Instrument Access

General

Access to instrumentation in the Division of Science Core requires authorization from a Core staff member. Researchers must be properly trained by a staff member before working independently with any of the laboratory instrumentation.
- Flow Cytometry Core Training Policy
Once you are properly trained, a Core staff member will grant you the following:

An account with authorization to log in to the instruments on which you have been trained.
Activation of your Harvard ID on the building security system, which will allow you to enter the labs outside normal business hours.
Access to SPINAL, the online instrument scheduling system.

If you have difficulty with an instrument or discover that there is a problem with it, please notify staff member.

Accounts

General
To ensure that center instrumentation is used properly, we have implemented a security system at the level of the lab computer. Each user will be given log-in access to the instruments on which they have been trained. If you already have an Research Computing account, we will use this account. If you don't alredy have an RC account, we will create one for you.

Passwords and Log In.
- Do not share your password with others.
- Do not log in for other users.
- Please log out when you are finished.
Local Data Storage
Do not save files to local hard drives (see Data Storage Policy).
Account Expiration
Every year, we will send an email request for account renewal. If you do not reply, your account will be deactivated.

Data Storage and Transfer Policy
Users with lab folders on the Research Computing network storage space can connect directly to their folders on \\rcfs1, \\rcfs2, \\rcfs3, or \\rcfs 4 and should use these servers to store their data. There are no time limits for these servers as they belong to the individual labs.
Users without lab folders can temporarily store data generated on the center’s instruments in a folder on \\rcstore02.rc.fas.harvard.edu\data (if you don’t have a lab folder, this will be mapped as your Z: drive in Windows Explorer). Within this area, users can create folders and store up to 2.5 GB of data. These data will be accessible to download remotely for 30 days by either HTTPS or FTPS. You will need to authenticate with your Active Directory (RC) username and password.

HTTPS:

Point your web browser to https://data.rc.fas.harvard.edu.
Log in using the format domain\username and your password.
Open your subfolder and click on files to open or save them.
This will only allow you to open and save a single file at a time.

FTP:

Use an FTP client such as Filezilla (freeware).
Enter Host: data.rc.fas.harvard.edu.
You may leave username and password blank
Click "Quickconnect".
Browse for your data in the folder in the lower right field.
Browse for the desired destination on in the lower left field.
Drag files from the right hand field to the left hand field to copy them from the data folder to your computer.
Data storage on local hard drives is prohibited, and any files found on the hard drives may be deleted without warning.

Instrument Scheduling

General

The center's primary scheduling system, SPINAL, is used for instrument reservations and for charging usage fees. A seconcary calendar called Calcium is used to reserve time on a very small subset of instruments. We post important announcements about instrument status on our and use the scheduling history to help justify renewing service contracts, upgrading instruments, and purchasing new ones.

Access

The link for SPINAL is https://webapps.sciences.fas.harvard.edu/spinal/. Log into SPINAL with your Active Directory account (the same username and password that you use to log in to the istrument).

The link for Calcium is http://sysbio.harvard.edu/csb/cgi-bin/calcium36.plx?Op=UserLogin. Your username and password are distinct from your RC (Active Directory) network username and password.

Guidelines

Center staff manage the schedules for the Affymetrix GeneChip instruments.
Here you can find instructions for the Calcium system.
Here you can find instructions for the SPINAL system.
Instruments can be scheduled in predetermined time blocks up to a specified daily maximum. On certain instruments users may reserve more than the daily maximum after normal business hours (before 8am, after 6pm, or on weekends).
20 minute rule: If a scheduled user does not appear within 20 minutes of the scheduled start time, the instrument is free to use.
If you repeatedly schedule an instrument and do not appear during your scheduled time, or abuse these guidelines, your scheduling privileges will be revoked.
Exceptions can be made to the guidelines and time blocks/maxima in certain circumstances. This should be discussed with Claire Reardon.