FileZilla File Operations

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Overview

Questions

• How do I transfer files using FileZilla’s drag-and-drop interface?
• How do I monitor transfer progress?
• How do I manage files on Sagehen HPC through FileZilla?

Objectives

After completing this episode, participants will be able to: - Transfer files using drag-and-drop - Upload and download directories - Monitor transfer progress and speed - Manage remote files (rename, delete, create directories)

Navigating Filesystems

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The left panel shows your local computer; the right panel shows Sagehen. Double-click folders to enter them, or type a path directly in the path field.

FileZilla after Quickconnect: your computer on the left, your Sagehen HPC home on the right (it appears as /bigdata/rhome/… — the same place /rhome points to).

To access lab storage, type /bigdata/lab/<labname> in the remote path field and press Enter.

Uploading Files

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Drag and drop: Locate a file in the local panel (left), drag it to the remote panel (right), and release. The transfer begins immediately.

Right-click menu: Right-click a file in the local panel and select Upload.

Multiple files: Hold Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click to select multiple files, then drag them all to the remote panel. FileZilla queues and transfers them in sequence.

Directories: Right-click a directory in the local panel and select Upload. FileZilla uploads the directory and all its contents, preserving the folder structure.

Downloading Files

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Drag files from the remote panel (right) to the local panel (left), or right-click a remote file and select Download.

Transfer Monitoring

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The bottom panel shows active and queued transfers with real-time speed and progress:

Speed: 12.3 MB/s
Time remaining: 2 minutes 15 seconds
Data transferred: 100 MB / 250 MB (40%)

Typical speeds: 1-5 MB/s (slower connection), 5-20 MB/s (good), 20+ MB/s (fast).

Pausing and Resuming

Right-click an active transfer to Pause. Right-click a paused transfer to Resume from the same position.

File Management

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• Create directory: Right-click in remote panel > Create directory
• Rename: Right-click file > Rename
• Delete: Right-click file > Delete (permanent, use with caution)

Verifying Transfers

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After upload, compare file sizes between local and remote:

BASH

# On local machine
ls -lh myfile.dat

# On Sagehen (via SSH)
ls -lh /rhome/<myusername>/myfile.dat

Callout

Compress Before Transferring

Save transfer time by compressing files first:

BASH

tar czf myproject.tar.gz myproject/

Compression typically reduces text/CSV data 5-20x. Then transfer the compressed file and decompress on Sagehen with tar xzf myproject.tar.gz.

Troubleshooting

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• Transfer hangs: Wait, then try Pause/Resume. For very large files, use rsync instead
• Files not appearing: Press F5 to refresh the remote view
• Connection refused: Verify hostname is sagehen.hpc.pomona.edu port 22
• Authentication failed: Verify Pomona credentials, check for Duo notification

Challenge

Challenge: Round-Trip Transfer

1. Navigate the local panel to a file on your computer (1-100 MB)
2. In the remote panel, create a directory: filezilla_test
3. Upload the file to filezilla_test/
4. Note the transfer speed from the progress panel
5. Download the file back and verify the size matches

Show me the solution

Expected result: the file appears in /rhome/<myusername>/filezilla_test/ with matching size. Transfer speed depends on your network – typical range is 5-15 MB/s. The downloaded copy should be identical to the original.

Key Points

• Drag-and-drop makes FileZilla transfers intuitive for uploads and downloads
• The transfer queue shows real-time progress, speed, and estimated time
• Compress files before transfer to reduce time significantly
• Good for interactive transfers up to several hundred MB; use rsync for larger files