Harvard-MIT Data Center

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To install FileZilla, you must download the installer package and then install it.

1. Open a web browser and navigate to the FileZilla Client Download page.
2. Locate the Windows section, then click the link for the setup.exe version (the text recommended is printed next to the appropriate link).
   
3. You are redirected to another site, where your download begins automatically after a few seconds.
   You might see an error message about encrypted data. The following example shows the message that Firefox displays.
   This message is benign, and you can continue safely.
   
4. You are prompted to save the package.
   Save it somewhere you will be able to find again. Your Desktop is a good place.
   
5. After the installer package downloads, double-click it to install.
   You might see an error message saying that Windows cannot verify the publisher of the package. Again, this is benign, and you can click Run to continue safely.
   
6. Accept the FileZilla license agreement by clicking I Agree.
   
7. When prompted to select an install location, select Only for me and click Next.
   
8. Leave the default components unchanged and click Next.
   
9. Leave the default install location unchanged and click Next.
   
10. Leave the default Start Menu folder unchanged and click Install.
    
11. When you see a window similar to the following, FileZilla is installed successfully.
    Click Finish to launch the program for the first time.
    

If you reach this point successfully, you now can connect to your network volume using FileZilla. If you encountered problems along the way, do not continue; instead, contact us for assistance.

Image(s): 

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08_default-components.png

09_default-location.png

10_default-start-menu.png

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After you install FileZilla successfully, you can set up your first connection to your network volume.

Before you continue, please make sure you have all the necessary information for a successful connection, as documented in the About File Access. If you do not have this information, please contact us for assistance.

To connect to your network volume, perform the following:

1. Near the top of the FileZilla window, you see a set of four input fields labeled Host, Username, Password, and Port.
   
   Enter the following information in these fields to set up your connection:
   • Host - Enter the server name to which you choose to connect, and make sure that you specify protocol to use. The appropriate protocol to use is SFTP; a sample URL would be sftp://desktop.hmdc.harvard.edu.
   • Username - Enter your account username. If you entered your CGIS server name in the Host field, then enter your CGIS username in this field. Likewise, if you entered your RCE server name in the Host field, then enter your RCE username in this field.
   • Password - Enter the password for the account you specified in the Username field. Note that the characters will be hidden.
   • Port - Leave this field blank.

   The following is an example of a properly configured FileZilla connection. The URL in the Host field is too big to fit, so some of it is hidden.
   

2. Click the Quickconnect button to initiate the connection.
   The first time you connect, you see an Unknown host key dialog.
3. Click the Always trust this host, add this key to the cache check box, and then click OK.
   You see a similar message the first time you connect to any new server. If you add the key to the cache each time, you should not see this message upon subsequent connections to the same server.
   
4. You see some status messages in the upper area of the FileZilla window during the connection process.
   When you are connected successfully, files and folders will appear in the right-hand panel.

The following window shows an example of a successful connection.

If you reach this point without problems, you are ready to transfer files back and forth between your network volume and your workstation. Note that if you click the down-arrow next to the Quickconnect button, you see a list of all servers to which you connected previously and you do not have to type in all of the information again.

Image(s): 

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When you are connect to your network volume using FileZilla, your local workstation file and folders are displayed in the left pane, which is labeled Local site. Your network volume files and folders are displayed in the right pane, labeled Remote site.

Locating Your Desktop and Shared Space

On your local workstation, general use folders are in the following location:

• Windows - C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\My Documents

• Mac - /Users/<local machine name>/Desktop/

On your network share, your shared space is in the following location:

• CGIS account - /nfs/desktop_groups/<your department>/
  For example, /nfs/desktop_groups/wcfia/
• RCE account - /nfs/home/<username first letter>/<username>/shared_space/

Transfering Files

To transfer files between locations, drag the files and folders from the your local workstation in the left pane to your network volume in the right pane, or vice versa.

The following example refers to a folder called example in your local My Documents folder; the example folder contains a single file, example.txt. On the network side, the example refers to a project share, shuff, in the network shared_space folder.

1. Navigate to the source folder on your local workstation in the left pane.
   
2. Navigate to the destination folder on your network volume in the right pane.
   
3. Drag the source folder on your local workstation (example) to the target folder on your network volume (shuff).
   Some log messages will appear in the upper part of the FileZilla window. When you see the message Status: File transfer successful, the transfer is complete.
   

To transfer files or folders in from your network volume to your local workstation, drag them from the right panel to the left panel.

Large files, or folders containing many files, might take a long time to transfer. During a large transfer process, files waiting to be transferred are listed in the Queued files panel at the bottom of the FileZilla window.

Image(s): 

18_local-pane.png

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When you are connected to your network volume using FileZilla, you can edit files without first transferring them manually to your local workstation.

Perform the following to edit documents on your network volume:

1. Open FileZilla and connect to your network volume.
   See Connecting Remotely Using FileZilla for detailed information.
2. In the Remote site panel on the right side of the FileZilla window, right-click the file that you choose to edit and then select View/Edit from the context menu.
   Your file opens in the appropriate program based on the file type.
   
3. Make your changes to the file. When you finish editing, save and then close the file.
   FileZilla prompts you to re-upload the file to the server and overwrite your original file.
   
4. Click Yes to upload your edited file.
   After the file uploads, your edited file is available on the network volume.

If you encounter any problems using FileZilla, please contact us.

Image(s): 

fzilla_edit_1.gif

fzilla_edit_2.gif

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Note: You must restart your Mac after installing MacFUSE. Please be prepared to do so before proceeding to Macfusion installation and configuration.

1. Visit the MacFUSE web site.
   The latest version of MacFUSE is linked from the Featured Downloads section. At this time, the current version is MacFUSE-2.0.3,2.dmg.
2. If you use Firefox to download the disk image, you are asked what to do with it.
   Open the image using DiskImageMounter.

    

   

   Alternately, you can download the disk image, then double-click it after the download is complete.
   After you download and mount the disk image, you see the installer package, MacFUSE.pkg.

3. Double-click the installer package to launch the installer.

   

4. Click OK and Continue as you proceed through the installation.
   The installer prompts you to enter your password before it can complete.
5. Complete the installation and restart your Mac.
   You see a new item in your System Preferences, in the Other section, entitled MacFUSE.
   

If you see this item, proceed to Installing Macfusion; if not, please contact us for assistance.

Image(s): 

Download MacFUSE

Mount MacFUSE

MacFUSE Installed

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Do not install and configure Macfusion until you successfully install MacFUSE.

To install Macfusion:

1. Visit the Macfusion web site.
   The latest version is available by using the Download link near the top of the page.
2. Download the ZIP archive, then double-click the archive to expand the Macfusion application.

   

3. Drag this application into your Applications folder, then double-click it to launch it.

Image(s): 

Macfusion application

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As with the other file access methods, please be sure that you have all the required information enumerated in the About File Access before proceeding.

NOTE: You must know the name of the server to which you have been granted access before proceeding; in addition, if you are connecting to a project share or a web site, you must know the name of the project share or the web root directory before proceeding. The examples listed below are only examples; they will not work for all users.

To determine which servers you may access, log into the HMDC account management page (https://help.hmdc.harvard.edu/account_manager/) using your RCE username and password.

To configure Macfusion:

1. Open Macfusion.
   
   A blank window is displayed.
   
   
2. Click the plus menu, then select SSHFS to add a new SFTP target.
3. To create a target pointing to your home directory, fill in the fields as follows:
   • Title - We suggest that you use HMDC Home.
   • Host - Enter the name of the server to which you are granted access (check the HMDC account management page if you are not sure of the hostname).
   • User Name - Enter the username associated with the host you entered above.
   • Password - Leave this blank.
   • Path - Leave this blank.

   

4. To create a target pointing to a project share, fill in the fields as follows:
   • Title - We suggest that you use HMDC <project> Project.
   • Host - Enter the name of the server to which you are granted access (check the HMDC account management page if you are not sure of the hostname).
   • User Name - Enter the username associated with the host you entered above.
   • Password - Leave this blank.
   • Path - Enter shared_space/<project>
     (contact us if you are unsure of the name of the project share).

   

5. To create a target pointing to a web site, fill in the fields as follows:
   • Title - We suggest HMDC <web site> Site.
   • Host - Enter the name of the server to which you are granted access (check the HMDC account management page if you are not sure of the hostname).
   • User Name - Enter the username associated with the host you entered above.
   • Password - Leave this blank.
   • Path - Enter /nfs/www/<web site> (contact us if you are unsure of the name of the web site directory).

   

Image(s): 

Macfusion initial window

Macfusion menu item

Macfusion password prompt

Macfusion target mounted in Finder

Custom target names

06-homedir-macfusion.png

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After you configure your targets:

1. Mount your targets to access the files that they contain. You can do so in one of two ways:
   • In the Macfusion window, click the Mount button next to a target.
     
   • On the Macfusion menu bar in the upper-right corner of the window, select Favorites, and then select the desired target.
     
2. You are prompted to enter your account password.
   Note: Do not save your password in the Keychain.
   
3. On the Finder menu, select the Go menu Computer option, or press Command-Shift-C.
   You see the mounted target or targets appear as standard volumes.
   

To unmount an SFTP target, right-click the volume and select Eject "<target>". Or, click the Unmount button next to the target in the Macfusion window.

Custom Target Names

If you regularly access multiple targets, you can give them custom names to better differentiate them in the Finder. To do so:

1. Edit the target in Macfusion.
2. Select the Macfusion pane, then enter a custom name in the Volume Name field.
   

Image(s): 

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MacFUSE and Macfusion show good performance for many typical use cases. However, if you experience unacceptably slow performance, try the following adjustments:

• If you are off-campus or using a slow connection, consider enabling compression for file transfers.
  This should not be necessary when inside the Harvard network.

  1. In Macfusion, select the desired target and click Edit.
  2. Select the SSH Advanced tab.
  3. Check the Enable Compression box and click OK.
  4. If the target is mounted currently, unmount it.
  5. Mount the target and check to see if you experience better performance.

• If you are browsing targets with very large numbers of files, consider disabling some of the metadata features in OS X.
  Be aware, however, that doing so may induce instability or unpredictable behavior.

  1. In Macfusion, select the desired target and click Edit.
  2. Select the Macfusion tab.
  3. Check the Ignore Apple Double Files box and click OK.
  4. If the target is mounted currently, unmount it.
  5. Mount the target and check to see if you experience better performance.