Only research data that can be open must be handled in ERDA. It is your responsibility to ensure that any backup you save to ERDA does not contain any other data categories.
There are four different ways to backup research data to ERDA: Scheduled tasks, Data transfer, automatic backup, and server backup to ERDA with scripting. We walk through all four ways below.
ERDA can perform both recurring and one-time tasks with Scheduled Tasks. You can schedule e.g. a new backup archive or a specific folder to be created every day at a set time.
Start by adding Scheduled Tasks to your ERDA front page:
For an overview of available variables and commands, consult the two Help menus at the bottom of the page.
Monitor running and past Scheduled Tasks in View Logs.
If you work with larger datasets, you may need to im- and export research data effectively in ERDA. ERDA supports this workflow via various protocols (SFTP, RSYNC, HTTPS and WebDAVS).
Here, we walk through how to create an ssh-key, and how to use it to import files from an external server via SFTP-access.
On the transfers page you will see two headers: Manage Data Transfers and Manage Transfer Keys.
Manage Data Transfers lets you set up and monitor transfers.
Manage Transfer Keys lets you manage transfer keys
On the Manage Data Transfers page, by Login method, select Login with key to create an ssh-key.
The ssh-key's private part is saved only to an unreachable space in ERDA, as security against unauthorised access.
You can now configure background transfer of one or several files to or from ERDA. Configure the transfer to import the contents of the relevant folder on the remote server and save it to the ERDA data imports folder.
Click Request transfer to queue the transfer.
Monitor the transfer from the overview, via the status-buttons, or in the destination folder by clicking on local component.
Transfers can be combined in many ways, all of which follow the same overall method.
Click on Status files for more information, if the transfer fails.
With Duplicati, you can automatically save a backup of your PC on ERDA.
Duplicati saves backup files in a special wrapped format, which lets you save special files and files with exotic names to ERDA. Duplicati also offers an easy way to encrypt your backup.
There are two versions of Duplicati available: a user-friendly graphic version, and a command-line version. The latter is recommended for backup of servers and certain NAS-solutions.
We walk through the graphic version below.
The rest of the fields are optional.
NB The protocol you enter in the Protocol field (e.g. SFTP), must be set up for login with password in ERDA. For more information, see effective access to ERDA.
Download and install the latest 2.x version of Duplicati. Chose the pack compatible with your system.
Upon installation, Duplicati will start up.
Complete the 5 phases of the Duplicati backup process outlined below.
Before clicking Next, decide whether to set up encryption.
The ERDA settings will be pre-entered from the configuration file.
Duplicati runs as your normal user and will not automatically have access to system files and facilities. Either exclude such folders from your backup or run Duplicati as privileged user.
Configure the automatic backup frequency.
Repeat the proces with Add backup for any other .json-files.
When backup is complete, you can recreate files and folders with Restore from the Duplicati menu. Alternatively, Duplicati can guide you through the process. Open backup status and pick Restore files… to begin.
For more Duplicati guidance, see https://www.duplicati.com/articles/Getting-Started/
If you belong to a research group with its own NAS server, you can script creation of ERDA backup archives of its contents via a project.
For security reasons, we recommend not saving your ERDA password on the machine performing backup. Therefore, use either
With share links, you can control access to the folder via WebDAVS/SFTP link-sharing, using the share link ID as username and password.
For help with 2-factor authentication and mouting, contact your local IT-support
For help with specific system errors, contact the systems administration: