Globus is a non-profit service that enables secure and reliable research data management. From the Globus website:

With Globus, subscribers can move, share, & discover data via a single interface – whether your files live on a supercomputer, lab cluster, tape archive, public cloud or your laptop, you can manage this data from anywhere, using your existing identities, via just a web browser.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to:

  • Log in to Globus
  • Link your RC cluster home directory to Globus
  • Install and configure the Globus Connect application
  • Manage files and folders in a Globus collection
  • Manage Globus collections
  • Transfer files between Globus collections

0 - Disclaimers

  • Globus is not a file storage service like Google Drive. Globus allows you to share files that are hosted on a computer that you have access to. If that computer gets replaced or those files get deleted, they will get deleted from your Globus collection.
  • Globus is not a backup solution. If you need to backup files, please reach out to the RC Team.

1 - Getting Started with Globus

1.1 - Log In and Link Your RC Home Directory

  1. Visit globus.org.

  2. Click “Login” at the top right of the screen.

  3. Select “Rochester Institute of Technology” from the dropdown menu.
    • globus_1.png

  4. Click “Continue”.

  5. You will be redirected to RIT Login. Log in with your RIT username and password.

  6. Click “Continue” again.
    • globus_2.png
  7. Click “Allow”.
    • globus_3.png
  8. You should see something like this:
    • globus_4.png
  9. In the Collection search bar, search for “RIT Research Computing Home Directory Transfer Gateway”.
    • globus_8.png

  10. Click on “RIT Research Computing Home Directory Transfer Gateway”.

  11. You will see a prompt for “Authentication/Consent Required”. Click “Continue”.
    • globus_9.png
  12. Click on your RIT email.
    • globus_10.png

  13. You will be redirected to RIT Login. Log in with your RIT username and password.

  14. Click “Allow”.
    • globus_11.png

  15. You may see home directories for other researchers, but you will not be able to see any of their contents.

  16. In the “Path” field, enter /<username>. Replace “" with your RIT username. Press "Enter".
    • globus_12.png
  17. You should now see the contents of your RC cluster home directory.

1.2 - Installing Globus Connect

Before you can upload files to Globus, you need to install the Globus Connect desktop application. Please follow the directions below for your operating system.

1.2.1 - Linux Install

  1. Install prerequisites.
    • Ubuntu, Mint, Debian: $ sudo apt install tk tcllib
    • Fedora, CentOS, RedHat: $ sudo yum install tk tcllib
    • OpenSUSE: $ sudo zypper install tk tcllib
  2. Download Globus Connect from this page.
    • You can also download via the command line: $ wget https://downloads.globus.org/globus-connect-personal/linux/stable/globusconnectpersonal-latest.tgz
    • globus_5.png
  3. Extract the contents of the tarball (.tgz) you downloaded.
    • $ tar xzf <globus_connect_file>.tgz
  4. Change directory in to the extracted directory.
    • $ cd globusconnectpersonal-x.y.z
    • Change x.y.z to the version number that you extracted.
  5. Start the installer.
    • $ chmod u+x globusconnectpersonal
    • $ ./globusconnectpersonal
  6. In the window that pops up, click “Log In”.
    • globus_6.png

  7. A browser tab will open to the Globus log in page. Follow steps 3-6 in Part 1.1 of this tutorial.

  8. Enter a name for your computer (make it descriptive). Click “Allow”.
    • globus_7.png
  9. You should see a “Login Successful” message in your web browser. Go back to the installer window and enter a collection name and description. Do not check the “High Assurance” box; if you are dealing with protected data, please talk to Research Computing before uploading it to Globus.
    • Note that you may not be able to read the text due to your system theme.
    • globus_13.png

  10. Click “Save”.

  11. You should see a “Setup Successful” message and a Globus browser window will open. You can click “Exit Setup” in the installer window.
    • globus_14.png
  12. At the end of the installation, you will see a Globus Connect window. You can manage your Globus connect here. See Section 3.1 of this tutorial for details on configuring Globus Connect.
    • globus_15.png
  13. In the browser window that opened, you will now see the collection you created.
    • If you close the Globus Connect application, you will see an error similar to this when accessing your collection in Globus.
    • globus_16.png

1.2.2 - Windows Install

  1. Download Globus Connect from this page.
    • globus_37.png

  2. Launch the application installer.

  3. Click “Install”.
    • globus_38.png
  4. Click “Log In”.
    • globus_39.png

  5. A Browser tab will open to the Globus log in page. Follow steps 3-6 in Part 1.1 of this tutorial.

  6. Enter a name for your computer (make it descriptive). Click “Allow”.
    • globus_40.png
  7. You should see a “Login Successful” message in your web browser. Go back to the installer window and enter a collection name and description. Do not check the “High Assurance” box; if you are dealing with protected data, please talk to Research Computing before uploading it to Globus.
    • globus_41.png

  8. Click “Save”.

  9. You should see a “Setup Successful” message and a Globus browser window will open. You can click “Exit Setup” in the installer window.
    • globus_42.png
  10. At the end of the installation, you will see an icon in the menu bar at the bottom of your screen. You can click on this icon to manage your Globus Connect. See Section 3.1 of this tutorial for details on configuring Globus Connect.
    • globus_43.png
  11. In the browser window that opened, you will now see the collection you created.
    • If you close the Globus Connect application, you will see an error similar to this when accessing your collection in Globus.
    • globus_16.png

1.2.3 - Mac Install

  1. Download Globus Connect from this page.
    • globus_29.png
  2. Install Globus Connect by dragging the Globus Connect icon to the Applications folder shortcut.
    • globus_30.png
  3. Launch Globus Connect.
    • globus_31.png
  4. Click “Login”.
    • globus_32.png

  5. A browser tab will open to the Globus log in page. Follow steps 3-6 in Part 1.1 of this tutorial.

  6. Enter a name for your computer (make it descriptive). Click “Allow”.
    • globus_33.png
  7. You should see a “Login Successful” message in your web browser. Go back to the installer window and enter a collection name and description. Do not check the “High Assurance” box; if you are dealing with protected data, please talk to Research Computing before uploading it to Globus.
    • globus_34.png

  8. Click “Save”.

  9. You should see a “Setup Successful” message and a Globus browser window will open. You can click “Exit Setup” in the installer window.
    • globus_35.png
  10. At the end of the installation, you will see an icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen. You can click on this icon to manage your Globus Connect. See Section 3.1 of this tutorial for details on configuring Globus Connect.
    • globus_36.png
  11. In the browser window that opened, you will now see the collection you created.
    • If you close the Globus Connect application, you will see an error similar to this when accessing your collection in Globus.
    • globus_16.png

2 - Data Management

From a collection in Globus (in your web browser), you will see this menu on the right side of the screen:

globus_17.png

From this menu, you can create/delete folders/files, download/upload files, and more.

2.1 - Folder Management

2.1.1 - Create a Folder

  1. Navigate to the folder where you want to create a new folder.

  2. Click “New Folder” from the menu on the right.

  3. You will see a prompt for a new folder. Name your folder and click the green checkmark (or press “Enter”).

    • globus_18.png

2.1.2 - Delete a Folder

  1. Select the folder you want to delete (it should be highlighted in blue).
    • globus_19.png

  2. Click “Delete Selected” from the menu on the right.

  3. You will see a prompt to “permanently delete”. You can cancel the deletion or click “Delete” to continue.
    • globus_20.png

2.1.3 - Rename a Folder

  1. Select the folder you want to rename (it should be highlighted in blue).
    • globus_19.png

  2. Click “Rename” from the menu on the right.

  3. Enter the new name for your folder and click the green checkmark (or press “Enter”).

2.1.4 - Upload a Folder

  1. Navigate to the folder where you want to upload a new folder.

  2. Click “Upload” from the menu on the right.
    • You may be prompted to authenticate. Click “Continue”. The click “Upload” again.
  3. Click “Select Folder to Upload”.
    • globus_21.png

  4. A file browser window will open. Select the folder you want to upload and click “Upload”.

  5. In the Globus web browser window, you will be prompted to “Cancel” or “Upload”. Click “Upload” if you wish to continue.
    • globus_22.png

2.1.5 - Download a Folder

Downloading a folder is not currently supported.

2.1.6 - Share Your RC Cluster Home Directory

If you only need to share a few files from your home directory, you can follow the instructions in Section 2.1.7 of this tutorial.

2.1.7 - Share a Folder

  1. Select the folder you want to share (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Share” from the menu on the right.

  3. Click “Add a Shared Endpoint”. You will see the following options.
    • globus_26.png

  4. For the “Path” option, click “Browse” and select the folder you want to share.

  5. Type in a “Share Display Name”.

  6. Type in a “Description”.

  7. Type in any “Keywords”.

  8. Click “Create Share”.

2.2 - File Management

2.2.1 - Create a File

Creating files is not currently supported.

2.2.2 - Delete a File

  1. Select the file you want to delete (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Delete Selected” from the menu on the right.

  3. You will be prompted to “permanently delete”. You can cancel the deletion or click “Delete” to continue.

    • globus_23.png

2.2.3 - Rename a File

  1. Select the file you want to rename (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Rename” from the menu on the right.

  3. Enter the new name for your file and click the green checkmark (or press “Enter”).

2.2.4 - Upload a File

  1. Navigate to the folder where you want to upload a new file.

  2. Click “Upload” from the menu on the right.
    • You may be prompted to authenticate. Click “Continue”. The click “Upload” again.
  3. Click “Select Files to Upload”.
    • globus_21.png

  4. A file browser window will open. Select the file(s) you want to upload and click “Open”.

  5. Your file(s) will begin uploading.

2.2.5 - Download a File

  1. Select the file you want to download (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Download” from the menu on the right.

  3. You will be prompted to select your “Identity”. Click on your RIT email.
    • globus_10.png
  4. You will see this prompt on the next page. Click “Allow”.
    • globus_24.png
  5. A file browser window will open. Navigate to the folder you would like to save the file to and click “Save”.

2.2.6 - Share a File

  1. Select the file you want to share (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Get Link” from the menu on the right.

  3. You will see two options. Click “view URL” under “access the selected file directly”.
    • globus_25.png
  4. Copy the URL and share it with whomever you wish.
    • Anyone who uses this URL will have to log in to Globus to download the file.

2.2.7 - Open a File

  1. Select the file you want to open (it should be highlighted in blue).

  2. Click “Open” from the menu on the right.

  3. Your file will open in a new browser tab.

    • Note that not all file types are supported. Clicking “Open” for an unsupoorted file type will open a file browser window so you can save the file on your computer.

2.2.8 - Show Hidden Files

Files can be hidden on the file system. To display them, click “Show Hidden Items” from the menu on the right.

To hide them again, click “Hide Hidden Items” from the menu on the right.

3 - Collection Management

3.1 - Changing Directory Permissions

These directions are for Linux. Any differences for Windows/Mac will be noted.

  1. Open the Globus Connect application.

  2. Click “File” then “Preferences”.
    • Windows: Click “Options”.
    • Mac: Click “Preferences” then “Access”.
  3. Click “+” to add a directory to your collection.
    • Type in the absolute path to the directory you want to add.
    • Press “Enter”.
    • If you want to be able to share the folder, check “Shared”.
    • If you want to be able to write to the folder from the web browser, check “Write”.
    • Click “Save”.
  4. Select a directory and click “-“ to remove the directory from your collection.
    • Click “Save”.

3.2 - Transferring Files Between Collections

  1. Select the collection you wish to transfer files/folders from.
    • globus_44.png

  2. Navigate to the directory with the files/folders you wish to transfer.

  3. Click “Transfer or Sync to…” from the menu on the right.
    • globus_45.png
  4. A new collection field will appear on the right.
    • globus_46.png

  5. Select the collection you wish to transfer files/folders to.

  6. Select the files/folders you wish to transfer (they should be highlighted in blue).

  7. (Optional) Click “Transfer & Timer Options” for special transfer options. Each option has an “i” icon that you can click on for details.
    • globus_48.png
  8. Click “Start”.
    • globus_47.png
  9. You will see a notification that your “Transfer request submitted successfully”.
    • globus_49.png
  10. Click “refresh list” to verify that your files/folders have been transferred.

3.3 - Making a Collection Public

You can choose to make a collection public, meaning it will be accessible and searchable by all Globus users.

  1. From the Globus web page, click “Bookmarks” from the menu on the left.

  2. Click the “Your Collections” tab.

  3. Click the three vertical dots to the right of the collection you want to make public.

  4. Click “Edit Attributes” from the options on the right.

  5. Scroll down to the “Visible To” section.

  6. Select “Public - Visible to All Users”.
    • globus_27.png
  7. Click “Save Changes”.

3.4 - Delete a Collection

  1. From the Globus web page, click “Bookmarks” from the menu on the left.

  2. Click the “Your Collections” tab.

  3. Click the three vertical dots to the right of the collection you want to make public.

  4. Click “Delete Endpoint” from the options on the right.

  5. You will be prompted to confirm deletion. Click “Cancel” or “Delete Endpoint” to continue.

    • globus_28.png

4 - Resources

Tags: instructions