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File transport

TU Delft network storages (bulk, group & project)

On most TU Delft computers the network storages bulk, group and project (a.k.a. umbrella) are available or can be easily accessed. On the jupiter and saturn servers you can also access these storages. These can be found in /tudelft.net/ and are only available if you have a valid Kerberos ticket. If you login on the servers with your netid and password (not ssh key authentication) you will have a valid Kerberos ticket. This ticket will however expire! You can check if you have valid ticket and renew if needed:

$ klist # check if ticket available
Ticket cache: KEYRING:persistent:131781:krb_ccache_xxxxxxx
Default principal: <netid>@TUDELFT.NET

Valid starting       Expires              Service principal
05/27/2024 10:38:24  05/27/2024 20:38:24  krbtgt/TUDELFT.NET@TUDELFT.NET
    renew until 06/03/2024 10:38:24
$ kinit # create new ticket
Password for <netid>@TUDELFT.NET:

Your netid is shown in the placeholder <netid>

Copy files to server

Important

Before you want to copy files to or from the servers you will need to have logged in at least once on the servers! During your first login a home directory is created which is needed to transfer files.

Info

Transfering files directly between your computer and the servers over wired connection gives the fastest transfer rate (approx. 64MB/s) compared to first sending it to TU Delft storage (approx. 24MB/s desktop↔storage and approx. 2.4GB/s server↔storage) and wireless connection (approx. 16MB/s).

SSH tools [Linux, macOS, Windows]

You can only copy files to and from the servers using the SSH protocol. The simplest way would be to use the command line tools scp or sftp. If you would like to copy test.c from your computer you can use this one-liner which will be explained step by step below:

scp -o ProxyJump=<netid>@linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl test.c <netid>@jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl:.
explanation of the scp command
  • scp: the SSH copy program
  • -o ProxyJump=<netid>@linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl:
    • -o: defines options for scp
    • ProxyJump: the option that tells scp to connect to a computer via the proxy server defined here
    • <netid>@linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl: the username (<netid>) and hostname (linux-bastion-ex) of the proxy server. The @ separates the username and hostname (a.k.a. at)
  • test.c: the filename of the local file on your computer
  • <netid>@jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl:.: the username and hostname and the location (and name if given) where to copy the file to. This location is separated with a :

A few things to remember:

  • scp can work both ways. You can also copy a file from the server to your computer
  • because the servers cannot be reached directly you will need to use the proxy server. There are two proxy servers for non-students: linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl and linux-bastion (slower). And one for students: student-linux.tudelft.nl
  • if the location is a directory name the file will be copied with the same name as the source filename. If the location is not a directory name it will be the new filename of the copied file
  • similarly you can also use sftp instead of scp. This gives an interactive way of transferring files

WinSCP [Windows]

WinSCP is a Windows program for transferring files with your computer:

It is available via the Software Center on TU Delft installed computers with Window or can be installed easily via the link above.

WinSCP can connect with the SSH protocol to the servers and allows you to transfer files with this protocol. It will also show you a file-browser to see the contents of the directories on the server.

Because the servers cannot be reached directly you will nee to use the proxy server. This is done within WinSCP.

You can setup the connection to the server as follows:

  • https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_login
    • File protocol: SFTP
    • Host name: jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl
    • Port number: 22
    • User name: your netid
    • Password: your netid password
    • Click on Advanced… but not on the arrow
  • https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_login_tunnel
    • Select Connection->Tunnel on the left side
    • Check Connect through SSH Tunnel
    • Host name: linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl
    • Port number: 22
    • User name: your netid
    • Password: your netid password

If this is the first time you connect with SSH you will be asked to accept the host-key. Accept the key and continue.

FileZilla [macOS, Windows]

The FileZilla program is a very versatile program to send or retrieve files with your computer:

It is available via the Software Center on TU Delft installed computers with macOS and Windows or can be installed easily via the link above.

FileZilla can connect with the SSH protocol to the servers and allows you to transfer files with this protocol. It will also show you a file-browser to see the contents of the directories on the server.

Because the servers cannot be reached directly you will nee to use the proxy server. For this you first need to setup a SSH tunnel on your computer. For this open a terminal or command line and type:

ssh -f -N -L 2222:jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl:22 <netid>@linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl
explanation of the ssh command
  • ssh: the SSH program
  • -f -N -L: options for the SSH program, -f will run the program in the background, -N will not execute a remote command (like shell) and -L will create a SSH tunnel
  • 2222:jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl:22:
    • 2222: the local port number 2222 on you computer (one end of the tunnel)
    • jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl:22: the remote port 22 on the server jupiter-imphys.tnw.tudelft.nl (the other end of the tunnel)
  • <netid>@linux-bastion-ex.tudelft.nl: the username (<netid>) and hostname (linux-bastion-ex) of the proxy server. The @ separates the username and hostname (a.k.a. at)

Now start FileZilla and follow these instructions:

  • Open Site Manager
  • Click New Site
  • Name your site (e.g., “SFTP via Jump Host”)
  • Protocol: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
  • Host: localhost
  • Port: 2222
  • Logon Type: Ask for password
  • User: your netid
  • Click Connect

If this is the first time you connect with SSH you will be asked to accept the host-key. Accept the key and continue.