FTP is currently the remote file-sharing method of choice for the Ames Laboratory. It is much more efficient than e-mail and allows sharing very large files with a large number of people. We have two locker areas available externally for use by anyone outside the lab. The first is the per-user external locker and the second is the anonymous external locker.
Each user of our FTP system has their own locker, and a part of this locker is available externally. To access this locker the username of the locker owner and their external password must be used. The general folder structure looks similar to the following:
[root]\
|
\incoming
Anyone using the external username and password can download any files in the root folder or any subfolders with the sole exception of the incoming subfolder. External users can only put files into incoming, they cannot read files out of it.
Each user of our FTP system also has their own public locker. Anything put into this locker can be read by anyone outside the lab. To access this locker simply login as username anonymous or username ftp and enter your e-mail address as the password. No files can be uploaded to any public locker.
This is a quick overview of the essential information required to login to the external ftp server. More detail is provided for a few specific clients.
| Locker | Hostname | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| External | ftp.external.ameslab.gov | Locker owner | Provided by locker owner |
| Public | ftp.external.ameslab.gov | anonymous or ftp | user's e-mail address |
Using FTP always requires a client. There is an excellent open source GUI client available called FileZilla as well as a relatively standard command-line client interface; both are available for most platforms and we will provide instructions for the Win32 versions. Finally, for the external (not public) lockers only, we have a web-based interface known as Drall setup.