Uploading & Downloading Files

How do I get my web pages to the server?

To get your web pages to the server you will need to use SFTP.

Do I need to know SFTP?

If you want to sign up for a Self Serve account you need to know how to use SFTP. It's a fairly simply process, and our tutorials as well as many places on the internet have simple instructions on its use.

What SFTP client should I use?

Our Internet Related Software page lists a few SFTP programs that work well with our systems, though there are commercial packages that work as well. You only need to make sure it has the SFTP(SCP) protocol included. Most older programs do not.

You can find a basic tutorial on the use of WinSCP at:

WinSCP for Windows Tutorial

You can find more tutorials on this and other software at:

Hurricane Electric Tutorials

Does your site support multiple www pages on the same directory?

Yes.

How often can I upload my revised HTML pages and what is the cost of each upload?

As often as you like, when you like. Each upload generates traffic equivalent to one hit on the document involved.

How many people would have access to upload and/or edit html files per account?

As many people as have the account name and password and know how to use SFTP or SSH.

Can I break my pages down into sub directories?

Yes.

Are SFTP uploads the only way to get a file there?

It's the primary way, but there are work-arounds.

Can I create my own disk-library structure?

You can create any structure of directories you want.

Am I 'limited' on changing files, etc.?

No. You can change files as often and as many times as you like.

I would like information on how I will set up my Web http pages, and any other requirements as well.

When you sign up for an account you receive basic instructions.

How do I upload my "index.html" with the four letter extension when my PC will only allow me to add a three letter extension.

You have two solutions at your disposal to resolve this:

1. Get a fully functional FTP client for Windows (I am assuming you are using windows) which allows you to set the destination file name. There are several free FTP clients that support this.

2. SSH to the server you are on, for example, thor.he.net. Log in using your account name and password and type:

     cd public_html

     mv index.htm index.html 

If a user accesses a large 200k gif and then cancels it after 5 k are received will it show up in the logs and then the stats as a 200k transfer?

Only the actual data transferred, in this case 5k.

I uploaded a known good html file. I logged onto to my WWW page and downloaded it to verify that it worked. The file now has errors. Why did a good upload resulted in a bad download?

The file was probably uploaded with your SFTP client in binary mode. This does CR-LF to LF translation. (DOS to Unix text translation.) Don't do this. If you use a command line SFTP client, be sure to type "ascii" before sending up files for download. If you are using a client like WinSCP, be sure you select the ascii transfer option.

What, if any, files do you want to start or will you put a dummy in the directory for me to overwrite?

We prefer you install your pages as soon as possible. All new accounts are created with a temporary home page.

I made some directories by accident. Why won't the server allow me to delete them?

You may be having trouble because if you using SSH or a text based SFTP client you have to put quotes around the filename.

Also, you may be having trouble because you need to delete the files inside the directory first or you might be having trouble because you typed the name wrong. Files and directories are case-sensitive.

Is there a way for anonymous users to upload files?

We don't support incoming directories due to the legal and security risks.

Can I use to SSH to edit my web pages?

Yes. As for working on your web pages on the server. Our Version 1 and Version 2 servers have pico and vi installed to allow for SSH editing of text files. Our Version 3 servers have nano and vim.

Do your web sites support the anonymous FTP function?

No.

Is there a way to download files without anonymous FTP?

You can use file transfer over HTTP. Basically, you put the file in a directory under your public_html directory and link directly to it for downloading. If it's a document file that might display instead of download (depending on the browser used) you can use any compression utility to store the file in an archive for transferring.

Additionally, there are download scripts available that can be installed on your account to allow you to set up "download directories" over HTTP.

I lost/deleted a file on my site by mistake. Do you keep backups?

We do back up data on our servers nightly, but these backups are run and kept for administrative purposes. We recommend that you keep backup copies of your site on your local computer, as the servers back up their data nightly, overwriting the previous backup.

Please refer to our Terms of Service, item 9, "Use of Hurricane Electric services, including the storage of information, is at the account holder's sole risk."

Do I need to know FTP?

If you want to sign up for a Self Serve account you need to know how to use FTP. It usually isn't all that complicated. Ask a friend or lab assistant that knows. Take the time to learn about FTP, it is an investment in yourself. What FTP client should I use?

If you are using a Mac try using Fetch. Fetch can be obtained from:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/comp/resources/downloads/mac/connect/fetch.html

If you are using a PC try using WinSCP which can be obtained from:

http://www.winscp.com/

You can find a basic tutorial on the use of WinSCP at:

WinSCP for Windows Tutorial

You can find more tutorials on this and other software at:

Hurricane Electric Tutorials Does your site support multiple WWW pages on the same directory?

Yes. How often can I upload my revised HTML pages and what is the cost of each upload?

As often as you like, when you like. Each upload generates traffic equivalent to one hit on the document involved. How many people would have access to upload and/or edit html files per account?

As many people as have the account name and password and know how to use FTP or ssh. Can I break my pages down into sub directories?

Yes. Do we use standard HTML to design Home pages or a special format?

You use whatever format you want in your pages. However, most browsers won't understand anything but standard HTML, or Netscape-enhanced HTML, so we suggest you use one of these two formats... Are FTP uploads the only way to get a file there?

It's the primary way, but there are work arounds. Can I create my own disk-library structure?

You can create any structure of directories you want. Am I 'limited' on changing files, etc.?

No. You can change files as often and as many times as you like. How do I transfer files to your server?

You use FTP. I would like information on how I will set up my Web http pages, and any other requirements as well.

When you sign up for an account you receive basic instructions. How do I upload my "index.html" with the four letter extension when my PC will only allow me to add a three letter extension.

You have two solutions at your disposal to resolve this:

  1. Get a fully functional FTP client for Windows (I am assuming you are using windows) which allows you to set the destination file name. There are several free FTP clients that support this.

  2. ssh to the server you are on, for example, thor.he.net. Log in using your account name and password and type:

     cd public_html

     mv index.htm index.html 

If a user accesses a large 200k gif and then cancels it after 5 k are received will it show up in the logs and then the stats as a 200k transfer?

Only the actual data transferred, in this case 5k. I uploaded a known good html file to the public_html directory. I logged onto to my WWW page and downloaded it to verify that it worked. The file now had errors. Why did a good upload resulted in a bad download?

The file was probably uploaded with your FTP client in binary mode. This does CR-LF to LF translation. (DOS to Unix text translation.) Don't do this. If you use a command line FTP client, be sure to type "ascii" before sending up files for download. If you are using a client like WS_FTP, be sure you select the ascii transfer option. With WS_FTP, you do this by clicking on the circle near the word "ASCII". Can I copy files from my local Web directory to my FTP directory?

Yes, but you should know it makes no difference to the FTP client where you are putting your file as long as you have write permission. What, if any, files do you want to start or will you put a dummy in the directory for me to overwrite?

We prefer you install your pages as soon as possible. All new accounts are created with a temporary home page. I'm having trouble putting a file in /pub/myaccount directory via FTP. I get a response of access denied. Is this something I should be able to do?

You need to FTP non-anonymously. Log in with your account name and password (if your FTP client does not prompt you for your account name and password, you are using anonymous FTP, quit and start again with the appropriate options for the FTP client you are using). I made some directories by accident and the server will not allow me to delete them. What's the deal with that?

You may be having trouble because if you using ssh or a text based FTP client you have to put quotes around the filename.

Also, you may be having trouble because you need to delete the files inside the directory first or you might be having trouble because you typed the name wrong. How do I delete files in Fetch?

After connecting to the site with your account name and password using Fetch:

  1. Select the file or directory. Choose "Delete File or Directory" from which ever menu it is in. It will delete the currently selected file. This is the technique to use because it avoids you having to type in the name again.

  2. Choose "Delete File or Directory" from the menus. Then you have to type in the file or directory name. This way leads to problems with incorrect names. 

Is there a way for anonymous users to upload files?

We don't currently support incoming directories due to the legal and security risks. How do I get my web pages to the server?

To get your Web pages to the server your going to have to use FTP. When it prompts you for a name and password, enter YOUR account name and YOUR password. (This will put you in YOUR home directory).

Once you have finished this then you are going to have to send you html files to the server.

Select the files on the local machine (Your machine) and click on Send This should send the file from your machine onto the server. Can I use to ssh to edit my web pages?

Yes. As for working on your Web pages on the server. I would recommend using the "pico" editor. Just type pico yourfilename your options are listed at the bottom of the screen. How should I upload JPG files using FTP?

Some FTP clients don't know file is binary and not text and so they do carriage return to line feed translation (changing the value of certain bytes to new values) on your image. Which damages it.

If you are using a text based FTP client (like through FTP) type binary. Otherwise select binary or raw data transfer. I usually upload documents with rz command from terminal mode. Can I upload my documents in this way?

Yes. Does your Web/FTP site support the anonymous FTP function needed to download files?

No. Is there a way to download files without anonymous FTP?

You can also transfer your .EXE's as files via HTTP but it isn't as efficient. Since most web browsers support FTP URLs you can have your Web documents (in your Web directory on our system) refer to your FTP files (in your anonymous FTP directory on our system).

FTP can be more efficient that HTTP for transferring files because some implementations support on the fly compression and decompression. I lost/deleted a file on my site by mistake. Do you keep backups?

We do back up data on our servers nightly, but these backups are run and kept for administrative purposes. We recommend that you keep backup copies of your site on your local computer, as the servers back up their data nightly, overwriting the previous backup.

Please refer to our Terms of Service, item 9, "Use of Hurricane Electric services, including the storage of information, is at the account holder's sole risk."