Copying files to/from your Linux Researcher Desktop

Owned by Mengsi Wells-Lakeland
Last updated: Nov 12, 2024 by Lauren
2 min read

Question

How do I copy files to/from my Researcher Desktop (Linux)?

Answer

Important: Data kept on Researcher Desktop VMs is not backed up. Important files should always be stored on a shared drive.

There are many options to transfer files between your Researcher Desktop.

Use your OneDrive

OneDrive can be accessed through the Expandrive application installed on your Researcher Desktop.

  • Open Expandrive (the flower icon in your sidebar)

  • Select 'OneDrive for Business'

  • Put in your University email and click ‘Okay’

  • Sign in to the University authentication system

  • Name the drive and click ‘Submit’

  • Create the keyring for opening the drive (use a secure password)

  • Your OneDrive will now be mounted as a drive, and a Files window will open with the content of your OneDrive

Use the Departmental network shares

The University's Departmental network shares are automatically mounted on the Researcher Desktop just like your desktop/laptop. The shares you have access to are based on your login.

This is located in the 'Shares' folder from your home folder. i.e. ~/Shares

Use your Research Data Storage network share

The University's Research Data Storage shares can be accessed directly using the following system paths:

  • CIFS / SMB shares (Windows & Mac): /smb/research-cifs.unimelb.edu.au/<share>

  • NFS shares (Linux): /net/research-nfs.ipa.unimelb.edu.au/<share> (might require some configuration changes by the team managing the storage first)

GUI example (press CONTROL + 'l' when using the Nautilus file manager and enter the path manually):

Screenshot from 2020-03-02 12-41-14.png

CLI example:

Screenshot from 2020-03-02 12-40-16.png

Use your Mediaflux Project

If you have access to a Mediaflux project you can follow this guide on uploading and downloading your data.

Use SCP / SCP client

SSH is enabled on the Linux Researcher Desktop so you can use the scp command or an scp client to transfer files to/from the computer.

Destination 

(Desktop hostname)

Username 

(Your University user name) 

Password 

(Your University password)

You can find the Desktop's hostname on the URL when you access your Desktop from the browser (or by running 'hostname -f' from a Terminal). It looks like: vm-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.rc.cloud.unimelb.edu.au

Additional Information

New research data storage can be requested via the Research Computing Portal (see available resources tagged as ‘Storage’).

Note that you need to be connected to the University VPN to access RCP if you’re off campus.