Hi Georgia,

LabKey provides many options for file storage, including local file system, network drives, and cloud storage (Amazon S3). All three integrate with the file browser UI, WebDAV clients and APIs, and the data processing pipeline for analysis and import of data. You can configure any number of custom properties to associate meta data with files; values can be provided (and retrieved) via the UI and the LabKey query API. LabKey automatically creates an on-disk folder hierarchy that matches the LabKey folder structure, but you can override this to provide a custom layout and split the repository between different file systems, if desired. LabKey provides no built-in backup facilities, but standard file system backup approaches should work fine. Other capabilities worth mentioning include full-text search over document repositories and the ability to configure file watchers to automatically load assay, study, and other data.

This probably raises even more questions, but a discussion would be the best way to review your specific requirements and use cases. I've been in communication with some of your colleagues recently, so I'll add you to an email thread and provide some suggestions for next steps.

Thanks,
Adam