File Access

From CSWiki

Your Linux home directory can be accessed from off campus. SCP and SFTP are an easy, secure way to transfer files to and from your Linux home directory.

A Word on FTP

FTP is an insecure protocol. Users should not use FTP to connect to servers which require usernames/passwords. When using FTP your username and password are not encrypted and anybody sniffing the network can see them. FTP is still useful for anonymous, read-only access but Edinboro is not using it as such.

How to Setup File Access

Using the Linux Command Line

Linux comes with the scp and sftp utilities installed, which can be invoked from a terminal. Here is a simple example that copies myfile.txt to your Linux home directory,

$ scp myfile.txt username@cslab100.cs.edinboro.edu:~

Another option is to use a graphical tool.

Using the GNOME Desktop Environment

• Go to Places -> Connect to server...
• Set these values
  • Connection type: SSH
  • Server: cslab100.cs.edinboro.edu
  • Directory: /home/students/username
  • Name: whatever you want to name this connection (CS Lab is a good idea)
• Click Okay and the connection will now be on your desktop

You can now browse, create, edit, and remove files and directories as if they were on your local system.

Using KDE

• In Konqueror (the file manager), go to fish://username@cslab101.cs.edinboro.edu.

You can now browse, create, edit, and remove files and directories as if they were on your local system.

Using Mac OS X

Mac OS X comes with the scp and sftp utilities like Linux, and they can be invoked from Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal). See above for syntax.

Alternately, you can use a graphical tool.

• Download Cyberduck
• Type sftp://username@cslab100.cs.edinboro.edu into the quick connect box.

You can now copy files back and forth between the server and your machine, or if you have an editor like Smultron installed you can edit the files live so that changes you make are automatically uploaded by Cyberduck.

Using Microsoft Windows

FileZilla

• Download the FileZilla Client
• After installation, go to File | Site Manager...
• Create a new site and enter the following information:
  • Host: cslab100.cs.edinboro.edu
  • Servertype: SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
  • Logontype: Normal
  • Username: <your username>
  • Password: <your password>
• Files can be transferred by dragging & dropping, similar to many other FTP clients.

WinSCP

• Download WinSCP
• Choose the Norton Commander style interface during install. This will allow you to see both local and remote files at the same time.
• Enter "cslab100.cs.edinboro.edu" as the Host name, port 22, and your username and password. Ignore the private key file.
• Change the protocol to SCP, save the configuration if you like, then click Login.
• Files can be transferred by dragging & dropping, similar to many other FTP clients.