Self Service in RCP

From July 2024 onwards, you’ll self request and self manage all your data resources via the Research Computing Portal. Here’s everything you need to know about switching over to RCP.

 

Bookmark the Portal

 

We recommend bookmarking the Research Computing Portal’s URL: https://rcp.research.unimelb.edu.au/home/

Link not working? Make sure you’re connected to the University VPN if you’re off campus.

 

Metadata change guide

 

We have migrated your existing data collections into RCP, but some of the metadata may be missing, incorrect or out-of date, especially for very old data collections where we have had to try to populate details on your behalf for some fields that didn’t exist back when you first made the collection.

Please check and correct your metadata:

  1. Go to RCP: visit https://rcp.research.unimelb.edu.au/home/ (Link won’t work? Make sure you’re connected to the University VPN if you’re off campus)

  2. Locate your collection: go to your ‘Home’ page in RCP, and locate any new Activities that have recently appeared and are named after your data collections.

  3. Check the listed metadata: for each Activity, press ‘Manage Activity’, and review all the published details, especially the ones in the ‘Storage Details’ section.

  4. If you need to correct any details, add any missing ones: press ‘Edit’ on the table that you want to update, correct/add the details in the resultant form, press ‘Submit’.

Here’s a quick video walk though of the process:

http://api.ap.kaltura.com/tiny/7nzw2

 

How to request data resources

Key concepts to be aware of:

  • Data resources are classified as ‘Activity Resources’ in RCP, meaning that we assign them to given research activities you’re undertaking, rather than to you as an individual.

  • Consequently, you request data resources by adding them to given Activities on your dashboard. If you don’t have any Activities yet, then you have to create one in order to access data resources.

  • Once you have an Activity, and have added the resources you want to it, you will finally need to request an allocation for each resource (a specific storage with a unique path name and quota).

The essential steps are:

Here’s a quick video walk through of these steps in RCP:

 

How to change quotas

The essential steps are:

Here’s a quick video walk through of these steps in RCP:

How to look up and download usage stats

The essential steps are:

Navigating around the Portal, getting the most out of your dashboard

Here’s a video walkthrough of the RCP interface and its range of dashboard features:

In the old regime, you had Collections (datasets relating to given research projects) to which you attached Products (research computing offerings, such as Mediaflux), and within those products you had distinct Projects (specific storage allocations with unique path names and quota sizes).

In the RCP interface, these same concepts abide albeit with different terminology: you create an Activity (essentially a specific research activity/project that you need resources for) to which you add Resources (Mediaflux, DaRIS etc), and then you request Allocations for those resources (specific storage allocations with unique path names and quota sizes).

Role types will also operate slightly differently:

OLD ROLE NAME

OLD CAPABILITIES

HOW TO EFFECT THIS ROLE/THESE CAPABILITIES IN RCP

OLD ROLE NAME

OLD CAPABILITIES

HOW TO EFFECT THIS ROLE/THESE CAPABILITIES IN RCP

RCAO

(Research Computing Activity Owner)

  • request/change access for UoM collaborators

  • request/change access for external non-UoM collaborators

  • request new/delete existing storage product

  • change quota

  • update collection details

  • request data recovery

  • decommission product allocation

  • start RCAO change process

  • alter data protection level

  • request destruction of stored data

  • take responsibility for project data as detailed in RCS ToS

Be the RCAO of the relevant Activity in RCP

Technical contact

  • request/change access for UoM collaborators

  • change access for external non-UoM collaborators

  • request new/delete existing storage product

  • change quota

  • update collection details

  • request data recovery

There’s no concept of ‘Technical Contacts’ or ' Graduate Research Students' as special roles in RCP, everyone is just an RCP ‘user’. But to effect these old roles and their capabilities in RCP, just get the RCAO of the relevant Activity to:

  • add you as a ‘user’ to the Activity

  • set your ‘privileges’ in the Activity to one or more of:

    • ‘Edit activity’

    • ‘Manage resources’

    • ‘Subscribed’

Graduate Research Student