Storage Media Recommendations

Questions often arise concerning compatibility between shipboard data systems and science party equipment. Quite often these questions are about the file system used to format the transport disks given to the science party, e.g., FAT32, NTFS, ExFAT, and APFS.

NDSF data drives are formatted with ExFAT because of its capabilities and intercompatibility with recent versions of MacOSX, Linux, and Windows. We recommend that users plan to bring drives formatted with ExFAT to ensure compatibility with a variety of file systems, suitable for use with the data products and delivery methods planned for use during the cruise. If you contact us ahead of time, we can provide you with a good idea of what will be needed and can point you to specific links for purchasing the correct items online.

If you contact us ahead of time, we should be able to give you a good idea of what will be needed and can point you to specific links for purchasing the correct items online.

The media containing the data package will be suitable for transport and temporary housing of the data, but should not be used for permanent storage. If you wish to preserve your copy of these data for the long-term, please be sure to transfer the data to enterprise quality storage.