Home Directory Service
An Introduction to the Home Directory Service
Home Directory allows all UVa faculty, staff, and students to store files online and access them from any computer connected to the UVa network, whether on- or off-Grounds. This page describes the features and advantages of using the Home Directory Service (HDS) and how to get started using the HDS.
Features & Advantages of Using Home Directory
- Convenient online file storage — You can save, store, and access up to 4 Gigabytes (GB) of files on a central file service. This eliminates the need for storage media like CDs and flash drives, since files stored on the Home Directory Service are accessible from anywhere.
- Backup copies of your documents — Within certain time limits, files are safe in case of hardware failure. If your personal files are saved to the Home Directory Service and the hard disk on your computer crashes, copies of your work captured when the HDS is backed up daily will be available for at least a week (sometimes longer). (Note: Unfortunately, if you create a new file and delete it before any backup happens, the file is irretrievably lost.)
- Easy Web publishing — Home Directory allows you to publish and manage webpages. Your personal webpage URL is: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~YourID (where YourID is your UVa computing ID (e.g., mst3k).)
Getting Started with Home Directory
In order to use the Home Directory service, you must have:
- An account with storage space assigned on blue.unix.virginia.edu. To find out if you have an account, type your UVa Computing ID here: If you do not have an account, go to the accounts page and create a UNIX account, which also gives you access to the Home Directory Service.
- An active Eservices account. To create, activate or change the password on your Eservices account, use the Eservices account management site.
Once you have the required accounts, you can access the Home Directory from any computer connected to the UVa network via:
- The Home Directory Web Interface;
- The Home Directory Desktop Utility (download and installation instructions available on Accessing Home Directory page);
- Mapping a drive in Windows;
- Mounting a volume in Mac OS X or UNIX; or
- Secure FTP (SFTP) via SecureFX or Fugu (available from ITS's Software Central).
