Transferring Data Externally

There are different ways in which to transfer data to and from research computing facilities. The appropriate choice will depend on the size of your data, your need to secure it and also who you wish to share it with.

To copy the data to or from a location for yourself (or a collaborator who has a Research Computing account):

• Using SCP or SFTP – See: Copying Data Using SCP or SFTP
• Using rsync – see: rsync
• For large data sets, consider using Globus – FYI: An institutional endpoint is not required to use Globus; You can set up a personal endpoint on your computer if you need to transfer large amounts of data
• Within Harvard or when connected over the VPN you can mount some file systems on your desktop or laptop to copy data securely (slower)

When sending data to a collaborator without an account on research computing systems:

• For files (or folders) under 20GB in size that need to be sent to individuals please use the Accellion secure file transfer.
• For large data sets and/or for access by external users, consider using Globus
• For unsecured long-term publishing of data on the web contact rchelp@rc.fas.harvard.edu. We can make your data available (readable to the world) over a URL. Not recommended for very large data sets. If you wish to use this option, please let us know up the overall size up front.

Please contact rchelp@rc.fas.harvard.edu if your needs fall outside these directions.