Computational Cluster Programs

High-speed file transfer with Globus Online

Globus Online transfer The Hoffman2 Cluster is pleased to offer free, high-speed file transfer service through Globus Online. Globus Online is a software tool to transfer files across the web in a reliable, high-performance and secure way. It provides fault-tolerant, fire-and-forget data transfer using simple web or command line interfaces. It is appropriate for transferring very large files.

You can use Globus Online to transfer files either between your desktop machine and a remote machine like the Hoffman2 Cluster, or between two remote machines on which you have accounts. For example, if you also have an account at Argonne National Lab you can use Globus Online to transfer files between your Hoffman2 and Argonne accounts. The remote site must also be a Globus Online participant and have grid-enabled your account there. Currently it is not possible to use Globus Online to transfer files between two private desktop machines.

You need to have a UCLA/UC Grid account in order to transfer files to or from the Hoffman2 Cluster. All Hoffman2 Cluster users already have grid accounts. All Hoffman2 Cluster user accounts have been grid-enabled and can use the Globus Online service.

Caveat: This service may not be appropriate for file transfers to or from a laptop machine. Like ordinary (scp, sftp) file transfer, your laptop needs to be active the entire time of the transfer and the narrower bandwidth of most wireless connections limits file transfer speed. However with Globus Connect, if your laptop loses its wireless connection during the transfer, the transfer will restart the next time it reacquires a connection. It is ok to use a laptop to initiate file transfers between the Hoffman2 Cluster and remote sites.

Windows: We have successfully used Windows7 Professional and Firefox 5.0 with Globus Online. We have encountered problems with older versions of Windows and with older versions of browsers.

Browsers: Globus Online support has verified Firefox 3.6+, Chrome 7+, Safari 4+ and Internet Explorer 7+. They have also tested Internet Explorer versions 8 and 9, and have configured Globus Online to run in IE 7 standards mode.

Create a Globus Online account

First you need to create a free, Globus Online account (one-time):

  • Point your browser at http://www.globusonline.org and click Sign Up.
  • On the Create an Account page, fill in the information (your name, email address, username, password, etc.) and read the terms, then click Register.

You will receive an email with a link which you need to follow to confirm your new Globus Online account.

Globus Connect software

If you want to transfer files to or from your local desktop machine, you need to download and install the Globus Connect software (one-time). You will need to do this step on each of your desktop machines whose files you want to transfer using Globus Online.

  1. Point your browser at http://www.globusonline.org and click Globus Connect. You will see a popup window in a web page. If you don't see the popup window, click the Get Globus Connect link on that page.
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  2. In Step One, click the button corresponding to your local platform (Mac OS, Linux or Windows) to download to your local desktop machine.
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  3. In Step Two, enter an Endpoint Name to identify your local machine in the Endpoint Name field, (you can ignore the Description field), and click Generate Setup Key.
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  4. Copy the setup key to some file and save it, since you will not see it again.
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  5. Install the downloaded Globus Connect software on your local desktop.
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  6. Run Globus Connect Installation (Windows: globus_connect_install.exe) for the initial setup, and paste in the setup key when prompted.

How to transfer files to or from the Hoffman2 Cluster

This section describes using the Globus Online web interface. If you prefer using a command line interface on your desktop, please send an email to atshpc@ucla.edu

  1. If you want to transfer files to or from your local desktop machine, start Globus Connect (Windows: gc.exe) on your local machine. A small status window will appear. When the connection has been made, the dot at the left of the connection will turn green. If you want to transfer files between two remote machines, you do not need to start Globus Connect.
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  2. Point your browser at http://www.globusonline.org, click Sign In, and click Transfer Files. A web page with two Endpoint fields will display.
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  3. In one Endpoint field, pull down the expand menu and select a site. If you are running Globus Connect, the first name in the list is your local desktop machine. When you select your local desktop machine, a list of your home directory files and directories will be displayed.
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  4. In the other Endpoint field, pull down the expand menu and near the bottom of the list select ucla#dtn1. This is your Hoffman2 Cluster home directory. A list of your Hoffman2 files and directories will display.

    5. When you select ucla#dtn1 a popup window will ask you for your myproxy server username and passphrase. Enter your UCLA/UC Grid username and its password. Leave the Server DN field blank. The default Lifetime value is 12 hours. If you are transferring a large amount of data, you may need to increase the Lifetime value. Click the Authenticate button.

  5. To transfer files between endpoints, select a file or directory from each list, then click one of the large arrow buttons to tell Globus Online the desired direction of the transfer.

You will receive an automatic email from Globus Online Notification (notify@globusonline.org) when the file transfer has completed. To have Globus Online show you the status and history of your file transfers, from its Go To pull-down menu, select View Transfers.

 

August 2011