Transferring files between computers

File Transfer Protocol

You may want to transfer files between department machines and your computer. The standard way is to scp via the terminal with commands :

UPLOAD :       
scp -o ProxyCommand="ssh crsid@barbican.ch.cam.ac.uk nc machinename 22" LocalPath/FileName crsid@machinename.ch.cam.ac.uk:/RemotePath
DOWNLOAD :     
scp -o ProxyCommand="ssh crsid@barbican.ch.cam.ac.uk nc machinename 22"  crsid@machinename.ch.cam.ac.uk:/RemotePath/FileName LocalPath

However, a more convenient way is to set up a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) between machines. It can come with a graphic user interface, where you can drag and drop files from the department machine to your computer.

Windows FTP

I recommend the WinSCP software. You can download it from here. Once installed, click New Session, and choose SFTP protocol with :

Hostname = machinename
Port number = 22
Username = crsid
Leave 'Password' entry empty.

Then click on Advanced..., Tunnel tab, check the Connect through SSH tunnel tickbox and enter:

Hostname = barbican.ch.cam.ac.uk
Port number = 22
Username = crsid
Leave 'Password' entry empty.

Click OK and click Save, and finally Login. Enter your admitto password twice. You can now navigate in the directories of the remote machine on the right tab, and of your local computer on the left tab, and you can transfer files between the two with a drag and drop. Enjoy !

Mac/Linux FTP

You can download FileZilla for MacOS or linux. The problem is that FileZilla does not support tunnel ssh. To open the connection, you need to use a ssh client like puTTY. On MacOS please follow this guide.

On Linux you can do :

sudo apt-get install -y putty

Open it by typing putty on the terminal. The interface should open. Type the following entries :

in the SSH/Tunnels tab :

Source Port = 3111 
Destination = machinename:22 
local 
auto

and click Add. (source port can be any number > 1024)

in the session tab :

Host Name = barbican.ch.cam.ac.uk 
port = 22 
connection type = SSH

Enter a name for this connection in the saved sessions entry, and click Save.

Now click Open. A terminal should open, type your crsid and your admitto password, you're now logged into Barbican (it's normal that it's not your machine).

Now open FileZilla, and enter :

Host = sftp://localhost
username = crsid
password = admitto password
port = 3111 

and click Quickconnect. (port needs to be the same as source port in puTTY).

A window will open (Unknown host key), click OK. Hopefully the connection is successful.

You can now navigate in the directories of the remote machine on the right tab, and of your local computer on the left tab, and you can transfer files between the two with a drag and drop. Enjoy !