Globus (beta)

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This service is currently in beta testing phase. There may be some instability as we work on testing and implementing new features and expanding integration into more storage locations. If you have any issues or feedback please open a Support Ticket and we will be happy to help and hear your feedback.

What is Globus?

Globus is a cloud-based platform that makes it easy to securely share, move, and manage large amounts of research data across institutions and computing systems. It’s commonly used in academia and research to transfer data reliably between storage systems, share datasets with collaborators, and authenticate users using their existing institutional accounts.

Globus gridFTP peer to peer data transfer

Secure and Reliable Data Transfer:

Globus ensures secure, reliable, and efficient transfer of large research datasets across diverse systems both internal and external to the University of Surrey.

Automation and Access Management:

Globus can automates data movement and manages access permissions to simplify data workflows.

Integration with Systems:

At Surrey you can use Globus to transfer data between your project spaces on the Network Filestore and high performance storage locations on the HPC compute platforms. We will gradually be adding more systems over time.

Enhanced Collaboration:

Researchers can leverage Globus to enhance collaboration with externals (through the use of guest collections) and reduce manual data handling efforts (through the use of scheduled and automated data transfers).

How to log into Globus

To get started with Globus at Surrey, follow these steps to create a Globus Account:

1. Visit the Globus website: https://www.globus.org/

2. Select the “log in” option and choose “University of Surrey” from the list of institutions.

3. You will be redirected to the Surrey Single Sign-On page to authenticate using your multifactor authentication method.

4. You might be asked to provide permissions for Globus to access your basic profile information. The is expected behaviour and is required for Globus to function correctly.

5. Once authenticated, you will be redirected back to the Globus web interface where you can start using the platform.

For more Detailed instructions on how to log in and set up your Globus account, please refer to the Globus documentation: https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/manage-files/transfer-files/#log_in_with_an_existing_identity

Note

A Globus account can consist of multiple different identities.

If you already have a globus account linked to a different institution, you can add the University of Surrey as an additional identity in your Globus account settings.

More information on managing identities can be found in the Globus documentation: https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/manage-identities/link-to-existing/

Globus collections

Understanding Globus collections

A collection is a named location containing data you can access with Globus.

Collections can be hosted on many different kinds of underlying storage systems, including campus storage, HPC clusters, laptops, Amazon S3 buckets, Google Drive, and scientific instruments. When you use Globus, you don’t need to know a physical location or details about the storage. You only need a collection name or the collection’s UUID.

A collection allows authorised Globus users to browse and transfer files. Collections can also be used for sharing data with others and for enabling discovery by other Globus users.

Mapped Collections at Surrey

Globus Mapped Collections at Surrey

A mapped collection in Globus is simply a shared folder that gives you access to a specific part of someone’s storage, rather than everything they have. It lets you easily view, upload, download, or transfer files you’re meant to use, without needing to worry about the underlying storage system.

At Surrey, we have set up several mapped collections in Globus to provide you with easy access to important research data and resources. We are going to be adding more mapped collections over time. Currently the following mapped collections are available:

AISURREYNETWORK FILESTOREEureka2 (Coming Soon)

These collections consist of storage areas on the AI@SURREY HPC platform.

Globus Collection Name	Storage path	read only
AI@SURREY Datasets	/mnt/fast/datasets area on AI@SURREY	True
AI@SURREY High-performance scratch	/mnt/fast/nobackup area on AI@SURREY	false

Globus Connect Personal

Globus Connect Personal is a software application that allows you to create your own Globus collection on your personal computer or laptop. This means you can easily transfer files between your local machine and other Globus collections, such as those at Surrey or with collaborators.

Globus connect personal is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. You can download it from the Globus website: https://www.globus.org/globus-connect-personal

Its also available on University managed Windows and MacOS devices through the Software Center and Self Service respectively.

Detailed documentation on how to set up and use Globus Connect Personal can be found in the Globus documentation: https://docs.globus.org/globus-connect-personal/

How to transfer data with Globus

For details on how to transfer data with Globus, including how to use the file manager interface, how to set up automated transfers and how to monitor ana manage you file transfer activities, please refer to the Globus documentation:

• File Manager interface:

  https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/manage-files/transfer-files/#the_file_manager

• Automated transfers:

  https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/flow-automation/

How to share data with Globus

Currently at Surrey we do not allow for the creation of guest collections by default.

information

For more information on guest collections on see: https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/manage-files/share-files/

However if you have a need to share data with external collaborators using Globus, please open a Support Ticket and we can discuss the potential set up of a guest collection for you.