At IU, how do I use parallel FTP to transfer data to or from the SDA?

Note: For information about other methods of accessing the SDA, see At IU, how do I access the SDA?

For parallel transfers to and from Indiana University's Scholarly Data Archive (SDA) (formerly known as MDSS), UITS recommends using the Unix-based pftp_client. For more on pftp_client, see the Brookhaven National Laboratory pftp_client page. For more on the pftp protocol, see A Parallel File Transfer Protocol for Clusters and Grid Systems.

To use pftp_client to transfer data to or from the SDA:

1. Run the kinit command to authenticate to HPSS. Use the syntax shown below (with your IU Network ID username in place of username): kinit username@ADS.IU.EDU
2. Enter: pftp_client ftp.sdarchive.iu.edu
3. Enter: site setcos n

   Replace  n  with  1  for small files (0-4MB),  2  for medium files (4-64MB), and  3  for large files (64MB-1TB).

4. Enter: lcd directoryname

   Replace directoryname with the name of the directory containing your files.

5. For each file you want to transfer into SDA, enter the following, replacing filename with the name of the file: pput filename

   If you use put instead of pput, usually pftp_client will automatically use pput instead.

6. For each file you want to transfer out of SDA, enter the following, replacing filename with the name of the file: pget filename

   If you use get instead of pget, usually pftp_client will automatically use pget instead.

7. When you're finished, enter: quit

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