Use the IU Globus Web App to transfer data between your accounts on IU's research computing and storage systems

On this page:

Overview
Access the IU Globus Web App
Activate the source and destination endpoints
Transfer files
Add your personal computer as an endpoint
Get help

Overview

You can use the IU Globus Web App to transfer data between your accounts on Indiana University's research supercomputers and research storage systems. You also can use it to transfer data between an IU research supercomputer and your personal computer, or use it to transfer data to and from other networked hosts, such as digital services on the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE).

For example, you can use the IU Globus Web App to:

Transfer data from your personal computer to your Slate account, Slate-Project space, or Slate-Scratch directory for use with an application running on an IU research supercomputer.
Transfer output data from an application running on an IU research supercomputer to your archival storage space on the Scholarly Data Archive (SDA).

Important:

Before storing data on the SDA, make sure you understand the information in Types of sensitive institutional data appropriate for the Scholarly Data Archive at IU.
Transfer your application's output data from your Slate account to your account on an XSEDE visualization system.

The IU Globus Web App is based on Globus Online, a high-performance GridFTP service designed to provide researchers a tool for secure data movement between networked hosts (endpoints). The IU Globus Web App automates many of the tasks associated with managing large data transfers, saving you time and delivering better performance than other transfer methods, such as SCP.

Access the IU Globus Web App

Note:

To access the SDA from off campus, UITS recommends protocols such as Globus and SFTP, which provide IU Login and Duo authentication, as well as encryption in transit. Because the HSI/HTAR protocols don't provide the same protections, you will need apply for an off-campus exemption to remotely access the SDA with a local HSI/HTAR client.

To access the IU Globus Web App:

In your web browser, go to the IU Globus Web App .
Under "Use your existing organizational login", use the drop-down list to find and select Indiana University.
Click Continue.
Log in with your IU username and passphrase, and then confirm your identity with Duo two-step login.

Activate the source and destination endpoints

To set up a data transfer in the IU Globus Web App, select and activate the source and destination endpoints.

Note:

To use an IU system as an endpoint, you must have an account on that system. For eligibility and account creation information, see the Research system accounts (all campuses) section of Computing accounts at IU.
When activating an IU endpoint, you won't be prompted to log in; the IU Globus Web App automatically passes your IU username and passphrase to the endpoint.

From File Manager, click in the text field next to "Collection" and begin typing an endpoint name; for example, enter IU to automatically reveal a list of available IU endpoints.

Scroll through the list to find the desired endpoint; for example:

IU resource	Endpoint name
Scholarly Data Archive (SDA)	`IURT - Scholarly Data Archive`
Slate, Slate-Project, or Slate-Scratch	`IURT - Slate`

When you find the desired endpoint, click its name to activate it:
- Activating the IURT - Scholarly Data Archive endpoint places you in the home directory of your account on the SDA.
- Activating the IURT - Slate endpoint may produce a "permission" denied" error at first. The error will resolve when you click in the "Path" field, enter the appropriate path, as follows, and press Enter or Return:
  - Slate: To activate your Slate account, enter the following path (replace username with the IU username associated with your Slate account):
```
/N/slate/username
```
  - Slate-Project: To activate your Slate-Project space, enter the following path (replace project_name with the project name associated with your Slate-Project space):
```
/N/project/project_name
```
  - Slate-Scratch: To activate your Slate-Scratch directory, enter the following path (replace username) with the IU username associated with your Slate-Scratch directory):
```
/N/scratch/username
```
Click in the Transfer or sync to... field, and then repeat the previous steps to find and activate your second endpoint.

With two endpoints activated, you can start transferring files between them.

Transfer files

Important:

Files containing personal health information (PHI) must be encrypted when they are stored (at rest) and when they are transferred between networked systems (in transit). To ensure that files containing PHI are encrypted when they are stored, encrypt them before transferring them. For more, see Recommended tools for encrypting data containing HIPAA-regulated PHI.

Before transferring files containing PHI to an IU endpoint, make sure you understand the information in Your legal responsibilities for protecting data containing protected health information (PHI) when using UITS Research Technologies systems and services.

To transfer files between endpoints:

Use the source endpoint's file browser to find and select one or more files and/or folders to transfer, and then click Transfer or Sync to....
To reveal optional transfer settings, near the bottom of the screen, click Transfer & Sync Options, and then:
- Optionally, click in the text field next to "Label This Transfer" and enter a short text description, which will be displayed in the log of transfer activity.
- Check the boxes to select preferred settings:
  - sync - only transfer new or changed files
  - delete files on destination that do not exist on source
  - preserve source file modification times
  - verify file integrity after transfer (This setting is selected by default.)
  - encrypt transfer (If you are transferring files containing PHI, make sure encrypt transfer is selected to ensure that your files remain encrypted during transit. If the IURT - Scholarly Data Archive endpoint is activated, this setting will be selected and cannot be changed.)
Use the destination endpoint's file browser to select the destination directory for the selected files and/or folders.
To start the transfer, below the source file browser, click Start. Above the two endpoints, you should see a "Transfer request submitted successfully" message and a corresponding "Task id" number. You can click the task ID number to see an overview of your transfer and monitor its progress.

Add your personal computer as an endpoint

To use your personal computer as an endpoint:

In the IU Globus Web App , click File Manager, and then, near the top of the screen, click inside the "Collection" field.
Under the "Collection" field, on the Recent tab, click Install Globus Connect Personal.
Download the Globus Connect Personal version that's compatible with your workstation's operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux), install it, and then launch it.
When Globus Connect Personal runs, it will take you through the process of setting up your computer as an end point. Make sure to remember the name you give your end point; UITS recommends combining your IU username with an informal name for your computer, for example:
```
username#my_laptop
```
When you finish creating your endpoint, you can return to the IU Globus Web App and search for your endpoint by entering its name into the "Collection" field on the File Manager tab.

Important:

At Indiana University, never store files containing sensitive institutional data, especially protected health information (PHI) regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), on your desktop workstation, laptop, USB flash drive, tablet, smartphone, or other mobile device unless the files are properly encrypted on the device, and your senior executive officer or the IU Institutional Review Board (IRB) has given prior written approval. Because PHI must remain encrypted at rest, make sure you are using full-disk encryption on any device that has research data containing PHI on it. If you are not sure, ask your department or school IT Pro for help.

If you have questions about securing HIPAA-regulated research data at IU, email securemyresearch@iu.edu. SecureMyResearch provides self-service resources and one-on-one consulting to help IU researchers, faculty, and staff meet cybersecurity and compliance requirements for processing, storing, and sharing regulated and unregulated research data; for more, see About SecureMyResearch. To learn more about properly ensuring the safe handling of PHI on UITS systems, see the UITS IT Training video Securing HIPAA Workflows on UITS Systems. To learn about division of responsibilities for securing PHI, see Shared responsibility model for securing PHI on UITS systems.

Get help

Research computing support at IU is provided by the Research Technologies division of UITS. To ask a question or get help regarding Research Technologies services, including IU's research supercomputers and research storage systems, and the scientific, statistical, and mathematical applications available on those systems, contact UITS Research Technologies. For service-specific support contact information, see Research computing support at IU.