Data Fabric Technology Notes

Access to the Data Fabric is obtained three different ways: through any modern Web browser, by mounting the system as a remote network drive within most modern operating systems and by using command line tools. Further, read-only access can be provided through the OPeNDAP Data Access Protocol (DAP), a protocol commonly used by communities for sharing scientific data across the Internet.

The Data Fabric support files of several gigabytes. However, please note that not all WebDAV clients or Web browsers are able to upload or download files larger than two gigabytes.

Opening materials on the Data Fabric from Windows will not work for all files. In particular, it will not work for files that can not be read by Microsoft Office or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

When the Data Fabric is mounted on a Windows system, it is not possible to directly edit or open documents other than those compatible with Microsoft's own applications such as Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer. This issue is related to Windows' internal handling of URLs and affects all WebDAV servers, including the ARCS Data Fabric. To open a file stored on the Data Fabric from Windows, either drag and drop the file to a local file system or access the Data Fabric using a third-party client.

The ARCS Data Fabric does not support symbolic links.

Windows Vista and Windows 7: The underlying framework to mount network shares has significantly changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista and Windows 7. Unfortunately, the ARCS Data Fabric is not compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can use the Data Fabric's Web interface or contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for advice on third-party tools that enable researchers to mount the Data Fabric on their desktop computer.