At IU, using Linux or Unix, how do I use FTP to transfer files to and from MDSS?

Getting a Kerberized FTP client

To access Indiana University's Massive Data Storage Service (MDSS), you must use a Kerberized FTP client. Standard FTP clients are not Kerberos-friendly.

The Research Storage group (formerly DSSG) is not currently aware of a Kerberized FTP client for Windows. Although Kftp, Ktelnet, Kermit/K95, and FileZilla claim to be able to use Kerberos authentication, they do not work with MDSS. For more, see At IU, how do I access the MDSS?

If you use Mac OS X, you can use Fetch to connect with Kerberized FTP as described in At IU, how do I use Fetch in Mac OS X to transfer files to and from MDSS?

Many Linux and Unix systems have a Kerberized FTP client installed by default. You can also download and install the MIT Kerberos distribution, which includes this client. Depending on your system, it may be installed in different locations, for example:

/usr/kerberos/bin/ftp on Red Hat and derivatives (from the krb5-workstation package)
/usr/bin/krb5-ftp on Debian and derivatives such as Ubuntu (from the krb5-clients package)
/usr/bin/kftp on Gentoo (from the mit-krb5 ebuild)
/usr/lib/heimdal/bin/ftp on SuSE 9 (from the Heimdal package)
/usr/lib/mit/bin/ftp on SuSE 10 (from the krb5-apps-clients package)

Another FTP client that works on many Unix systems is the standard HPSS FTP client, pftp_client. You can obtain this from the MDSS home page.

Connecting to MDSS

If a standard Kerberized FTP client is available:

Run the kinit command to authenticate to HPSS. Use the syntax shown below, replacing username with your IU Network ID username. kinit username@iu.edu
Connect with FTP: /usr/kerberos/bin/ftp ftp.mdss.iu.edu
When prompted for your username, press Enter. This should take you to an FTP prompt, where you can begin transferring files.
Note: You can avoid the username prompt altogether by using the .netrc file in your home directory. For example, the following line in your ~/.netrc will bypass the prompt (replace username and passphrase with your IU Network ID):
machine ftp.mdss.iu.edu username passphrase

Site-specific commands

Other than the standard FTP commands, several site-specific commands are supported by the MDSS FTP servers. These include:

`site help cmd`	Give help on site-specific command `cmd`, or list site-specific commands if `cmd` is blank
`site setcos N`	Set the class of service to N. For details, see What are HPSS classes of service, and how do I use them?
`site symlink x y`	Create a symbolic link named `y` that refers to `x`
`site wait N`	Display or set the time to wait while opening a file on tape before giving up
`site stage file`	Retrieve a file from tape into the disk cache without transferring a file
`site acl`	Supported only by `pftp_client`; see At IU, how do I share my MDSS data with other users?

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Last modified on August 25, 2008.

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