CIRCE Data Access

Accessing Your CIRCE Data

This page describes how a user can access their data on the CIRCE environment

Please note:  Per the USF IT Office of Information Security, the use of FTP is prohibited on Research Computing Resources. An encrypted transfer method such as SFTP must be used instead.

Mapping via Windows Network Drive

• Pros
  • Simple, native Windows Explorer interface
  • No learning curve
  • Does not require logging in. Uses your standard NetID/Forest credentials

• Cons
  • Cannot view or modify Linux file permissions

Starting VPN (off-campus users only)

IMPORTANT: When connecting from OFF-CAMPUS, you must have the USF VPN running already before attempting to connect via Windows Network Drive. See more on how to set up the VPN here: https://vpn.usf.edu

Mapping via Windows Network Drive - USF-owned machines

1. Click Start, start typing "File Explorer", and then click the "File Explorer" icon to open it
2. Right-click on "This PC" and click "Map Network Drive…”
3. Enter the settings as shown below:
   1. Select a free drive letter from the drive list
   2. Enter the following for the share you want to map to:
      1. /home: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\homes
      2. /work: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\work
      3. /work_bgfs: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\work_bgfs
      4. Check "Reconnect at sign-in" check-box
4. Click Finish

Mapping via Windows Network Drive - privately-owned machines

1. Click Start, start typing "File Explorer", and then click the "File Explorer" icon to open it
2. Right-click on "This PC" and click "Map Network Drive…”
3. Enter the settings as shown below:
   1. Select a free drive letter from the drive list
   2. Enter the following for the share you want to map to:
      1. /home: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\homes
      2. /work: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\work
      3. /work_bgfs: \\cifs.rc.usf.edu\work_bgfs
      4. Check "Reconnect at sign-in" check-box
      5. Check the "Connect using different credentials" check-box
4. Click Finish
5. In the pop-up that appears, complete the following steps:
   1. Click "More choices", then click "Use a different account"
   2. Enter "FOREST\USFNetID" in the "Username" field. For example: if your NetID is "johndoe", you will enter: FOREST\johndoe
   3. Enter your USF NetID password in the "Password" field
6. Click OK

SFTP/SCP

Several popular SCP clients are listed below. You should consult their respective documentation for usage information. You’ll need to remember the following:

• Hostname: circe.rc.usf.edu
• Port (if asked): 22
• Protocol (if asked): SFTP
• Username: Your USF NetID
• Password: Your USF NetID Password

 

Popular clients:

• WinSCP (Windows): http://winscp.net/
• Cyberduck (Mac OSX): https://cyberduck.io/?l=en
• The native file managers on Linux support SFTP/SCP by default

Pros:

• Highly Secure, Encrypted Communications
• Usable from off-campus
• Supports viewing and modifying Linux file permissions

Cons:

• Some learning curve
• Requires log in before each use

Command Line Tools

You can, of course, interact with your data from the command line via SSH. Popular SSH clients are listed below.

• PuTTY: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/

Pros

• Highly Secure, Encrypted Communications
• Usable from off-campus
• Supports viewing and modifying Linux file permissions
• The full power of a Linux command-line at your finger tips

Cons

• For new users, the learning curve is great
• Requires log in before each use
• Its very easy to hurt yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing.