerberos_username
For MacOS: Use just your Kerberos username
Verify that you're connected to the MIT VPN if you're off-campus.
If you've recently changed your password, make sure you're using the new one.
If you're getting "path not found" or similar errors:
Verify the exact server name and share path. Common mistakes include:
Using forward slashes (/) instead of backslashes (\) on Windows
Mistyping the server name (e.g., "bmc-lab3" instead of "bmc-lab2")
Using the wrong share name (remember, it's usually your PI's last name in lowercase)
Check that you're using the correct protocol:
Windows: \\server_name\share_name
MacOS: smb://server_name/share_name
Check your network connection. Run a speed test to ensure you have adequate bandwidth.
If you're off-campus, verify that your connection and VPN connection are stable.
Try connecting at a different time. High network traffic during peak hours (10AM to 4PM) can affect performance.
After checking the above, try completely disconnecting your active connections. This means fully disconnecting any mounted network locations, and closing any files or terminal sessions that are accessing said storage target.
The exact error message you're seeing.
The steps you've already taken to troubleshoot.
Your operating system and version.
The server and share name you're trying to access.
If you are aware of other users in your lab or group that are experiencing the same issue, and if so, for how long.
Ensure you have the necessary permissions to access the path. You may need to contact your lab administrator or for access.
If you are still experiencing issues, we recommend trying the open-source SMB client browser , with . If using the Cyberduck client resolves your issue(s), then the issue lies with your client sessions, not the server.
If you continue to experience problems after trying these solutions, please contact for further assistance. Be sure to include:
