Secure file transfer in a command line (non-graphical) environment

From a Unix workstation on campus

1. Log in to the Unix workstation with your Unity ID and password.
2. An xterm window should appear, with a "unity%" prompt.
3. Type: ftp ftp.ncsu.edu
   This connects you to the server that you will use to transfer files to or from your Unity Home folder.
   (NOTE: If you want to connect to a server elsewhere, replace ftp.ncsu.edu with the name of that server, e.g., ftp.microsoft.com. The text you subsequently see in the xterm window will differ from what is given below, and you will probably need to log in as "anonymous" or "guest," using your email address as your password.)
4. You should see the following 2 lines:
   Connected to ftp.ncsu.edu
   220 North Carolina State University - Unity FTP Server
   followed by this prompt:
   Name (ftp.ncsu.edu: unityid):
   where unityid is your Unity ID.
5. Type in your Unity ID.
6. The following two lines should appear:
   331 Password required for unityid
   Password:
7. Type your Unity password.
8. You should then see these two lines:
   230 User unityid logged in.
   ftp>
9. You are now in your Unity Home directory. To verify this, you can type ls at the "ftp>" prompt to see a list of the files and folders in your directory.
10. To transfer a binary file (e.g., Web page, spreadsheet or anything other than plain text), type either binary or bin at the "ftp>" prompt. To return to text mode after you have finished a binary transfer, type ascii at the prompt.
11. Use the FTP commands below to browse your file structure and transfer files.
12. To get more help with FTP in Unix, type man ftp at a "unity%" prompt.

From off campus to your Unity home directory in AFS (Windows XP)

1. On a Windows XP machine, go to the "Start" menu.
2. Choose Run.
3. At the prompt, type ftp.
4. In the "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ftp.exe" window that appears, type:
   open ftp.ncsu.edu
5. Two lines should appear, indicating that you are connected and identifying the server:
   Connected to ftp.ncsu.edu
   220 North Carolina State University - Unity FTP Server
6. On the next line you should see this prompt:
   User <ftp.ncsu.edu:<none>>:
7. Type your Unity ID.
8. You should then see the following two lines:
   331 Password required for unityid.
   Password:
   where unityid is the Unity ID you entered earlier.
9. Type your Unity password.
10. You should see these two lines:
    230 User unityid logged in.
    ftp>
11. The screen should now be similar to the graphic below, indicating that you are logged in.
    
    
    
    
12. You will be in your Home directory in your Unity file space. To verify this, you can type ls at the "ftp>" prompt to see a list of the files and folders in your directory.
13. To transfer a binary file (e.g., Web page, spreadsheet or anything other than plain text), type either binary or bin at the "ftp>" prompt. To return to text mode after you have finished a binary transfer, type ascii at the prompt.
14. Use the FTP commands below to change to the desired local directory and remote directory.
15. Type the appropriate command (get, put, mget, mput) to transfer a file between directories.
16. If FTP has been successful, you will get a message telling you the number of bytes transferred.
17. When you are finished, type bye at the "ftp>" prompt to end the session.

FTP commands

In the commands below, be sure to replace filename and extension with the name of an actual file or extension.

For additional information on Unix commands, see a list of the ones most used or a more comprehensive list.

If you need more help with file transfer, contact the NC State Help Desk.

Go to the Secure File Transfer at NC State page.

Last modified  January 10, 2007 by cawalker