ARCHIVED: At IU, how do I use Fetch in Mac OS X to transfer files to and from MDSS?

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

Fetch is an FTP client for Mac OS X that supports Kerberos authentication to Indiana University's Massive Data Storage Service (MDSS) system. To use Fetch to access MDSS, first you need to open a Terminal window and get credentials by entering:

Replace username with your Network ID username. Enter your passphrase.

To connect to MDSS:

1. Open Fetch:
   
   
   • In the "Hostname:" field, type ftp.mdss.iu.edu .
   • In the "Username:" field, type your Network ID username.
   
   
2. Make sure that "Connect using" is set to FTP with GSSAPI.
   
   
3. Uncheck Enable encryption, since this refers to data encryption. MDSS/HPSS supports encrypted logins but not encrypted data transfer via FTP.
   
   
4. Click Connect.

You should now be connected and able to drag files to and from MDSS. Note that MDSS works best with large files, so if you have many smaller files, it's best to use StuffIt or some other archiving program to aggregate the files into a single larger file before transferring it to MDSS.

To have Fetch remember this connection, from the Shortcuts menu, choose new shortcut and follow steps 1 through 4 above.

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