1592594 : Regarding Access to files on the cluster locally

Created: 2026-04-15T11:35:14Z - current status: new

Anonymized Summary: A user with a UNIX-based system is seeking guidance on how to access remote files locally from the Maxwell cluster (or transfer files in the opposite direction).

Solution: You can use SSHFS (SSH Filesystem) to mount a remote directory from the Maxwell cluster on your local UNIX-based system. This allows you to browse and interact with remote files as if they were stored locally.

Steps to Mount Remote Files Locally:

  1. Ensure Dependencies Are Installed On your local system, verify that fuse and sshfs are installed. For example, on Ubuntu/Debian: bash sudo apt-get install sshfs fuse

  2. Create a Local Mount Point Choose or create a directory where the remote files will appear: bash mkdir -p $HOME/Maxwell (If $HOME is on AFS, use a local filesystem like /scratch or /tmp instead.)

  3. Mount the Remote Directory Use sshfs to mount the Maxwell cluster's filesystem. Replace [USERNAME] with your Maxwell account name: bash sshfs [USERNAME]@max-wgs.desy.de:/ $HOME/Maxwell (To mount only your home directory, use sshfs [USERNAME]@max-wgs.desy.de:/home/[USERNAME] $HOME/Maxwell.)

Optional: Enable compression for faster transfers (useful for large files): bash sshfs -C [USERNAME]@max-wgs.desy.de:/ $HOME/Maxwell

  1. Unmount When Done To safely disconnect: bash fusermount -u $HOME/Maxwell

Notes:

  • You will be prompted for your Maxwell password or SSH key passphrase.
  • For persistent mounts, consider adding an entry to /etc/fstab or using autossh.

Alternative Tools:

  • SCP/SFTP: For simple file transfers, use scp or sftp (e.g., scp [USERNAME]@max-wgs.desy.de:/path/to/file /local/path).
  • Rsync: For efficient synchronization (e.g., rsync -avz [USERNAME]@max-wgs.desy.de:/remote/path /local/path).

Sources: - Maxwell Documentation: Transferring Data with SSHFS