Network Drives
Contents
About the Network drives
Network drives are actually just folders shared on ua-net file servers. The three main categories of shared folders are departmental, user, and labs.
All files and folders on ua-net file servers are backed up daily so if you accidentally delete something you should be able to recover your files from a saved network backup.
Common Network Drives
Departmental Drive ("T" Drive)
All CoE faculty and staff have access to \\share\coe. This is normally mapped to the letter T and hence referred to as the "T drive".
All departmental data should be stored here.
User Drive
All ua-net user accounts have access to \\home\{first letter of username}\{username} (example: if username is jsmith, then path is \\home\j\jsmith).
This is used for storage of personal user data and is normally mapped to the letter U and referred to as the "U drive".
Departmental data should not be stored here.
Lab/Project Folders
Faculty and students can access lab or project folders on \\labfs.ua-net.ua.edu\share\{project}
The faculty member in charge of the lab or project can request access by emailing support@eng.ua.edu and including the myBama User ID's (mybama username) of users requiring access.
Mapping Network Drives
Windows 10
- Make sure the computer is connected to the campus network (wired or wifi) or via VPN.
- Open file explorer and click on "This PC" on the left.
- Select the tab at the top labelled "Computer".
- Select "Map Network Drive".
- Select the drive letter. This is personal preference but normally we use T, U, L, or P.
- Enter the shared folder path (example: \\share.ua-net.ua.edu\coe).
- Check the box labeled "Reconnect at sign-in" and click "Finish".
- The network drive should be mapped now and show up in file explorer.
Windows 11
- Make sure the computer is connected to the campus network (wired or wifi) or via VPN (if off campus).
- Open file explorer and click on "This PC" on the left.
- Click the "..." at the top of file explorer above the filepath field
- Click "Map Network Drive"
- Select the drive letter. This is personal preference but normally we use T, U, L, or P.
- Enter the shared folder path (example: \\share.ua-net.ua.edu\coe).
- Check the box labeled "Reconnect at sign-in" and click "Finish".
- The network drive should be mapped now and show up in file explorer.
Mac
- Make sure the computer is connected to the campus network (wired or wifi) or via VPN.
- Select "Go" in the finder menu bar at the top center of the screen
- Select "Connect to Server"
- Enter the name of your server as smb://{your drive name} (example: smb://share.ua-net.ua.edu/coe)
- Select "Connect"
- Enter the domain as ua-net, your ua-net userid and password (normally the same as your myBama credentials).
- Select "OK"
- The share will appear on the desktop.