HPC staff have been directed to turn off all SMB fileshares on public networks - triggered by external security/risk assessment.
A limited number of licenses for MountainDuck have been purchased as an SSH-based alternative to SMB fileshares. Individual researchers or research groups could purchase MountainDuck licenses, should Technology Solutions decide against supporting this product.
There is increasing pressure from government and universities to use cloud resources rather than purchasing infrastructure. As at 24-March-2021, JCU will be purchasing a significant amount of cloud storage capacity for research use. This purchase may mean that budget for replacing storage currently used for researchers' home directories will be removed and HPC will only provide scratch space in future.