1. Get an ACCESS project
OSN storage comes from an NSF ACCESS allocation. If you do not have an ACCESS account and project yet, follow KB009: Using NSF ACCESS to create both. An Explore project is usually enough to start.
2. Exchange credits for OSN
In the ACCESS allocations portal, open your project and choose to exchange credits for the Open Storage Network resource. The OSN documentation gives the rate as 3,000 ACCESS credits per 1 TB of OSN storage (OSN documentation: ACCESS Allocations, as of Oct 2026) and suggests starting with the minimum and adding more as you near your quota. Describe how OSN helps your project in a few sentences.
ACCESS Campus Champions can request a small test allocation. Say so in the exchange request.
3. Sign in to the OSN portal
The OSN portal is at coldfront.osn.mghpcc.org.
- Click Log in with Institutional Account.
- When CILogon asks for an identity provider, choose ACCESS CI (XSEDE), not University of California, Riverside.
- Sign in with your ACCESS username, password and Duo.
Your projects appear under My Projects. If you see no projects, you probably signed in with your UCR identity: log out and sign in again with ACCESS.
If ACCESS says User Not Registered even though you have an account, clear your CILogon cookies at cilogon.org/me and sign in again choosing ACCESS CI (XSEDE).
4. Request a bucket
Each bucket is its own allocation inside your project.
- Open your project and scroll to Allocations.
- Click Request Resource Allocation.
- Check that the project name is right and the resource is OSN Bucket (Storage).
- In Justification, give the bucket name you would like (lower case letters, numbers and hyphens), what it holds, whether it should be publicly readable, and any pod preference.
- Enter the quota in TB and submit.
The OSN team reviews the request. The OSN documentation asks you to allow two business days. You get an email when the bucket is approved.
5. Find your endpoint and keys
Open the project, click the folder icon next to the bucket in Allocations, and scroll to Allocation Attributes. You will find the endpoint, bucket name, quota, anonymous access setting and the read-write and read-only key pairs. Next: Moving data in and out of OSN.
6. Add people
On the project page, Add Users lets you add collaborators who have ACCESS accounts. When you request a bucket you choose which project users can see its keys. For readers who should not see keys, share the read-only pair or make the bucket publicly readable.
7. Keep the project current
- Annual review. The portal asks the PI to review the project once a year (project description, grants, publications, users). Until you do, you cannot request new buckets. Click Needs Review on the project page.
- Renewal. Allocations have an end date. Use Click to renew on the allocation before it expires, and keep the ACCESS project itself active.
- Publications. ACCESS asks projects to report publications that used their allocations.