Help Desk

Students, faculty, and staff have their own personal web space at people.reed.edu/~username (replace "username" with your own username). You can create an index.html and other web pages, or use it as a file repository.

Connecting to people.reed.edu is done over SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) which is a network protocol used to transfer files over a secure connection. There are many programs that use this protocol which allow you to work with files on remote computers.

To connect to Reed's SFTP server, you must provide at least the following session information to your SFTP client software:

• Server Address - sftp.reed.edu
• Username - use your kerberos username at Reed. You cannot connect to Reed's SFTP server anonymously.
• Password - use your Kerberos password at Reed (i.e. the password you also use for email).

Some SFTP clients may require additional information, but the defaults will probably work. When you connect to sftp.reed.edu, your initial remote directory should be your home folder on Reed's server.

Fetch is a graphical SFTP client for Macs that allows you to copy files to (upload) and from (download) a remote computer. Reed has a site license for Fetch which can be obtained from downloads.reed.edu. On Reed computers, you may be able to install it from the Self Service application.

Logging into your home folder on sftp.reed.edu

1. After starting Fetch, you will be presented with the window below. If Fetch is already running, open the File menu and select New Connection...

   

2. For Hostname, enter: sftp.reed.edu
3. For Username, enter your Kerberos username
4. From the Connect using list, select SFTP
5. When you are prompted for your password, enter your Kerberos password and click Connect.

Using Fetch

• After logging in, you should be directed to your home folder. The "html" folder is where you can upload .html files to build out your personal webpage.

  

• Double click on a folder (for example, html) to open it.
• Use the "Get" and "Put" buttons to download and upload files, respectively.
• Refer to the software's built-in Help guide from the Help menu > Fetch Help to learn more.

WinSCP is an opensource SFTP client for Windows that allows you to copy files to (upload) and from (download) a remote computer. You can download it for free from https://winscp.net/eng/download.php.

Connecting to your home folder on sftp.reed.edu

1. Launch WinSCP.
2. Under Host name, type in sftp.reed.edu
3. Under User name, type your Reed Kerberos username.
4. Select SFTP from the Protocol list.
5. Click on the Login button at the bottom.

   

6. If you see the following warning message, click Yes to continue.
   
   
7. When prompted, enter your network password and click OK.

Using WinSCP

• When you connect, you will see two panels. The left panel shows your local My Documents folder and the right panel shows the files on the server. You can navigate within either of these windows the same way that you would in an Explorer window.
• To copy files to the server, simply drag them from the left panel into the right panel.
• To copy files from the server to your local computer, drag from the right panel to the left panel. Remember, do not edit files directly off the server--save a copy to your local computer for editing and then copy it back to the server when done.
• When you are finished, simply quit the program and you will be disconnected from the Home Server.
• Refer to the WinSCP help guide to learn more: https://winscp.net/eng/docs/guides

SFTP can also be used through a UNIX command line, such as the macOS Terminal or Windows PuTTY (more information on these programs can be found at the UNIX help page). Information on all of the commands available in the UNIX SFTP program is available by typing help or help [command] while connected to SFTP.

To open sftp in a UNIX terminal:

1. Type sftp [user]@sftp.reed.edu (where [user] is your login name) and hit return. This will open an sftp connection on Reed's sftp server. (If you want to exchange files with a different server, use sftp [user]@[domain] to connect.)
2. Enter your password at the prompt. Your cursor will not move and no text will appear while you are entering your password.
3. Type put [filename.extension] to begin sending a file. If the file you want to send is not located in your Home Folder (and you haven't previously changed directories), you will have to tell the sftp program what path to follow in order to find your file ( put [directory]/[directory].../[filename.extension]). This can be done in Terminal either by manually describing the path, or by dragging and dropping the file onto the command line. After a few seconds, depending on the size of your file, you will see a message indicating that your file has arrived successfully.
4. Type get [filename.extension] to begin downloading a file. If the file you want to get is not located in the main directory of your sftp space, you will have to tell the sftp program what path to follow in order to find your file ( get [directory]/[directory].../[filename.extension]). After a few seconds, depending on the size of the file, you will see a message indicating that your file has arrived in your Home Folder (on your local computer) successfully.
5. To disconnect from the sftp program, type bye or exit and hit enter, or press control-D.