J Drive

The J Drive is the perfect place to store all of your engineering files. Your files are available from virtually anywhere and are backed up every night. Files can be conveniently shared with others using groups.

Each CAEDM account and group has a separate network filespace to save files and access them later. Every J Drive user and group space is backed up nightly and is limited in size.

User Filespace

A typical J Drive file structure, including personal files, a www folder, and a groups folder

User filespace is personal filespace on the J Drive. No other user will be able to access files saved to a personal filespace, or J Drive. All CAEDM users have a generous amount of disk space on the J Drive, limited by a personal quota. A group filespace will appear as a folder on a personal filespace, but it is a separate entity, with an independent quota.

Besides the normal storage directories (Pictures, Videos, Documents), there are a couple of special directories in a J:Drive filespace. The 'groups' and 'www' directory both have a special function.

www Directory

The 'www' directory is the root directory of a personal webspace. It is empty by default, but if there is a file called 'index.html', it can be viewed from a browser at the URL 'http://www.et.byu.edu/~username'. Do not delete the www folder.

Groups Folder

A typical groups folder, including two groups a user is a member of.

The groups folder on the J Drive contains links to group filespaces that a user is a member of. Anyone with a CAEDM account can create a group,which by default has a group filespace. Users should not place files or folders directly in the groups folder, but in the groups themselves as seen in the example below. Do not delete or rename the 'groups' directory.

Quota

Every user has a J Drive with an individual quota, or limit to the filespace they can use. Every group also has its own quota, separate from any other group or user quota. Files in the scratch space (files in the 'scratch' directory) do not count against any quota.

Managing Quotas

J Drive usage and disk quota limits for users and groups can be viewed from the "My Disk Use" option of the "Files" menu on the CAEDM website.

There is a quota management tool included on all CAEDM lab Windows machines for the management and visualization of your filespace. It is especially helpful identifying large files that may have caused a user or group to be over quota. In the Start menu, it is called "Check J Drive Usage". Note: Since it is a Windows program, it sometimes cannot find hidden Linux files that start with a period, such as .cache or .settings.

Quota Extensions

Quota Extensions will only be given to users and groups after all reasonable efforts have been made to conform to the quotas. Extension requests must be signed by a sponsoring faculty and the reasons why you can not comply with the default quota must be given.

User Quota Extensions (preferred method)
  1. Login to the CAEDM Website
  2. Under the Files menu, click "My Disk Use"
  3. Click the "Quota Extension Form" at the bottom of the "Disk Use" page
  4. Print the form and fill out the remaining information
  5. Take the completed form to Daniel Fussell in EB 220
Group Quota Extensions (preferred method)
  1. The group owner must login to the CAEDM Website
  2. Under the Groups menu, click "Manage My Groups"
  3. Click the "More Space" link next to the appropriate group
  4. Print the form and fill out the remaining information
  5. Take the completed form to Daniel Fussell in EB 220


[Blank forms to fill out by hand may be downloaded here].

Class Quota Extensions

Some classes require a large amount of additional diskspace to complete assignments. A professor may request additional quota to be automatically allocated for all students in their sections, while enrolled in their course. After a user drops or completes the course, the additional quota will be removed. It is the users' responsibility to remove the additional files to get back within their "normal" quota when no longer associated with the course. Faculty needing to create a class quota extension for their students must contact CAEDM directly.

Going Over Quota

It is very important to note that the J:Drive will allow you to go over your quota for a short amount of time. This precaution is in place exclusively for the benefit of students dealing with massive files. Sometimes saving a multi-gigabyte file will take you over quota. If this happens, don't panic, but DO take the following action:

  • Check your quota from the My Disk Use webpage on the CAEDM website (this is good practice regardless).
  • If you are over quota, eliminate files or move them to a flash drive, CD-ROM, or scratch space until you are under quota.

If you do not follow the steps above to get under quota within a reasonable time frame, you will be unable to write to your personal J Drive or group that is over quota. When your J Drive or group is full, and cannot be written to, a number of bad things will happen. Users affected will not be able to log into linux at all, and windows applications will react unpredictably and strangely. If a user or group stays over quota for an extended amount of time, administrative action may be taken.

Video: The CAEDM J:Drive

Accessing the J Drive from On Campus

The J Drive is available by default from:

Windows Machines

Many BYU campus computers will be able to 'map' your J:Drive as a network drive. There is no software to install, or wizard to run. This capability is built into Windows. By mapping your J:Drive, your computer will treat and see your CAEDM J:Drive as it would any of its other local disk drives such as it's C:Drive or a USB thumbdrive. To map your J Drive, follow these instructions:

This PC/My Computer Method

  • Right click "This PC" (Windows 10) or "My Computer" (Windows 7) and select "Map Network Drive...".
  • Select j: as the drive in the "Drive" box.
  • Type in the "Folder" box \\fs-caedm.et.byu.edu\YOURCAEDMUSERNAME
  • Select "Connect using a different user name".
  • Enter "CAEDM_AD\" and then your CAEDM user name and password. For example: "CAEDM_AD\engineer1" (without the quotes)
  • Click "OK" and then "Finished".

Command Prompt Method

  • Use the 'net use' command with server 'fs-caedm.et.byu.edu'.
  • It should look like "net use j: \\fs-caedm.et.byu.edu\username"


To unmap the J Drive, do the following:

  • Right click "This PC" (Windows 10) or "My Computer" (Windows 7) .
  • Select "Disconnect Network Drive...".
  • Select from the list of network drives "J:".
  • Click "OK".


If you are using a laptop computer, keep in mind that BYU Guest wireless and other on-campus networks may not currently support mapping your J Drive. The easiest thing to do is connect physically by ethernet to BYU's network or to BYU Secure wireless if you wish to map your J Drive to your computer.

If you receive an error like "The specified network password is not correct." then you need to take the following steps:

  1. Go to Run (Windows + R) and type secpol.msc. Hit enter.
  2. Navigate to Local Policies > Security Options
  3. Double click on Network Security: LAN Manager Authentication Level
  4. Select "Send NTLMv2 response only. Refuse LM & NTLM"
  5. Click apply. Then, try mapping the drive again.

More information: superuser.com

Macintosh Machines

You can also access your J Drive from a Mac OS X machine on campus by mapping a Samba drive:

  • Select the Finder
  • From the top menu, select go > connect to server.
  • In the window type the following: smb://fs-caedm.et.byu.edu/YOURCAEDMUSERNAME
  • Click 'Connect'
  • A screen will pop up prompting you for your username and password. Enter the info you'd use to log into a CAEDM lab computer.
  • Done! You can access your J Drive files straight from your Mac's finder.

Linux Machines

You can use SCP to access your J Drive from anywhere with the server 'scp.et.byu.edu', or you can map the drive with SAMBA to fs-caedm.et.byu.edu.

  • In Nautilus (An app called files on most linux distributions) select "Other Locations" from the left bar
  • In the "Enter server address..." bar at the bottom type "ssh://<username>@scp.et.byu.edu"

Alternatively, you can access your J Drive using SAMBA. This only works while on campus or using CAEDM's VPN

  • In the "Enter server address...' bar at the bottom type "smb://<username>@fs-caedm.et.byu.edu/homes/"

Accessing the J Drive from Off Campus

Windows Machines

There are a few ways to access your J Drive files from off-campus:

VPN

By using the CAEDM VPN, you can map your J: Drive like you are physically on campus.

First, connect to the CAEDM VPN by following the instructions on the VPN page. Then, follow these instructions:

This PC/My Computer Method

  • Right click "This PC" (Windows 10) or "My Computer" (Windows 7) and select "Map Network Drive...".
  • Select j: as the drive in the "Drive" box.
  • Type in the "Folder" box \\fs-caedm.et.byu.edu\YOURCAEDMUSERNAME
  • Select "Connect using a different user name".
  • Enter "CAEDM_AD\" and then your CAEDM user name and password. For example: "CAEDM_AD\engineer1" (without the quotes)
  • Click "OK" and then "Finished".

Command Prompt Method

  • Use the 'net use' command with server 'fs-caedm.et.byu.edu'.
  • It should look like "net use j: \\fs-caedm.et.byu.edu\username"

To unmap the J Drive, do the following:

  • Right click "This PC" (Windows 10) or "My Computer" (Windows 7) .
  • Select "Disconnect Network Drive...".
  • Select from the list of network drives "J:".
  • Click "OK".


SCP or SFTP

These are two protocols for transferring or copying files from one computer to another. There are client applications such as Filezilla or WinSCP that allow you to work on your files in place or drag-and-drop from one computer to another. To use either one of these or one of the many other programs available, you may need to download and install them first.

For whichever program or application you choose to use:

Hostname: scp.et.byu.edu
Port: 22
User: your CAEDM username
Password: your CAEDM password

Connecting to your J Drive using WinSCP (NOTE: If you have FileZilla or another FTP client, these same settings will apply.):

  • Go to the WinSCP website and download the free client.
    • To install the software, download the "Installation Package."
    • To use the client on a computer without permission to install software, download the "Standalone Application."
  • Start WinSCP. Enter the following information in the corresponding fields:
Hostname: scp.et.byu.edu
User name: <Your CAEDM User Name>
Password: <Your CAEDM Password>
  • Click 'login'. (NOTE: You will recieve a message about trusting the server. Click 'yes' (if you trust us).)
  • WinSCP will then show a window with two sides: the left is your home computer, and the right shows files on your J Drive. You can drag files between your computer and your J Drive.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This method will probably not work from public hotspots like libraries or coffee shops, as the required port (22) is usually blocked.

Other Methods

Other methods for accessing the J Drive from a Windows computer:

  • Off-campus RGS workstations: Your J:Drive is mapped to them automatically.
  • Citrix applications: These have access to your J:Drive. You can save files to and open files from your J:Drive using these applications.
  • Email them to yourself: This works too. But keep in mind that some email providers may have caps on the size of the mail that can be sent and some files are too large to be sent.

Macintosh Machines

To access your J:Drive files from off campus on Mac OS X, do the following:

  • Set up the VPN.
  • Select the Finder
  • From the top menu, select go > connect to server. (or press command key + K)
  • In the window type the following: smb://fs-caedm.et.byu.edu/your_caedm_username
  • Click 'Connect'
  • A screen will pop up prompting you for your username and password. Enter the info you'd use to log into a CAEDM lab computer.
  • Done! You can access your J Drive files straight from your Mac's finder.

Linux Machines

You can use SCP to access your J Drive with the server 'scp.et.byu.edu' or connect to your J Drive using SAMBA and the CAEDM VPN

  • In Nautilus (An app called files on most linux distributions) select "Other Locations" from the left bar
  • In the "Enter server address..." bar at the bottom type "ssh://<username>@scp.et.byu.edu"

To connect to your J Drive using SAMBA first connect to CAEDM's VPN then

  • In the "Enter server address..." bar at the bottom type "smb://<username>@fs-caedm.et.byu.edu/homes/"

NOTE: Accessing your J Drive on your own computer from on or off campus is significantly slower than using CAEDM lab machines. If you can, try doing large file transfers on lab machines.

Backups

All user data not stored in the 'scratch' directory is backed up nightly. To restore lost data from the tape backup, use the CAEDM WebRestore tool accessible from the "Restore My Files" option in the "Files" menu of the CAEDM website.