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General Questions About IDAS

What is IDAS?

The Interactive Data Analytics Service (IDAS) is provided by the University of Iowa Information Technology Services - Research Services (ITS-RS). IDAS supports large-scale and collaborative data analytics using interactive tools such as RStudio for R and Jupyter Notebook for Python, R, and Julia. Users will benefit from High Performance Computing (HPC) resources while performing their interactive data analysis tasks.

If you are new to IDAS or interactive data analytics, please take a look at the information on this page: Introduction to Interactive Data Analytics for New Users.

What tools are available for use in IDAS?

IDAS currently supports RStudio for R, and Jupyter Notebook for Python, R, and Julia. A command line interface is also available. Research users can mount their Argon homes and LSS shares in IDAS.

How do I request an account?

Please see the information on Requesting An IDAS Account.

Who is eligible to use IDAS?

Current University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students can request to use IDAS for research and teaching.

Is there any fee to use IDAS?

There is currently no fee to use IDAS for current University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students.

I'm new to Jupyter Hub and/or RStudio. How do I use IDAS?

Please see the information on Using IDAS.

Are my data backed up on IDAS?

Data on IDAS are NOT backed up. Please regularly download your data, codes, and other files from your IDAS account to your own device. Research users can also store their data on LSS shares and mount their LSS shares in IDAS.

What other computing services can be used with IDAS?

Research users can mount their Argon homes and LSS shares in IDAS. Once you have a research account, you can choose to mount your Argon home or LSS shares when you log in to IDAS. For more information about spawning an IDAS research instance, please see Accessing IDAS for Research Use.

Can I connect to Research Data Storage Service (RDSS) from IDAS?

No, RDSS is not accessible from IDAS.

How can I upload data to IDAS?

HTTP upload:
- You can upload files using the “Upload” button in Jupyter Notebook or RStudio.
- The file size limit is 10GB.
- The upload speed depends on your internet connection and might be slower if you are using VPN.
- Before uploading files, please make sure you have enough space in your IDAS home drive to accommodate the additional files. For more information about IDAS home drives, please see this article.
(For research users) Mounting Argon homes and LSS shares:
- If you have an Argon account or Large Scale Storage (LSS) shares, you can mount them when you spawn an IDAS research instance. This option allows you to access data in your Argon home or LSS shares while you work in IDAS.
- For more information about how to mount Argon home and LSS shares in IDAS, please see step 6 in Accessing IDAS for Research Use.
(For class instructors) Mounting class shares via CIFS/SMB:
- If your class uses IDAS and you have requested a shared folder for your class, you can mount your class share to your workstation via CIFS/SMB.
- Paths to class shares vary. Please contact us at research-computing@uiowa.edu to discuss this option.

Is IDAS approved to be used with restricted data?

If you would like to use Restricted or Critical data in IDAS, please reach out to the ITS Research Services team at research-computing@uiowa.edu for a consultation. Please see the Data Classification Guide to IT Services for more information, including definitions of different data types and a table of IT services and the types of data permitted with them.

Whom do I contact if I have further questions?

Please reach out to Cody B Johnson and Giang Rudderham at research-computing@uiowa.edu. Support is generally available Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. excluding University holidays.

Questions About Using IDAS for Teaching

I'm interested in using IDAS for teaching my course. How do I start?

We are glad you are interested in using IDAS for your course! Please read our Interactive Data Analytics Service Documentation in order to find answers to common questions. We are also more than happy to meet and talk through any questions you might have. Please reach out to research-computing@uiowa.edu to ask your questions or schedule a meeting.

If you decide to request IDAS for your course, please fill out the following Workflow form: https://workflow.uiowa.edu/form/idas-class-request.

I've requested to use IDAS for teaching my course. Do my students have to request their individual IDAS accounts?

No, students enrolled in your course will automatically be given access to your course instance on IDAS. Access to the course instance will be automatically adjusted for students who add or drop the course after the semester has started.

However, if you would like to give access to your TA's, additional instructors, or students who unofficially audit the course, you need to add them to your Workflow form using the steps here.

I've requested to use IDAS for teaching two separate courses. Will I have separate IDAS instances for those courses?

Yes, each course will have a separate IDAS instance. That means students enrolled only in one course will not be able to see the class materials posted in the IDAS instance for the other course.

I've requested to use IDAS for teaching my course. How long does it take for my request to be approved?

This depends on the complexity of your request. Our Systems Admins team will build an instance specifically for your course and grant access to students who are enrolled in the course. In general, if you are interested in using IDAS to teach a course, please let us know as soon as possible by filling out this Workflow form: https://workflow.uiowa.edu/form/idas-class-request.

Can I request a shared storage space for my IDAS course instance?

Yes, course instructors can request a shared storage space when they fill out the classroom request form in Workflow. Each course can have 1TB free of charge.

The class share can be accessed by the instructor, students who are enrolled in the class, and any additional users specified in the classroom request form in Workflow. The instructor can upload class materials to the class share. The materials will then be available to the students and additional users to view and copy to their individual IDAS home drives. Please note the 2 options below for students' access to the class share.

When instructors fill out the Workflow form, they will be asked to specify their students' access to the class share. Two options are available:

Read/Write: students can view, edit, create and delete files in the class share. If you choose this option, students can end up removing files from the class share, making those files unavailable for other students in the class. Please make sure this is what you want before you choose this option in the Workflow form.
Read Only: students can view and copy the files from the class share to their IDAS home drives. They can't edit, create or delete files in the class share. They can still edit, create, and delete files in their individual IDAS home drives. This is the option that most instructors choose.

The instructor is the owner of the class share and has Read/Write access. At this point each share can only have 1 owner.

Please see this article for more information about accessing the class share from IDAS.

How long will instructors and students have access to IDAS after the course ends?

We deprovision all course instances on IDAS the week after grades for the semester-length courses are due. To determine when grades are due, please see these Grading Schedules from the Office of the Registrar. Please download any data, codes, and files from your classroom account before access to your IDAS course instance ends.

For more information, please see Class Accounts at the End of the Semester.

Can I continue using IDAS after my course ends?

Instructors and students are welcome to request an individual IDAS research account if they want to continue using IDAS for their own research after the course ends. Note that files in your classroom account will not transfer to your research account. Please download any data, codes, and files from your classroom account before access to your IDAS course instance ends.