Downloading Data via FTP

ARSF commonly deliver data via FTP. This allows PIs faster access to data and easier distribution across multiple institutions. While it is possible to download data using a web browser (e.g., IE, Chrome) for large files it is often better to use a specialised FTP client. For Windows / OS X we recommend ​Cyberduck, for Linux we recommend using ​lftp from the command line. However, a number of other clients are available.

Cyberduck (Windows / OS X)

• Download Cyberduck from ​https://cyberduck.io/?l=en and follow the instructions to install.
• Open Cyberduck (yellow duck icon) and click on the 'Open Connection' icon in the top left corner.
• Enter the address in the 'Server' box and username and password (these are provided in delivery email) and click 'Connect'

• Click 'Continue' at warning about unsecured FTP connection. This is a ​known problem with FTP (you can safely tick 'Don't show again')

• Before downloading data check the size by right clicking on a folder and selecting 'Info'

• In the Info box select 'Calculate' to get the size of the directory.

• Right click on folder(s) and select 'Download to', select a folder on a drive with sufficient storage to download the files to.

• A transfer window will open to show progress. If the transfer is interupted select the 'Resume' button from the top left of the transfers window.

Using lftp (Linux)

• If lftp is not already installed install using using one of the following commands (depending on distribution)

     sudo yum install lftp # Fedora, CentOS, RedHat etc.,                         
                                                                                  
     sudo apt-get install lftp # Ubuntu, Debian, Mint                             
  

• Change to the directory you wish to download the files to.
• Type lftp and the line from your email. For example:

     lftp ftp://arsf18:PASSWORD@ftp.rsg.pml.ac.uk/                                
  

• You can get a list of directories using 'ls'
• To download a folder type:

     mirror EUFAR15_38-169a-hyperspectral-20151015                                
  

• Once the download has finished type 'exit' to exit.