View source for Accessing your Math department network space

Members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Mathematics are allocated a certain amount of space on a shared network file system. This space can be accessed by simply logging into any departmental machine. Your network space appears as your home directory when you log into a linux computer or as the X: drive when you log into a Windows machine. Users sometimes need to access this space from their own laptop or home computers. This document explains some of the methods by which that can be done.

=== Linux ===
The easiest way to access your network disk space from a linux computer is to use sftp. To use sftp to access your network space, simply type 'sftp username@login.math.wisc.edu' in a terminal window.

Another way to access your network space is via sshfs. Sshfs packages are avaiable in all of the major flavors of linux. In debian or ubuntu linux, you can install sshfs by simply opening a terminal window and typing, "sudo apt-get install sshfs". 

Once sshfs is installed, you may wish to add your user name to the fuse group. This will allow you to mount sshfs file systems as a regular user. For example, if you usually log into your linux computer as user johndoe, you would add yourself to the fuse group by opening a terminal window and typeing, "sudo adduser johndoe fuse". 

To mount an sshfs file system, open a terminal window and type something like:<code><nowiki>

mkdir ~/mathfs
sshfs username@login.math.wisc.edu:/path_to_your_home_directory/ ~/mathfs

</nowiki></code>
 This will mount your Math department network space on the /mathfs directory in your home directory. Replace 'username' in the above example with your Math department user name. Also, replace 'path_to_your_home_directory' with the path to your home directory. For faculty, this is /fac/username. For graduate students, this is /grad/username. For staff, this is /staff/username. For visitors, it is /visitor/username.  

Hint: You can make it possible to connect to your Math Department network file space by typing just a few characters. To do this:
# Create an alias for the sshfs command you use to mount your network space. Edit your shell startup script, either .cshrc for csh and tsh users or .bash_profile for bash users. If you use csh, you would add a line similar to the following: <code><nowiki>alias mathfs 'sshfs jsmith@login.math.wisc.edu:/grad/jsmith mathfs"</code></nowiki>.  For bash users, add a line similar to the following: alias mathfs='sshfs jsmith@login.math.wisc.edu:/grad/jsmith mathfs'. Use your own Math department login name and home directory, of course.
# Generate a ssh key to connect without a password. To do this, use the ssh-keygen program. For instructions on using ssh-keygen, type 'man ssh-keygen' in a terminal window. 

At this point, just typing 'mathfs' in a terminal window will mount your Math Department file space on the mathfs directory.

=== Windows ===
Please refer to the following link for instructions on remotely accessing your files on a Windows machine:

http://atrium.math.wisc.edu/computing/node/1688

=== Macintosh ===
Please refer to the following link for instructions on remotely accessing your files on a Macintosh machine:

http://atrium.math.wisc.edu/computing/node/1687