Configuring Collections on Globus

Owned by Johnathan Lee, created
Last updated: Nov 07, 2024 by tianche5
4 min read

Overview

There are many different ways to access or transfer your data from your ASU Research Computing (ASURC) account from or to elsewhere. One very convenient way is to use Globus.

Before Globus may be used, certain objects affiliated with your account and linked to paths on the filesystem, called collections, must be created. These collections are generated from ASURC “Managed Mapped Collections.”

Currently, five classes of collections may be created. These collections then allow for transferring data to or from your Agave Home directory, Scratch directory, project-based storage directory, legacy mounted storage directory, or your ASU Google Drive (link to additional documentation).

This page outlines the steps necessary to create the collections from the five managed endpoints.

Globus may make subtle changes to the setup process that date this configuration guide. We host workshops for setting up Globus every two months (https://asurc.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/createpage.action?spaceKey=RC&title=%5E%5EEducational%20Opportunities%20and%20Workshops&linkCreation=true&fromPageId=1904967798) and are more than happy to schedule a one-on-one meeting to assist in the setup. Our weekly office hours are also an excellent resource for any technical assistance.

Configuring Globus

  1. Sign into globus.org using ASU CILogin

  2. Click Collections from the left navigation bar

  3. Search all endpoints for ASURC Agave. This involves filling out a search bar in the upper right of the web view.

  4. The five relevant managed mapped collection results will come up like in figure 1 below, and clicking on a collection will produce a new webview detailing the specific collection. Note that the Note that the figure and this text are hyperlinks to the search results.

    Overview of ASURC “Managed Mapped Collections”

     

  5. After selecting a managed mapped collection, view, select the Collections tab, and then select the Add a Guest Collection button from the interface. The following subitem names are shortcut links directly to the new collection creation pages:

    1. ASURC Agave Scratch: for access to /scratch mounts

    2. ASURC Agave Home: for access to /home mounts

    3. ASURC Agave Google Drive: for access to ASU provided Google drives

    4. ASURC Agave Data Directories: for access to /data mounts (project-based storage)

    5. ASURC Agave Mnt Directories: for access to legacy /mnt mounts

  6. For each collection, only two fields have to be supplied:

    1. the base directory: see the specific instructions section below (tl;dr: /<username for home and scratch, / for Google drive, and be specific for the data and legacy mount collections).

    2. a display name: <username>-agave-<collection_type> is a recommend style, where <username> should be replaced by your username on the Agave system (likely your asurite) and <collection_type> should be replaced by either scratch, home, drive, data, or legacymnt.

    3. additionally, you’ll need to follow the on-screen instructions to provide Globus with formal permission to access your files and Google drive.

Specific instructions for “ASURC Agave Scratch” and “ASURC Agave Home”

For the base directory, specify /<username> , where <username> should be replaced by your username on the Agave system (likely your asurite).

Specific instructions for “ASURC Agave Google Drive”

For the base directory, specify / , which will allow you to access your entire Google drive filesystem from within Globus, including your “My Drive” and “Team Drives” (shared drives).

Specific instructions for “ASURC Agave Data Directories” and the legacy mount

Post Configuration

Once created, a user may find their own collections through a variety of means, including through the File Manager view and Bookmarks view.

Finding Collections in the Bookmarks view

  1. Navigate to the Bookmarks view by selecting the Bookmarks icon from the left navigation bar.

  2. Select the Collections tab.

Finding Collections in the File Manager view

  1. Navigate to the File Manager view by selecting the File Manager icon from the left navigation bar.

  2. Click within the uppermost search bar, as indicated by “Collection” and a magnifying glass icon followed by the word, “Search”.

  3. Find your collection within the Collections tab.

Time for Transfers

  1. Select two collections within the File Manager view.

  2. Find the vertical menu item Transfer or Sync to...

    1. If just a single collection is active (single pane view), the option will be on the right of the screen

    2. If two collections are active in a dual pane view, the option will be in between the collections

  3. Select the files/directories from you want to transfer (single click to select, double click to navigate)

  4. Select the Transfer & Sync Options (figure 2)

    Figure 2, a screenshot of the Transfer and Sync Options button

  5. SELECT OR VERIFY that sync - only transfer new or changed files is enabled (figure 3)

  6. Click Start -> to transfer from the “left” pane collection to the “right” or <- Start for the opposite.

  7. Jump for Joy (optional)

Advanced Technical Notes

Desktop App

Globus offers a very powerful cross-platform desktop app called “Globus Connect Personal”: https://www.globus.org/globus-connect-personal
For uploading large files, the app option will be more convenient than the webpage option. The app is able to resume activities automatically after internet interruptions. The installation and usage is similar to the webpage version of Globus, please follow the instructions in the above link.

 Additional Help

Arizona State University