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Uploading Files to Course Web Sites

You can upload files to your course web site by using an SFTP client. We recommend Fetch for Macintosh (distributed via Bear Access) and WinSCP for Windows.

What is SFTP?

SFTP (SSH file transfer protocol) is a way of securely exchanging files between your computer and other computers over the internet. SFTP allows you to download files from a remote computer to your local computer or upload files from your local computer to another remote computer. If the remote computer is a web server, moving files to the server is necessary to make your files available via a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox.

Despite the similarity in name and function, SFTP is a completely different protocol from FTP.  To use SFTP for secure connections, the server you are connecting to must also support SFTP.   The course web hosting environment and the streaming server both support SFTP.

How Do I Use SFTP?

In order to connect to any SFTP server for which you have an account, you need the following information, which should be supplied to you by the system administrator.

  • The address of the SFTP server
  • The user ID for your account
  • The password for your user ID (If you forgot your password, click here for instructions on how to reset it.)

Instructions for transferring files to the course web server are available in these PDF's:

Alternatives to Using SFTP Client Software

  • Web development applications such as Adobe Dreamweaver allow you to configure the SFTP settings from within the tool instead of using a separate SFTP client program.
  • Web applications such as Blackboard don’t require FTP or SFTP to move files because there are built-in upload tools available to post files on your Blackboard course site.
  • Some departments may have their computers and servers linked with a file sharing system or Webdav so you can move your files directly to another computer as simply as moving files between directories.

Services Available

  • Request a course web account by clicking on the Request Services link and filling out the IT Resource Request form.
  • Download an SFTP client through Cornell’s Bear Access Services.
  • Please write to atc_support@cornell.edu with questions about our services or for assistance.

Location and Hours

  • Computing and Communications Center Room 124 Garden Ave.
  • Open Monday-Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM during the academic year
  • Closed on university holidays

Maintenance Schedule

Any regular system maintenance and server restarts for any of our services will be scheduled weekdays between 5:00 am and 7:00 am. All users should be aware that a system may become unavailable during this maintenance time.

Contact

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