The IT Center offers a backup and restore service. The institutes using this service have the possibility to save versions of local computer systems and servers of the institutes on the backup servers of the IT Center and restore them if necessary. Please note that this service is not an Archive service, but is intended for the regular backup and recovery of systems and data.

Research data can be archived using the Coscine integration platform, which is specifically designed for storing and managing research data. This service is accessible to all researchers and employees at RWTH Aachen University. 

In addition, the DigitalArchive service is available to RWTH Aachen University for the long-term storage of non-research-related data.

Backup/restore is used to back up data on a computer in order to protect it from accidental deletion, damage, or loss of the device. If necessary, the backed-up data can be restored to the same or a new computer.

Archiving, on the other hand, transfers data to a central archive system where it is stored for a defined period of time. After successful archiving, the data can be deleted from the local system. In contrast to backup, archived data is retained permanently—data deleted locally is also removed from the backup system after a certain period of time.

In both cases, only the users themselves or authorized administrators have access to the data.

The CommServe server is rebooted every Sunday at 12:00 noon. This reboot ensures the stability and security of the system and takes about 30 minutes.