Transferring Data

Discovery has a dedicated transfer node that you must use to transfer data to and from the cluster. You are not allowed to transfer data from any other node. The node name is <username>@xfer.discovery.neu.edu: where <username> is your Northeastern username.

You can also transfer files using Globus. This is highly recommended if you need to transfer large amounts of data. See Using Globus for more information.

Caution

The /scratch directory is for temporary file storage only. It is not backed up. If you have directed your output files to /scratch, you should transfer your data from /scratch to another location as soon as possible. See Storage Accessible on Discovery for more information.

Data transfer node using Mac

You can use Terminal to transfer data to and from Discovery.

For example, you can use this command to transfer a file to your /scratch space:

scp <filename> <yourusername>@xfer.discovery.neu.edu:/scratch/<yourusername>

Where <filename> is the name of the file you want to transfer and <yourusername> is your Northeastern username.

Using SSHFS

If you want to use sshfs, you will need to use it with the dedicated transfer node xfer.discovery.neu.edu. It will not work on the login or compute nodes.

Use this syntax to perform file transfers with sshfs:

sshfs <yourusername>@xfer.discovery.neu.edu:</your/remote/path> <your/local/path> -<options>

Data transfer node using Windows

You can use MobaXterm to transfer data to and from Discovery. You can also use a file transfer program, such as FileZilla. The Files menu in Open onDemand (OOD) also allows you to transfer files. See Using OOD’s File Explorer for more information.

To transfer data using MobaXterm:

  1. Open MobaXterm.
  2. Click Session, then select SFTP.
  3. In the Remote host field, type xfer.discovery.neu.edu
  4. In the Username field, type your Northeastern username.
  5. In the Port field, type 22.
  6. In the Password box, type your Northeastern password and click OK. Click No if prompted to save your password.

You will now be connected to the transfer node and can transfer files through MobaXterm.

To transfer data using FileZilla:

  1. Open FileZilla.
  2. In the Host field, type sftp://xfer.discovery.neu.edu
  3. In the Username field, type your Northeastern username.
  4. In the Password field, type your Northeastern password.
  5. In the Port field, type 22.

You will now be connected to the transfer node and can transfer files through FileZilla.