Shared Storage Management: Drive Verification

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Who Should Use This Tool
• What Is Verification
• Verification Questions
  • Question 1: Continued Need
  • Question 2: Primary Purpose
  • Question 3: Types of Files
• Verification Timeline
  • Timeline Summary
• Verification Assignment
• Verification Notifications
• Best Practices
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Getting Help

Overview

The Shared Storage Management tool at Shared Storage Management helps Google Shared Drive managers confirm and document how their shared drives are used.

Google Shared Drive data remains with Texas A&M University until someone deletes it manually, even after the campus members (CMs) who created or managed the shared drive leave Texas A&M. The annual verification process confirms that Texas A&M does not pay to store data that no longer serves a purpose or lacks an active manager, and it supports institutional accountability and reporting requirements.

This tool does not audit or monitor user behavior. It collects high-level information about a shared drive so that Texas A&M maintains the required records about shared drive ownership, purpose, and data use.

Microsoft SharePoint sites join the Shared Storage Management tool in a future release.

Who Should Use This Tool

This tool serves shared drive managers.

A manager holds full management-level control of the shared drive, including administrative settings and membership management. A manager verifies every shared drive that the manager oversees once each year.

What Is Verification

Verification is the process of reviewing a shared drive and submitting basic information about it. Every shared drive requires verification each year.

Initial verification for a new shared drive is due within two weeks of the drive's creation date. Verification for an existing, ongoing shared drive is due on the anniversary of the date the drive was last verified.

A manager verifies a shared drive at any time. The next verification is then due one year from the date of that verification.

Verification confirms the following details:

• Whether the shared drive remains necessary
• The purpose of the shared drive
• The type of data the shared drive contains

After submission, the tool stores this information as a record associated with the shared drive, and the record appears in the drive's details.

Verification Questions

Verification presents the following questions.

Question 1: Continued Need

Do you still need this Shared Drive and its associated files?

• Yes, I still need this drive
• No, I can delete this drive

Question 2: Primary Purpose

Briefly describe the primary purpose of this Shared Drive.

Provide a short description of how the shared drive is used. Examples include the following:

• Class files for a group project
• Grant-funded research data
• Information for a short-term university project

Question 3: Types of Files

What kind of files are stored in this Shared Drive? Select all options that apply.

• Student Coursework
• Financial Records
• Research Data
• Administrative Data
• Health or Clinical Data (HIPAA or HITECH)
• Student Information (FERPA)
• Sensitive Personal Information (PII or SPI)
• Export Controlled Data (EAR or ITAR)
• Classified Information (CUI or Classified National Security Information)
• Other, followed by a free-text field

Verification Timeline

Initial verification is due within two weeks of the shared drive's creation date, and verification continues each year after that. When verification is not completed, the shared drive moves through the following staged process.

Timeline Summary

Verification Assignment

Any manager of a shared drive completes the verification task for that drive. Note the following key points:

• A manager assigns verification responsibility to another manager.
• Only one manager completes the verification for a shared drive.
• Assigned managers receive email notifications that remind them to complete verification.

Verification Notifications

The tool sends all verification notifications by email to the assigned manager or to all managers of the shared drive.

• Reminder notifications, shown in yellow on the timeline, go to the assigned manager or to all managers at regular intervals.
• Status change notifications, shown in red on the timeline, go to all managers when the shared drive's access level changes.

Managers receive multiple reminders before any access restriction takes effect.

Best Practices

To keep shared drives in good standing, follow these practices:

• Assign at least two managers to each shared drive.
• Complete verification as soon as the email notification arrives.
• Provide a clear, high-level description of the shared drive's purpose. For example:
  • Class files for a group project
  • Grant-funded research data
  • Information for a short-term university project
• Select all applicable data categories when identifying the type of files stored.
• Select No, I can delete this drive during verification when the shared drive is no longer needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is verification required?

Verification is required once each year. Initial verification for a new shared drive is due within two weeks of the drive's creation date, and each later verification is due one year after the previous verification.

Who completes the verification?

Any manager of the shared drive completes the verification, including a manager who receives the assigned verification task.

Can a content manager verify a shared drive?

No. Verification requires the manager role. A content manager cannot complete the verification.

What happens after a missed deadline?

The shared drive locks as read-only on the verification deadline, which follows two weeks of verification reminders. When the shared drive remains unverified, it moves to the Deleted Drives folder approximately one month later, and a drive manager recovers it from that folder. For the full schedule, see the Timeline Summary.

Can a deleted shared drive be recovered?

Yes. A drive manager recovers a deleted shared drive and its data through Day 132. From Day 132 through Day 152, only a tenant administrator recovers the data. Contact Help Desk Central for assistance with administrator recovery. After Day 152, the shared drive and its data are unrecoverable.

What happens when no active manager remains?

A shared drive without an active manager becomes orphaned and follows the deletion timeline described above. For this reason, assign at least two managers to every shared drive.

Where is verification completed?

Go to Shared Storage Management and log in with a Texas A&M NetID and password to view every shared drive that the account manages.

The application does not load. What should I do?

In some cases, accumulated browser cookies and site data prevent the application from loading correctly.

1. Clear the browser's cookies. For instructions for common browsers, see How To: Clear Cache and Cookies on Common Browsers.
2. Reload Shared Storage Management.

When the application still does not load, contact the departmental IT support team or Help Desk Central for assistance.

Getting Help

For assistance with the Shared Storage Management tool, use either of the following options:

• Contact the local IT support team.
• Contact Help Desk Central at helpdesk@tamu.edu.