# Lab management FAQ
This FAQ is intended for lab coordinators and lab leaders that manages activities within one lab.
TIP
Head over to our Do science FAQ for questions on how to do science in a lab.
# General questions
# What can I order as a lab coordinator?
Head over to our service desk for lab orders to get an overview of the pre-defined orders that you can manage as a lab coordinator or lab leaders.
# User management
# How do we add new lab users to our existing lab?
Lab leaders and lab coordinators may order access for new lab users in our administer science service desk.
# How do we add existing lab users to a new lab?
Send us one user agreement per user via the administer science service desk as each lab holds independent user agreements. This is the same process as adding new users. However, existing users will only received a SSH connection for the new lab as VPN and user name stays the same.
# How long does an account activation take?
Usually within days, although it may be good to allow for one week. We do recognize that science never sleeps, so contact us for high priority activation same or next business day when strictly needed.
# How many users can we add to one lab?
We have no hard limits. When that is said, all users in your lab will have access to all the data in the lab. Thus, we require that you limit users to those that have permissions in place to work with your data. Usually, labs with up to 6-7 people seem to be most effective. We are more than happy to spin off new labs as your team grows.
# Can we add users from outside our own organization?
Yes. Part of the rationale for our services is to keep data close to its donors by bringing scientists to the data. The data processor of your data (usually the host organization of the lab leader) is formally responsible for adding new users. We are happy to activate accounts for users that lab leader authorizes, both from local, national and global institutions. Keep in mind that users in your lab will have access to all of your lab data.
# Troubleshooting lab reports
We aim to send regular reports to lab leaders and lab coordinators of the resource allocations and usage in their lab environments. Here is a collection of some of the known issues as of today:
The reported storage volumes may deviate from the observed storage as you see it inside your lab machines. We know of a few reasons why this may happen which is listed below. You can check your storage as reported on your machines by logging into the machine and type df -h.
# Discrepancy in reported volume numbers
Storage volumes that are attached to the machine, but not mounted as volumes, will appear in the reported list. However, these may not be seen on the machine using the regular df -h command. If you see such discrepancies, feel free to contact us. We are happy to help adding or removing those to your machines.
# Discrepancy in reported volume sizes
Storage volumes sizes may show larger sizes in the report than those you observe in your machine. One reason for this could be that the volume size is expanded on our end, although we have not effectuated this on your end as this will require a planned restart of the machine.
# Discrepancy in reported volume usage
Volumes that are attached to machines that has been running without a restart since December 2019 may report zero usage. These machine may need a restart for all of your volumes to be reported correctly. You can do this yourself by logging into the machine where the storage is attached and execute the sudo reboot command.
WARNING
Rebooting a lab machine will affect all lab users. We advice that you discuss this with your lab team and announce the restart so no one looses their valuable work.