DataVault

DataVault is a long-term, low-cost, immutable, and safe storage solution for your research data, which is no longer active or not intended for publication.

It is a low-cost storage solution for master copies of data which are no longer active and either not intended for open access publication or too large for the open access research data repository. Each 'vault’ represents a research project, and can have any number of separate deposits.

DataVault connects with DataStore so, once you have finished working with the data and are ready to archive, you can transfer the files to DataVault.

Everything in DataVault is kept secure and private. You, and any designated colleagues, will be able to retrieve the data but it will not be publicly available.

The deposit will be connected to Pure where you can link it to information about any related research outputs. Once you have created your vault, a dataset metadata record will be created in Pure and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) minted, so there's no need to enter the same information twice.

You can include multiple files in a deposit, up to 100TB. Multiple deposits can be added to the same vault or ‘archive’, allowing you to save and retrieve discrete subsets of data. Data from a separate project should be archived into a different DataVault vault with its own Pure dataset record.

The data will be kept in an encrypted state offline for you, or your nominated delegate, to retrieve in the future as and when required or to share with an external party. DataVault has a review process for managing the retention of data, so that the appropriate users will be consulted at the appropriate time as to whether there should be an extension to how long the data are kept, relative to the original review date set by the PI.

DataVault is a long-term storage solution, not a repository. Certain digital preservation actions are performed, such as three copies stored in different locations (two on tape, one in the cloud), and fixity checks. Minimal metadata is required and file migrations are not conducted.

Free or paid for

There is no charge for Vaults containing 100GB or less. All other deposits are charged at a standard rate per terabyte per year, minimum 3 years; charges are calculated on a pro-rata basis. A typical vault is stored for ten years.

Billing is charged directly to research projects and can be arranged at your convenience. The price is set to be lower than the standard rate for disc storage.

Want to share your data more openly? See how DataShare compares to DataVault.

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