Effective access to ERDA: mounting

To make working with advanced data access easier, we have made a tool that sets up the connection for you. Download the guide here: link.

By setting up mounted access to ERDA, you can achieve more effective, transparent, and integrated access to your files than via the web interface. Mounted access makes it possible to transfer many and large files effectively and tie your ERDA files and folders to your machine.

Mounting uses a safe connection to ERDA. The access is therefore available anywhere you are, so long as you are connected to the internet. In other words, it is not necessary to use VPN for mounted access outside AU.

ERDA guides you through mounting setup too. For more information, see ERDA Setup.

NB According to the AU information security policy, you yourself are responsible for updating external software you install to an AU PC. If not regularly updated, the software will constitute a security risk for the entire university.

Mounted access via SFTP

SFTP is a secure and effective protocol for file-transfers. SFTP is built upon the security-infrastructure of the OpenSSH software and it is supported by a wide range of clients on the most popular platforms, i.e. Windows, Linux, and IOS.

SFTP setup in ERDA

  • Open the SFTP banner in ERDA Setup.
  • Configure how you want to identify yourself to the ERDA server: either copy and paste one or several SSH public keys or type in a password of your own choosing.
  • Click Save SFTP Settings.

Please note that your login information – including your username – will be shown on the SFTP site.

SFTP with Windows

  • Download og install WinFsp og SSHFS-Win.
  • Open Files and click Add Network Drive
  • Enter \\sshfs\[username]@[project name]@io.erda.au.dk!2222 under Folder. You can copy both username and project name from the top of the ERDA setup page. 
  • Click Finish.
  • Enter username and your chosen password when the system prompts you to log in.

SFTP with MacOS

  • Download and install the macFUSE og SSHFS Stable Release packages.
  • Save your login details to your local ~/.ssh/config, to avoid having to enter them again:
    • Host io.erda.au.dk erda
    • Hostname io.erda.au.dk
    • VerifyHostKeyDNS ask
    • User [username]@[project name]
    • Port 2222
    • # Uncomment next line to use your private key in ~/.ssh/id_rsa
    • # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  • You can now mount ERDA with the SSHFS-command.

SFTP with Linux

If you use Linux and SFTP is integrated into your file management system:

  • Go to the file manager and click ctrl+L.
  • Copy paste sftp://io.erda.au.dk:2222 into the field.
  • Enter your username and chosen password when prompted by the system.

If you use Linux and SFTP is not integrated into your file management system.

  • Download and install SSHFS, including FUSE and OpenSSH via your preferred software/pack manager or downloads online.
  • Save your login-details to your local ~/.ssh/config, to avoid entering them again:
    • Host io.erda.au.dk erda
    • Hostname io.erda.au.dk
    • VerifyHostKeyDNS ask
    • User [username]@[project name]
    • Port 2222
    • # Uncomment next line to use your private key in ~/.ssh/id_rsa
    • # IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

You can now mount ERDA with the SSHFS command.

Alternative clients

Aside from the above mentioned clients, ERDA supports the following for mounted access:

  • WinSCP. WinSCP is an FTP/FTPS/SFTP client for Windows. It has a semi-automatic sync-function that makes it easier to synchronise files between your machine and ERDA. For more information, see the project webpage
  • PuTTY SFTP. PuTTY is an SSH client with a command-line SFTP client, which works with ERDA. NB for security reasons, you can only connect to our SFTP-service with version 0.67 or newer. For more information, see the project webpage.
  • SSHFS. In MacOS and Linux, you can use SSHFS to mount external folders to your machine. Find brief instructions in ERDA Setup under SFTP. Click Show more SFTP client details… at the bottom of the page.

Mounted access via SSHFS

Via SSHFS, you can bind external folders locally and use their contents as if it were placed on your machine. In the below, our coordinator for NAT, Jesper Lykkegaard Karlsen, shows how to set up the connection on Windows og MacOS respectively.

Windows mount with WSL (v2) and SSHFS​

In this powerpoint, our coordinator for Nat, Jesper Lykkegaard Karlsen, shows how to mount ERDA as a windows drive with WSL (v2) and SSHFS​.

Click here to download the powerpoint

MacOS mount with SSHFS

In this powerpoint, our coordinator at Nat, Jesper Lykkegaard Karlsen, shows how you can mount ERDA on MacOS with SSHFS. 

Click here to download the powerpoint

Mounted access via WebDAVS

WebDAV is a protocol for accessing external storage, that can be secured with TLS/SSL like a website. We refer to the secured version as WebDAVS. Newer versions of Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux integrate WebDAVS directly.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has introduced a c. 50MB limit for WebDAVS transfers. This means that you will get an error message if you attempt to transfer larger files. 

Because of this limit, we recommend using SFT instead of WebDAVS, if you need to work with larger datasets.

WebDAVS setup in ERDA

  • Go to ERDA Setup and open WebDAVS
  • Pick a password for login
  • Click Save WebDAVS Settings.

NB: your login details – including your automatic username – will be displayed in the same place.

WebDAVS with Windows

  • Open Files and click Computer
  • Click Map network drive or Add a network location at the top of the window. Note that Windows 7 only shows the second possibility if you click Connect to a Web site... Windows 8 and newer versions have a dedicated button.
  • Pick a letter for your networkdrive (e.g. Z:)
  • Copy-paste server URL from ERDA's WebDAVS page to Folder.
  • Click Finish.

Windows Security will prompt you to logon to the external folder. Log on with your username and chosen password from ERDA's WebDAVS page and click OK.

WebDAVS with MacOS

  • Open Finder, click Go and choose Connect to Server.
  • From the ERDA Setup page, copy-paste the Server URL into the pop up window.
  • Click Connect.
  • Log in with your username and password.

If login is successful, you will find your ERDA folder under Files.

WebDAVS with Linux

  • Open Files (Nautilus, Konqueror, Dolphin, Thunar etc.).
  • Click Go and Open Location.
  • Enter server URL from the ERDA WebDAVS page (replace https with davs in the URL if it fails).
  • Click Connect.
  • Login with your automatic username and chosen password from ERDA.

NB: Nautilus and Thunar use the GNOME gvfs-library. Older versions of this library had a known error, which consistently caused uploads over 1GB to hang. If you experience this problem, upgrade to a more recent version of the library (e.g. 1.22.2) or use a different client.

WebDAVS/SFTP access to Share Links

To share links og exchange files outside ERDA, combine Share Links with read- and write-access with effective access and tie share links to your machine as a network drive.

To share both your own folders and group folders as a form of shared drive, share it through share links.

To set up effective access to share links, proceed as in the above, with this one difference: the 10-digit share link ID (e.g. gBf51LXf4T) is used as both username and password.

In all cases, carefully consider which files you give access to, and which people you give access to the files.

Support

For help with 2-factor authentication and mouting, contact your local IT-support

Find your local IT support

For help with specific system errors, contact the systems administration:

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