Network Drives


Overview of Data Lab Network Drives

The Data Lab maintains three network drives, the H, M, and S, which contain data and information related to GIS. Users are automatically connected to these drives on Data Lab machines. On personal devices and non-Data-Lab computers, users will need to manually connect to these drives. 

  • The H drive is a user’s personal network drive with 10 GB of storage for students enrolled in a GIS course.
    • H drive path for Windows: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\gisusers$\yourUTLN\
    • H drive path for MacOS: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/gisusers$/yourUTLN/
  • The M drive contains large & frequently used GIS datasets organized by geographic location and source. This data is read-only.
    • M drive path for Windows: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
    • M drive path for MacOS: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
  • The S drive contains information regarding classes, projects, and Data Lab Administration.
    • S drive path for Windows: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\gisprojects$
    • S drive path for MacOS: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/gisprojects$

Mapping Network Drives on a Tufts Computer Lab Windows PC

  1. Ensure the computer is connected to the Tufts network and that you are logged in with your Tufts account.
  2. Open Windows File Explorer and click This PC on the left. On a Windows 11 PC, click the then Map Network Drive. On a Windows 10 PC, click Computer > Map Network Drive from the ribbon above.
  3. Select the desired drive letter (H, M, or S) from the Drive drop-down.
  4. Type the path for the desired network drive in the Folder field and click Finish.
    • H drive: \\rstore\gisusers$\yourUTLN\ (remember to replace yourUTLN with your Tufts username)
    • M drive: \\rstore\tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
    • S drive: \\rstore\gisprojects$

Mapping Network Drives on a Tufts Computer Lab MacOS Computer

  1. Ensure the computer is connected to the Tufts network and that you are logged in with your Tufts account.
  2. Open Finder and then select Go > Connect to Server from the drop-down menu.
  3. Type the path for the desired network drive in the Server Address field and then click Connect.
    • H drive: smb://rstore/gisusers$/yourUTLN/ (remember to replace yourUTLN with your Tufts username)
    • M drive: smb://rstore/tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
    • S drive: smb://rstore/gisprojects$

Mapping Network Drives on a Personal Windows PC

  1. Ensure your computer is connected to the Tufts network either via ethernet, the Tufts_Secure WiFi network, or the Tufts VPN.
  2. Open Windows File Explorer and click This PC on the left. On a Windows 11 PC, click the then Map Network Drive. On a Windows 10 PC, click Computer > Map Network Drive from the ribbon above.
  3. Select the desired drive letter (H, M, or S) from the Drive drop-down.
  4. Type the path for the desired network drive in the Folder field.
    • H drive: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\gisusers$\yourUTLN\ (remember to replace yourUTLN with your Tufts username)
    • M drive: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
    • S drive: \\rstore.uit.tufts.edu\gisprojects$
  5. Ensure both Reconnect at Sign-In and Connect Using Different Credentials are checked and then click Finish.
  6. Enter your Tufts username in the following format: TUFTS\yourUTLN (remember to replace yourUTLN with your Tufts username)
  7. Enter your Tufts password and check Remember my Credentials.
  8. Ensure the domain is listed as TUFTS and click OK.

Mapping Network Drives on a Personal MacOS Computer

  1. Ensure your computer is connected to the Tufts network either via ethernet, the Tufts_Secure WiFi network, or the Tufts VPN.
  2. Open Finder and then select Go > Connect to Server from the drop-down menu.
  3. Type the path for the desired network drive in the Server Address field and then click Connect.
    • H drive: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/gisusers$/yourUTLN/ (remember to replace yourUTLN with your Tufts username)
    • M drive: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/tts_rsch_gis_dataset02$
    • S drive: smb://rstore.uit.tufts.edu/gisprojects$
  4. Log in with your Tufts username and password when prompted.

Requesting Research Storage (R Drive)

For more extensive storage needs, Tufts Research Technology provides network storage for research (R Drive). Faculty, researchers, and graduate students may request networked research storage starting at 50 GB up to several terabytes (TB), based on their identified research-specific computational and data acquisition needs.

To request research storage or for more information, please visit the Access Tufts page on Research Storage.