File Transfer

Fortress supports several methods for file transfer. Use the links below to learn more about these methods.

Fortress does not support SCP or SSH.

FTP / SFTP

FTP is not supported because it does not allow for secure transmission of data. Use SFTP instead, as described below.

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a reliable way of transferring files between two machines. SFTP is available as a protocol choice in some graphical file transfer programs and also as a command-line program on most Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X systems. SFTP has more features than SCP and allows for other operations on remote files, remote directory listing, and resuming interrupted transfers. Command-line SFTP cannot recursively copy directory contents; to do so, try using a graphical SFTP client.

Note: to access Fortress through SFTP, you must be on a Purdue campus network or connected through VPN.

To transfer files to or from Fortress, your client should connect to the server name 'sftp.fortress.rcac.purdue.edu'.

Command-line usage:

$ sftp myusername@sftp.fortress.rcac.purdue.edu

      (to the Fortress system from a local computer)
sftp> put sourcefile somedir/destinationfile
sftp> put -P sourcefile somedir/

      (from the Fortress system to a local computer)
sftp> get sourcefile somedir/destinationfile
sftp> get -P sourcefile somedir/

sftp> exit

The -P flag is optional. When used, it will cause the transfer to preserve file attributes and permissions.

Linux / Solaris / AIX / HP-UX / Unix:

The "sftp" command-line program should already be installed.

Microsoft Windows:

MobaXterm
Free, full-featured, graphical Windows SSH, SCP, and SFTP client.

Mac OS X:

The "sftp" command-line program should already be installed. You may start a local terminal window from "Applications->Utilities".
Cyberduck is a full-featured and free graphical SFTP and SCP client.

Globus

Globus, previously known as Globus Online, is a powerful and easy to use file transfer service for transferring files virtually anywhere. It works within RCAC's various research storage systems; it connects between RCAC and remote research sites running Globus; and it connects research systems to personal systems. You may use Globus to connect to your home, scratch, and Fortress storage directories. Since Globus is web-based, it works on any operating system that is connected to the internet. The Globus Personal client is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. It is primarily used as a graphical means of transfer but it can also be used over the command line.

Link to section 'Globus Web:' of 'Globus' Globus Web:

Navigate to http://transfer.rcac.purdue.edu
Click "Proceed" to log in with your Purdue Career Account.
On your first login it will ask to make a connection to a Globus account. Accept the conditions.
Now you are at the main screen. Click "File Transfer" which will bring you to a two-panel interface (if you only see one panel, you can use selector in the top-right corner to switch the view).
You will need to select one collection and file path on one side as the source, and the second collection on the other as the destination. This can be one of several Purdue endpoints, or another University, or even your personal computer (see Personal Client section below).

The RCAC collections are as follows. A search for "Purdue" will give you several suggested results you can choose from, or you can give a more specific search.

Research Data Depot: "Purdue Research Computing - Data Depot", a search for "Depot" should provide appropriate matches to choose from.
Fortress: "Purdue Fortress HPSS Archive", a search for "Fortress" should provide appropriate matches to choose from.

From here, select a file or folder in either side of the two-pane window, and then use the arrows in the top-middle of the interface to instruct Globus to move files from one side to the other. You can transfer files in either direction. You will receive an email once the transfer is completed.

Link to section 'Globus Personal Client setup:' of 'Globus' Globus Personal Client setup:

Globus Connect Personal is a small software tool you can install to make your own computer a Globus endpoint on its own. It is useful if you need to transfer files via Globus to and from your computer directly.

On the "Collections" page from earlier, click "Get Globus Connect Personal" or download a version for your operating system it from here: Globus Connect Personal
Name this particular personal system and follow the setup prompts to create your Globus Connect Personal endpoint.
Your personal system is now available as a collection within the Globus transfer interface.

Link to section 'Globus Command Line:' of 'Globus' Globus Command Line:

Globus supports command line interface, allowing advanced automation of your transfers.

To use the recommended standalone Globus CLI application (the globus command):

First time use: issue the globus login command and follow instructions for initial login.
Commands for interfacing with the CLI can be found via Using the Command Line Interface, as well as the Globus CLI Examples pages.

Link to section 'Sharing Data with Outside Collaborators' of 'Globus' Sharing Data with Outside Collaborators

Globus allows convenient sharing of data with outside collaborators. Data can be shared with collaborators' personal computers or directly with many other computing resources at other institutions. See the Globus documentation on how to share data:

https://docs.globus.org/how-to/share-files/

For links to more information, please see Globus Support page and RCAC Globus presentation.

HSI

HSI, the Hierarchical Storage Interface, is the preferred method of transferring files to and from Fortress. HSI is designed to be a friendly interface for users of the High Performance Storage System (HPSS). It provides a familiar Unix-style environment for working within HPSS while automatically taking advantage of high-speed, parallel file transfers without requiring any special user knowledge.

HSI is provided on all research systems as the command hsi. HSI is also available for download for many operating systems.

Interactive usage:

$ hsi

*************************************************************************
*                    Purdue University
*                  High Performance Storage System (HPSS)
*************************************************************************
* This is the Purdue Data Archive, Fortress.  For further information
* see http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/storage/fortress/
*
*   If you are having problems with HPSS, please call IT/Operational
*   Services at 49-44000 or send E-mail to rcac-help@purdue.edu.
*
*************************************************************************
Username: myusername  UID: 12345  Acct: 12345(12345) Copies: 1 Firewall: off [hsi.3.5.8 Wed Sep 21 17:31:14 EDT 2011]

[Fortress HSI]/home/myusername->put data1.fits
put  'test' : '/home/myusername/test' ( 1024000000 bytes, 250138.1 KBS (cos=11))

[Fortress HSI]/home/myusername->lcd /tmp

[Fortress HSI]/home/myusername->get data1.fits
get  '/tmp/data1.fits' : '/home/myusername/data1.fits' (2011/10/04 16:28:50 1024000000 bytes, 325844.9 KBS )

[Fortress HSI]/home/myusername->quit

Batch transfer file:

put data1.fits
put data2.fits
put data3.fits
put data4.fits
put data5.fits
put data6.fits
put data7.fits
put data8.fits
put data9.fits

Batch usage:

$ hsi < my_batch_transfer_file
*************************************************************************
*                    Purdue University
*                  High Performance Storage System (HPSS)
*************************************************************************
* This is the Purdue Data Archive, Fortress.  For further information
* see http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/storage/fortress/
*
*   If you are having problems with HPSS, please call IT/Operational
*   Services at 49-44000 or send E-mail to rcac-help@purdue.edu.
*
*************************************************************************
Username: myusername  UID: 12345  Acct: 12345(12345) Copies: 1 Firewall: off [hsi.3.5.8 Wed Sep 21 17:31:14 EDT 2011]
put  'data1.fits' : '/home/myusername/data1.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 250200.7 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data2.fits' : '/home/myusername/data2.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 258893.4 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data3.fits' : '/home/myusername/data3.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 222819.7 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data4.fits' : '/home/myusername/data4.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 224311.9 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data5.fits' : '/home/myusername/data5.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 323707.3 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data6.fits' : '/home/myusername/data6.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 320322.9 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data7.fits' : '/home/myusername/data7.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 253192.6 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data8.fits' : '/home/myusername/data8.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 253056.2 KBS (cos=11))
put  'data9.fits' : '/home/myusername/data9.fits' ( 1024000000 bytes, 323218.9 KBS (cos=11))
EOF detected on TTY - ending HSI session

For more information about HSI:

HSI Reference Manual

Lawrence Livermore National Lab HSI User Guide

HTAR

HTAR (short for "HPSS TAR") is a utility program that writes TAR-compatible archive files directly onto Fortress, without having to first create a local file. Its command line was originally based on tar, with a number of extensions added to provide extra features.

HTAR is provided on all research systems as the command htar. HTAR is also available for download for many operating systems.

Link to section 'Usage:' of 'HTAR' Usage:

Create a tar archive on Fortress named data.tar including all files with the extension ".fits":

$ htar -cvf data.tar *.fits
HTAR: a   data1.fits
HTAR: a   data2.fits
HTAR: a   data3.fits
HTAR: a   data4.fits
HTAR: a   data5.fits
HTAR: a   /tmp/HTAR_CF_CHK_17953_1317760775
HTAR Create complete for data.tar. 5,120,006,144 bytes written for 5 member files, max threads: 3 Transfer time: 16.457 seconds (311.121 MB/s)
HTAR: HTAR SUCCESSFUL

Unpack a tar archive on Fortress named data.tar into a scratch directory for use in a batch job:

$ cd $RCAC_SCRATCH/job_dir
$ htar -xvf data.tar
HTAR: x data1.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: x data2.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: x data3.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: x data4.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: x data5.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: Extract complete for data.tar, 5 files. total bytes read: 5,120,004,608 in 18.841 seconds (271.749 MB/s )
HTAR: HTAR SUCCESSFUL

Look at the contents of the data.tar HTAR archive on Fortress:

$ htar -tvf data.tar
HTAR: -rw-r--r--  myusername/pucc 1024000000 2011-10-04 16:30  data1.fits
HTAR: -rw-r--r--  myusername/pucc 1024000000 2011-10-04 16:35  data2.fits
HTAR: -rw-r--r--  myusername/pucc 1024000000 2011-10-04 16:35  data3.fits
HTAR: -rw-r--r--  myusername/pucc 1024000000 2011-10-04 16:35  data4.fits
HTAR: -rw-r--r--  myusername/pucc 1024000000 2011-10-04 16:35  data5.fits
HTAR: -rw-------  myusername/pucc        256 2011-10-04 16:39  /tmp/HTAR_CF_CHK_17953_1317760775
HTAR: Listing complete for data.tar, 6 files 6 total objects
HTAR: HTAR SUCCESSFUL

Unpack a single file, "data5.fits", from the tar archive on Fortress named data.tar into a scratch directory.:

$ htar -xvf data.tar data5.fits
HTAR: x data5.fits, 1024000000 bytes, 2000001 media blocks
HTAR: Extract complete for data.tar, 1 files. total bytes read: 1,024,000,512 in 3.642 seconds (281.166 MB/s )
HTAR: HTAR SUCCESSFUL

Link to section 'HTAR Archive Verification' of 'HTAR' HTAR Archive Verification

HTAR allows different types of content verification while creating archives. Users can ask HTAR to verify the contents of an archive during (or after) creation using the '-Hverify' switch. The syntax of this option is:

$ htar -Hverify=option[,option...] ... other arguments ...

where `option` can be any of the following:
Option	Explanation
`info`	Compares tar header info with the corresponding values in the index.
`crc`	Enables CRC checking of archive files for which a CRC was generated when the file is added to the archive.
`compare`	Enables a byte-by-byte comparison of archive member files and their local file counterparts.
`nocrc`	Disables CRC checking of archive files.
`nocompare`	Disables a byte-by-byte comparison of archive member files and their local file counterparts.

Users can use a comma-separated list of options shown above, or a numeric value, or the wildcard all to specify the degree of verification. The numeric values for Hverify can be interpreted as follows:

0: Enables "info" verification.
1: Enables level 0 + "crc" verification.
2: Enables level 1 + "compare" verification.
all: Enables all comparison options.

An example to verify an archive during creation using checksums (crc):

htar -Hverify=1 -cvf abc.tar ./abc

An example to verify a previously created archive using checksums (crc):

htar -Hverify=1 -Kvf abc.tar

Please note that the time for verifying an archive increases as you increase the verification level. Carefully choose the option that suits your dataset best.

For details please see the HTAR Man Page.

For more information about HTAR:

Lawrence Livermore National Labs HTAR User Guide

HTAR has an individual file size limit of 64GB. If any files you are trying to archive with HTAR are greater than 64GB, then HTAR will immediately fail. This does not limit the number of files in the archive or the total overall size of the archive. To get around this limitation, try using the htar_large command. It is slower than using htar but it will work around the 64GB file size limit. This does not limit the number of files in the archive or the total overall size of the archive.

To get around this limitation, try using the htar_large command. It is slower than using HTAR but it will work around the 64GB file size limit. The usage of htar_large is almost the same as htar except that htar_large will not generate the tar index file. Thus, the -Hverify=1 option cannot be used since it's based on index file.