Uploading & Downloading Files

This information only pertains to Hurricane Electric's Shared Web Hosting package. There may be different information in our other categories.

How do I upload my web content files to the server?

To upload your web content files to the server you will need to use SFTP which is Secure File Transfer Protocol.

You will need to set your client program to use SFTP as the protocol, and set it to use port 22 which is the SFTP port.

You will need to use your account name as the user name or login name and set your server name (example.he.net) as the host name.

When prompted for the password, you will use the administrative password for your account.

Your account name, server name, and administrative password are sent by email to you when your account is created.

You should place your web content files within the /home/account_name/public_html directory for your account. (replace account_name with your actual account name)

If you did not receive such an email or have lost that email and do not know your password, you can contact our 24/7 Support department:

support@he.net 510-580-4100

What SFTP client should I use?

Our Internet Software page lists a few free SFTP client programs which you can use, but its really up to you.

As long as the client program supports SFTP, it should work with our server just fine.

Some older FTP clients do not support SFTP, so you may have to download and install a newer version or a different client program.

You can find a basic tutorial on the use of WinSCP here. This tutorial requires Flash.

Other clients look a little different, but use the same settings.

We recommend to use your server's name (example.he.net) as the host name.

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.

Generally, if you are dealing with relatively small files, and don't upload very frequently, there should be no charges.

It is very rare for a customer to get an overage charge due to uploading of files, but if you are worried about it, you can always check your storage and traffic totals or contact our Support department.

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. There is no support for multiple usernames/passwords being used to access the same account, or being given partial access.

You could set up a web based PHP file manager to upload files through PHP as well, but this is a more advanced topic beyond the scope of this FAQ page.

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

There are other ways that an experienced web designer could come up with, but SFTP is the only method we actively support.

Another method would be to use a PHP web based file manager.

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

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

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

You can rename the file after you've uploaded it with most SFTP clients. You could also just name it "index.htm", and it should show up correctly.

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. Generally, overages due to traffic are highly unlikely with newer account types. Contact us if you are uncertain about your account.

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.

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

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. Names of files and directories are case-sensitive.

Is there a way for anonymous users to upload files or access the server with FTP without logging in first?

We don't support anonymous FTP access on our servers.

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.

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 web content, database, and email on your local computer or elsewhere for archiving.

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."