Sharing and receiving data

Globus enables you to securely share data with and receive data from external collaborators without requiring them to have a local account on the storage system. You can create a Guest Collection from a specific folder within one of your Globus Collections. This allows you to grant collaborators specific permissions (read-only or read-write) to that folder, making it easy to share data with them or provide a location for them to upload data to you.

Prerequisites

To share or receive data using Globus, you will need:

• A Globus Collection at the storage location where you wish to share or receive data. If none of the UoY collections point to where your data is located, you will need to request a new collection.

• The Globus identity of your external collaborator. If they do not have a Globus ID, they can create one on the Globus website.

Note

Collaborators must provide you with their primary Globus identity, since UoY collections are set up as High Assurance collections. Therefore, giving access to a linked Globus identity will not be sufficient for the collaborator to access the data.

Creating a Guest Collection

A Guest Collection allows you to make a specific folder within a Globus Collection accessible to others.

1. Navigate to the Folder: Log in to the Globus web app and open the File Manager. Navigate to the Globus Collection and then to the specific folder you wish to share.

2. Initiate Sharing: Select the folder and click on Share located in the right-hand panel.

3. Add a Guest Collection: Click the Add Guest Collection button. You will be prompted to provide a Display Name for this new share. Optionally, you can also add a description and/or keywords. Click Create Collection.

4. Add Permissions: After creating the Guest Collection, you must grant permissions to your collaborator.

   • On the Permissions tab, click the Add Permissions - Share With button.

   • Verify that the Path field points to the correct folder you want to share.

   • Ensure that user - share with specific individuals is selected and enter your collaborator’s Globus identity in the Username or Email field.

   • Choose the permissions you want to grant: read or read-write.

   • Click Add Permission to finalise the permissions setup.

Warning

Granting write permissions allows collaborators to modify or delete your files.

Tip

For the fastest transfer speeds when sharing with external collaborators, it is recommended to create your Guest Collection from a folder located on one of the Viking Globus collections:

• UoY - Viking2 Scratch Projects

• UoY - Viking2 Scratch Users

• UoY - Viking2 Longship Projects SE

Accessing the Guest Collection

Once a collaborator has been granted access, they will receive an email notification with a link to open the Guest Collection. They have two primary methods for accessing or adding data:

• Browser-based HTTPS: For individual files or small folders, the collaborator can use the Download or Upload buttons in the right-hand panel of the Globus web interface.

• Globus Transfer: For large datasets, the most reliable method is a Globus transfer. The collaborator can install Globus Connect Personal, which turns their personal laptop or desktop into a fully functional Globus collection. They can then initiate a transfer between the shared Guest Collection and their personal collection.

Further assistance

For a more detailed description including screenshots on how to share and receive data using Globus, please refer to this tutorial: How To Share Data Using Globus