File transfer to/from Bianca¶

File transfer is the process of getting files from one place to the other. This page shows how to do file transfer to/from the Bianca UPPMAX cluster.

For all file transfer on Bianca:

The user needs to be inside of SUNET
The files are moved from/to the wharf folder

File transfer methods¶

There are multiple ways to transfer files to/from Bianca:

UPPMAX guide	Features
File transfer to/from Bianca using a graphical program	A general page for tools with a graphical user interface
File transfer to/from Bianca using FileZilla	Graphical interface, intuitive, for small amounts of data only, all operating systems
File transfer to/from Bianca using WinSCP	Graphical interface, intuitive, for small amounts of data only, Windows-only
File transfer to/from Bianca using `rsync`	Terminal, recommended
File transfer to/from Bianca using `sftp`	Terminal, easy to learn, can use terminal commands to select files
File transfer to/from Bianca using `lftp`	Terminal
Transit server from/to Rackham, see below	Terminal, can be used to transfer data between clusters in general
Mounting `wharf` on your local computer	Both graphical and terminal, need a computer with `sshfs` installed

Transit server¶

flowchart LR
  subgraph sunet[SUNET]
    subgraph bianca[Bianca]
      wharf
    end
    transit[transit server]
    sftp_server[SFTP server]
    user[User in SUNET or user on Rackham or user on other NAISSS clusters]
    wharf <--> transit
    wharf <--> sftp_server
    transit <--> user
    sftp_server <--> user
  end

To facilitate secure data transfers to, from, and within the system for computing on sensitive data a special service is available via SSH at transit.uppmax.uu.se.

A user that is logged in to Transit

See the UPPMAX documentation on the Transit server.

Note that your home directory is mounted read-only, any changes you do to your "local" home directory (on transit) will be lost upon logging out.
You can use commands like rsync, scp to fetch data and transfer it to your bianca wharf.
- You can use cp to copy from Rackham to the wharf
Remember that you cannot make lasting changes to anything except for mounted wharf directories. Therefore you have to use rsync and scp to transfer from the wharf to Rackham.
The mounted directory will be kept for later sessions.

Moving data from transit to Rackham¶

On Rackham: (or other computer) copy files to Bianca via transit:

# scp
scp path/my_files my_user@transit.uppmax.uu.se:sens2023531/

# rsync
rsync -avh path/my_files my_user@transit.uppmax.uu.se:sens2023531/

On transit: copy files to Bianca from Rackham (or other computer)

# scp
scp my_user@rackham.uppmax.uu.se:path/my_files ~/sens2023531/

# rsync
rsync -avh my_user@rackham.uppmax.uu.se:path/my_files ~/sens2023531/

:book:  `rsync` [tutorial](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-rsync-to-sync-local-and-remote-directories) for beginners.

Keep in mind that project folders on Rackham are not available on transit.

Moving data between projects¶

You can use transit to transfer data between projects by mounting the wharfs for the different projects and transferring data with rsync.
Note that you may only do this if this is allowed (agreements, permissions, etc.)

Mounting `wharf` on your local computer¶

Mounting wharf means that a wharf folder is added to the filesystem of your local computer, after which you can use it like any other folder.

See the UPPMAX documentation of wharf on how to do so.

Summary

For simple transfers use SFTP to connect to bianca-sftp.uppmax.uu.se - use command line sftp or tools that support SFTP protocol.
For rsync - sync files to pre-mounted wharf folder from Rackham or secure local computer.
Keep in mind that project folders on Rackham are not available on transit.

Bianca file transfer as image¶

Bianca