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AFS Volume Expiration Policy

To increase security and reduce risk, Stanford is sunsetting its AFS service for web hosting and file storage. While you can still access AFS using your valid Stanford SUNetID, there are more secure web hosting platforms and document management solutions to which you should transition.

To reduce the use of AFS, UIT has taken these actions:

  • UIT no longer automatically provisions new faculty and staff members with AFS user volumes. New faculty or staff who need a personal user volume must submit a Help request.
    • This change does not impact existing AFS directories or the process for adding permissions for new individuals to those existing directories. Your existing space and everything in it remains intact.
    • This change does not impact auto-provisioning of new AFS user volumes for students and postdocs.

    See New Process for Provisioning AFS User Volumes for more information.

  • All user, dept, and group AFS volumes must be renewed annually or they will be locked, archived, and permanently deleted as detailed in the AFS Volume Expiration Policy.

All user, dept, and group AFS volumes must be renewed annually or they will be locked, archived and permanently deleted as detailed below.

Volume owners are notified prior to expiration and allowed to extend the expiration date up to one year.

  • Notifications: Emails are sent to the volume owner(s) of record 60, 30, and 7 days prior to the expiration date with instructions for extending the expiration date. If an owner does not extend the expiration date, the volume is placed in “locked” status and can only be accessed by a system administrator.
  • Locked Status: Volumes not renewed are placed in locked status for two years. Volume owners may request a volume be returned to active status during that time for up to a one-year renewal period before the next required renewal cycle.
  • Deletion: Volumes that are in Locked status for two years are archived and deleted.

IMPORTANT: When volumes are owned by a faculty, staff, or student who has left Stanford, the volume remains active for 90 days after which the volume is locked and all permissions removed. After the volume is locked for 90 days, it is permanently deleted. (90 days grace period, 90 days locked, then deleted.)

Last modified March 1, 2022