Using IU's SDA is a little bit confusing at first. Here is most of what you need to know. ## Setting up an SDA account See [this page](https://kb.iu.edu/d/alja) for details. Basically, you need to request access like you do to other IU systems (e.g., Big Red 3, Quartz). ## The remote address To access this account you should be trying to access the below address: - `[email protected]` Typically, your username will be the regular username you have for all other IU virtual machines (that likely matches your email address). You can then access this machine using one of the two commands in the following section. Access will require a password and two-factor authentication. The password will be your IU institutional email. [source](https://kb.iu.edu/d/avax) ## The two commands There are only two ways to access the SDA from the command-line. I.e., by using the commands: - `scp` : for transferring files to the SDA - `sftp` : for accessing the SDA machine to create folders, symlinks, etc. [source](https://kb.iu.edu/d/avax) ## Using `sftp` `sftp` gives you command-line access to the SDA, however, it operates a little bit differently than a regular terminal. You should feel comfortable to Google exactly the commands you would like to run (including "with sftp" in that search) and answers are not too hard to find. IU also has a list of [common commands](https://kb.iu.edu/d/akqg) (bottom of the page) used in sftp shells that is pretty helpful. ## `hsi` Seems like you can also use this command. - Details here: https://kb.iu.edu/d/avdb ## How to actually transfer files To transfer files you should go to where your files are currently saved (e.g., if they are on a virtual machine, first access that virtual machine). Then, you can use `scp` to transfer those files. Generally, transferring files works exactly the same way that `scp` normally does. **Transferring a single file** ```sh scp my_one_file.parquet [email protected] ``` This will save that single file to the home directory of your SDA account. **Transferring an entire directory recursively** ```sh scp -r my_data_dir [email protected] ``` The `-r` flag means "recursively" so this saves everything within and below the directory `my_data_dir` to the home directory of your SDA account. ## SDA classes of service (important!) Technically, your home directory in the SDA is located in a path like the below - `/cos1/hpss/m/d/mdeverna` The `cos1` stands for "**c**lass **o**f **s**ervice one" which dictates the types of files that you can save in that service (e.g., number of files and size of files). See [this page](https://kb.iu.edu/d/auli) for details on the different classes of service. If `cos1` the default does not work for you, you can create a symbolic link in your home directory that makes saving to specific classes easier. See the bottom of [this page](https://kb.iu.edu/d/avax) for details on how to do this. ## Graphical interfaces If you're a loser, you can also use a graphical interface... 😜 **Options**: - Mac: Cyberduck - Windows: WinSCP See [this page](https://kb.iu.edu/d/avax) for more details. --- #### Related #academic_resources #data_storage