Google: Renew a Shared Drive

Environment

U-M Google, shared drives

Issue

How do I renew a Google shared drive using the ITS Shared Drive Manager?

Resolution

In an effort to improve the lifecycle management of Google shared drives, you are now required to renew your drives annually using the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool. This process is similar to the existing MCommunity group renewal process, wherein you will be notified 30 days before the drive expires and asked to use the tool to renew it.

There are two groups of shared drives that have slightly different steps based on their scenario: those not managed within the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool and those that are already managed in the tool. Choose the group below that applies to your shared drive(s) and follow the instructions.

My shared drive is NOT managed in the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool

If you received an ITS email stating, "You received this email because you are a Manager of at least one Google shared drive who has not imported and renewed it using the ITS Shared Drive Manager," these instructions apply to your applicable shared drive(s) listed in the email.

To initiate the renewal process:

1. Speak with the other shared drive Managers to ensure only one of you completes the process for each.
2. Go to the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool.
3. Click the green Import a shared drive button.
4. Select the affected shared drive from the "Which shared drive would you like to import?" drop-down menu.
   • If your shared drive does not appear in the drop-down, there are three likely reasons:
     1. Another Manager has already imported the shared drive into the tool.
        • You may or may not notice the drive listed on the Shared Drives You Manage page in the tool, depending on whether the other Manager left you assigned. Reach out to the other Managers for more information.
     2. Your shared drive was created using the tool and only needs to be renewed. (Refer to the instructions under "My shared drive IS managed in the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool" below.)
     3. You are not an eligible Manager of the shared drive.
        • You are either not assigned as a Manager or do not have an eligible university role (i.e., faculty, regular staff, and students).
5. Select your school, college, or unit from the drop-down menu provided.
   • Only schools/colleges/units with which you have an official university affiliation will appear. (The data used to populate this field is pulled from official HR systems.) Students can only select "STUDENT" as their prefix.
   • Your shared drive’s name will include your selected school/college/unit as a prefix (e.g., ITS-Test Shared Drive). Learn more about shared drive name prefixes. 
6. Review the current Managers that auto-populated in the field provided.
   1. Remove ineligible individuals and groups (i.e., temporary staff, sponsored affiliates, alumni, retirees, Shared Accounts, MCommunity groups, and external (non-UM) email addresses) from the list.
      • Removing MCommunity groups as Managers also removes the group members' access to the shared drive.
        • If you want the individuals within an MCommunity group to retain access to the drive, you must go to Google and add the group as a Content Manager or other non-Manager role.
        • If you want the individuals within an MCommunity group to remain Managers, you must add each group member individually as a Manager of the shared drive using the tool.
   2. Enter the uniqname(s) of at least one eligible individual (in addition to yourself). There must be at least two Managers. You can add up to 50 Managers to your shared drive.
7. Select I Confirm from the confirmation drop-down.
8. Click Import shared drive.
9. Review the Managers who will lose access to the shared drive in the pop-up that appears and click Confirm.
10. Repeat this process for each shared drive on your list. (There is no bulk import/renewal option.)

Your shared drive has been successfully imported and renewed. After importing, it may take up to 24 hours for all settings and access in the shared drive to be updated. The shared drive will be set to 15GB, and new Managers will be applied automatically. (If you have a legacy storage limit applied to your shared drive, your legacy limit will be reapplied upon import.)

From now on, you will manage this drive using the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool. This includes renewing the drive annually and changing the shared drive Managers, name, and associated school/college/unit. (Refer to Shared Drives in U-M Google for details on using the tool to manage drives.)

My shared drive IS managed in the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool

If you received an ITS email stating, "You received this email because you are a Manager of at least one Google shared drive who has not renewed it using the ITS Shared Drive Manager," these instructions apply to your applicable shared drive(s) listed in the tool.

To initiate the renewal process:

1. Go to the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool.
2. Find a shared drive that needs to be renewed in the list. Every shared drive you manage that needs to be renewed will have a red “Expired” under the “Expires In” column.
3. Click Renew beside the drive.
4. Review the current Managers and ensure they’re up to date.
   • If they aren’t, click Update Managers, complete the form to update them, and return to the renewal page.
5. Check the confirmation box to confirm the information is correct.
6. Click Renew shared drive.
7. Repeat this process for each shared drive on your list that is expired.

Additional Information

• Shared drives created after March 10, 2024 (within the last six months) were automatically renewed on September 10. These drives must still be renewed manually beginning a year from September 10 and every subsequent year after.
• If the shared drive is no longer needed, contact the other Managers before deleting it yourself.
• If you do not want to be a shared drive Manager anymore, you must ask another Manager to remove you from the account using the ITS Shared Drive Manager tool. You cannot remove yourself using the tool.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.