Welcome to PQRS
ITG has a network file storage system known as “PQRS.” These network drives offer high availability, virus scanning with automated quarantining, access from anywhere (via VPN) and generous space allocations. Note: You may see folders in the P: and Q: drives that are unfamiliar to you, these can be safely ignored as they are folders to which you do not have access.
What do the P, Q, R, and S Drives letters mean?
Personal (P):
- This drive will have all your personal files. These are files that you don’t share with anybody else.
Quad (Q):
- This drive will contain all current CBS folder shares. While you will be able to see all these folders listed, you will only have access to the shares you have permissions to access.
Resources (R):
- This drive will contain your departmental shares.
Scan (S):
- You can access all your Ricoh scans in this folder.
| Drive | Label | Function | Tagline |
| P | Personal | User Share | Your Personal Files |
| Q | Quad | All CBS Shares | Meet and Share Files in the Quad |
| R | Resource | Primary Department Share | All the Resources for Your Department |
| S | Share | Scan Folder | Get your Ricoh Scans Here |
How do I access these drives?
For Windows
- On any CBS-owned computer, they should automatically appear in Explorer under This PC.
For Macs
On any CBS-owned computer, this can be done by following steps:
- Open a Spotlight Search* and type Self Service
- Open the Self Service app
- Click the Useful Links button
- Double click one of the Network Mount links to open the appropriate drive
- Repeat as needed for each drive
For the P: drive, this will mount the root of the volume, and you can search for your UNI folder.
Alternately, users can use finder to connect to the shares:
- Use Finder and Click Go
- Click on Connect to Server
- Once the window opens, type in the path to connect to the respective share (see manual mapping below)
- Before hitting Connect, add to the list of Favorite Servers list
- Hit the plus button and the path will be added to the list
The favorite lists can be re-used in the future by clicking Finder > Go > Connect to server. Once open you can double click on one of the favorites to re-connect. Alternatively, you can make an Alias. Your ITG Support Specialist will be on-call and ready to assist you with any issues you might encounter.
*-If you have Spotlight Search disabled, Self Service can be found in the Applications folder.
What about classroom computers?
Once you log into the computer in the podium after the change, the drives and all your data will be right there.
Why can I see folders I can't access?
Access to a data can be blocked at the level of any folder, restricting access to the contents to specified users only. In this system, the top-level folder name is visible, but all access to content within remains restricted to authorized users only. This is noted above in the description for the Q: drive, but can also apply to sub-folders of the R: drive.
Did you know? You can access these drives from off-campus
If you have a CBS-issued computer, you should already have the Cisco VPN client installed. With that, you will be able to access the drives from off-campus the same as you do on-campus. Learn more at this link.
Can I manually map these drives?
Yes!
- In Windows:
- P: drive can be mapped at \\gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu\Personal\UNI
- Q: drive can be mapped at \\gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu\Quad
- R: drive can be mapped at \\gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu\Resource
- S: drive can be mapped at \\gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu\Scan
- In MacOS:
- P: drive can be mapped at smb://gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu/Personal/UNI
- Q: drive can be mapped at smb://gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu/Quad
- R: drive can be mapped at smb://gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu/Resource
- S: drive can be mapped at smb://gsbshareprdapp1.adcu.columbia.edu/Scan
Scheduled maintenance
On the fouth Sunday of each month, the server hosting the PQRS drives will undergo routine maintenance. During this maintenance, access to these resources will be intermittent. It is always best practice to save and close all open documents prior to leaving for the day. This maintenance will be completed by 4am.
What if I run into trouble?
If you have any questions or continue to experience issues, please contact your support team. If a virus is detected and quarantined for any reason, an ITG technician will be in touch shortly.
NOTE: You cannot access network file shares via SSH, SFTP or any related protocols. Please contact ITG for more information.