This article is written for those in charge of managing funding and monitoring spend in Terra, i.e., Grant Administrators and PIs. Here, you will learn step-by-step instructions on setting up team workspaces.
Other related resources
- To learn the ideas behind managing shared resources, see Best practices for managing shared funding.
- If collaborators need to be able to create their own workspaces, or view cost reports, they will need to be on the Terra Billing project. To learn how to set up team billing projects, see How to manage shared funding (team billing projects).
- To learn more about sharing protected data, see Best practices for sharing and controlling shared data resources.
Sharing funding resources (team workspace option)
Workspace owners (i.e., lab PIs) can share a workspace to collaborate with individuals or one or more managed groups.
Shared workspace concepts to consider
- Sharing workspaces is a way to share costs that gives less control to colleagues.
- All workspace costs are paid through the associated Terra Billing project by the linked Google Cloud account.
- The workspace owner controls exactly what each collaborator can do in the workspace (read, write, execute).
For a detailed description of shared workspace roles, see Sharing data and tools with workspace access controls. - Collaborators can only accrue costs (run an analysis or store data) if the workspace owner gives sufficient workspace permission.
- Colleagues cannot create workspaces of their own unless they are on the Terra Billing project.
To learn more about enabling colleagues to create their own workspaces or access detailed cost breakdown and reports, see How to manage shared funding (team billing projects).
Note that workspace owners can change collaborator roles
at any time in the "Share workspace" modal (above).
How to set up a shared team workspace (step-by-step instructions)
1. Create the team workspace (this can only be done if you are a user on a Terra Billing account).
2. Make a managed group for the team by going to Profile > Groups from the main navigation.
3. Return to the team workspace and click the workspace operations icon (three vertical dots).
4. Open the Share workspace form by selecting Share from the dropdown.
5. Share with the group (start typing in the group name in the User email field).
6. Select enter or return after entering the group name.
7. Select the group's permissions.
8. Don't forget to save!
Group versus shared permissionsNote that everyone in the group shares the same workspace permissions. To assign more granular permissions, add individual collaborators one at a time.
To learn more about the trade-offs of sharing with a group versus sharing with an individual, see Managing shared resources with groups and permissions.
Controlling spend in a shared workspace
Workspace permissions are the primary way to control spend. The workspace owner controls what collaborators can accrue cloud costs by assigning workspace roles/permission when sharing the workspace. Owners can change or remove an individual or group's permission at any time, and it takes effect immediately.
All Google Cloud costs are billed to the workspace billing projectNote that it is not possible to get cost breakdowns per user for work done in a shared workspace. The most granular cost breakdown of each Google Cloud resource (storage, compute and data transfer out) is per workspace (for workspaces created after September 27, 2021) or per Terra Billing project (for workspaces created before September 27, 2021).
Billing in Terra works much the same as billing for electricity in a building. The person on the electric bill (Terra billing owner) pays for all the electricity (Google Cloud costs) used over the month by all roommates (collaborators). If one roommate turns up the thermostat and opens the windows (runs a huge analysis), it's the owner who pays for the extra electricity (Google Cloud compute and storage costs).
For more information on controlling spend in a workspace, see How to set up and use Google Cloud budget alerts or Terra expenses and breaking down a Google Cloud bill.
How to add/remove individuals from a shared workspace
1. Click on the three vertical dots at the top right to access the workspace share form and change the user's role.
2. If adding someone, you need to hit enter (or return) after entering their user email.
3. Choose their role, or delete the person from the collaborator list.
4. Don't forget to save after changing!
How to add/remove individuals from a workspace shared with a group
To do this, you will add/remove the individual from the managed group the workspace is shared with. You do not need to adjust the workspace permissions.
1. Go to Your Name > Groups from the main navigation menu
2. Edit the person's role in the group (you must have the right permissions, of course!)