--- title: "Transferring data with Globus" description: "Move large datasets to and from CARC home, project, and scratch storage with Globus, using your UNM login and your CARC account." type: Guide tags: - Data - Storage - Globus generated: by: "claude/opus-5-5" at: "2026-10-22T00:00:00Z" sources: - id: globus-docs resource: "https://docs.globus.org/guides/tutorials/manage-files/transfer-files/" title: "Globus documentation: transfer files" author: "team:globus" status: draft --- # Transferring data with Globus [Globus](https://www.globus.org){ target=_blank } moves files between CARC and your laptop, a lab server, or another institution. Transfers run in the background, restart on their own after network interruptions, and verify every file, so Globus is the best choice for large datasets or many files. [:material-swap-horizontal: Open the Globus File Manager](https://app.globus.org/file-manager){ .md-button .md-button--primary target=_blank } You log in to Globus with your UNM NetID, then connect your CARC account the first time you open a CARC collection. ## Before you start * **A Globus login.** Most people choose *University of New Mexico* on the Globus login page and sign in with their NetID. Any other Globus login (another university, ORCID, Google) also works. * **An active CARC account** on Hopper or Easley, with your CARC username and password: the same ones you use for SSH and [Open OnDemand](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/interactive/open-ondemand/). If you don't have an account yet, start with [Getting started at CARC](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/getting-started/overview/). Your CARC username can differ from your NetID. That's expected: Globus links the two the first time you open a CARC collection. ## CARC collections CARC has three Globus collections. All three show the same paths you use on the clusters, so a path you copy from a terminal works in Globus. | Collection | Opens in | Use it for | | --- | --- | --- | | [UNM CARC home](https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=858a3d27-0cbf-4de1-8dc8-89d14a3f1714){ target=_blank } | `/users/your-username` | Your home directory | | [UNM CARC projects](https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=48dcb30d-f719-4c62-9741-ab730d44660d){ target=_blank } | `/projects` | Project storage for projects you belong to | | [UNM CARC scratch](https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=7b90e69e-e02b-4c5f-91dd-c4b8eaa069e1){ target=_blank } | `/carc/scratch/users/your-username` | Personal and project scratch on `/carc/scratch` | To find them in the File Manager, search for **UNM CARC**. Globus acts as your CARC account, so it can read and write exactly what you can on the clusters, within these areas: * **Home:** your own home directory only. Other users' home directories aren't visible through Globus. * **Projects:** you can open the directories of projects whose group you belong to. Every project's name is listed, but opening one you aren't a member of fails with *Permission denied*. * **Scratch:** everything under `/carc/scratch`, including project scratch in `/carc/scratch/projects/`, subject to the usual file permissions. Quotas and backup policies are the same as on the clusters; see [Storage and backups](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/systems/storage/). Run `quotas` on a login node to check your usage before a large transfer. !!! note "Easley scratch isn't available through Globus" `/easley/scratch` (personal and project) isn't reachable from the CARC Globus collections. Transfer to `/carc/scratch` or your home or project directory, then copy the data into Easley scratch from an Easley login node. ## First-time setup Setup takes a couple of minutes and happens once. 1. Go to [app.globus.org](https://app.globus.org){ target=_blank }. You can also get there from the [CARC homepage](https://carc.unm.edu){ target=_blank }: open the **HPC Resources** menu and click **Transfer Data (Globus)**. ![CARC homepage HPC Resources menu with the Transfer Data (Globus) link](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/carc-homepage-menu.png) 2. Under *Use your organizational login*, choose *University of New Mexico*, click **Continue**, and sign in with your NetID. ![Globus login page with the organizational login search box](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/globus-login.png) 3. UNM asks to share your name and email with CILogon, which Globus uses for university logins. Choose one of the consent options and click **Accept**. ![UNM consent page for releasing information to CILogon](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/unm-cilogon-consent.png) 4. The first time you log in, Globus asks whether to link an existing Globus account. If you haven't used Globus before, click **Continue**. ![Globus first-login page with Continue and Link to an existing account buttons](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/globus-first-login.png) Agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click **Continue**, and click **Allow** when prompted. ![Globus sign-up page with the Terms of Service checkbox](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/globus-signup.png) 5. You're now on the Globus Dashboard. The menu on the left switches between pages; this guide uses **File Manager** and **Activity**. ![Globus Dashboard with the navigation menu on the left](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/globus-dashboard.png) 6. Open one of the CARC collections, for example [UNM CARC home](https://app.globus.org/file-manager?origin_id=858a3d27-0cbf-4de1-8dc8-89d14a3f1714){ target=_blank }, or search for **UNM CARC** in the File Manager's *Collection* box. Globus says authentication/consent is required. Click **Continue**. ![File Manager saying authentication/consent is required for a CARC collection](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/collection-consent-required.png) 7. Click **Link a UNM CARC (carc.unm.edu) identity**. On the UNM CARC login page, enter your **CARC username and password**, and click **Allow** when prompted. ![Globus prompt to link a UNM CARC identity](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/link-carc-identity.png) 8. The File Manager now lists your files. To go to another directory, type its path in the *Path* box. ![File Manager listing files in the UNM CARC home collection](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/file-manager-home.png) The first time you open each of the other CARC collections, Globus may ask which identity to use. Click **Use my your-username@carc.unm.edu identity**. ![Globus prompt to use an already linked CARC identity](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/use-carc-identity.png) To check the link, open **Settings → Identities** in Globus. You'll see `your-username@carc.unm.edu` listed under your Globus account. !!! warning "Administrative accounts" Accounts with administrative privileges can't use the CARC collections. Use your ordinary CARC account. ## Transferring files A transfer always runs between two collections. In the File Manager, open a CARC collection in one panel and the other end in the second panel, select files, then click the **Start** button above the panel you're copying from. You can close the browser; Globus emails you when the transfer finishes. * **Your laptop or desktop:** install [Globus Connect Personal](https://www.globus.org/globus-connect-personal){ target=_blank }. It turns your computer into a collection you can transfer to and from. * **Another institution or a lab server:** search for its collection by name. You need an account there too. * **Between CARC areas** (home, projects, scratch): open two CARC collections side by side. Transfers to and from CARC are always encrypted. Sharing data with people outside CARC through Globus isn't enabled yet. ### Example: home to scratch This example copies a directory from UNM CARC home to UNM CARC scratch. The same steps work between any two collections. 1. In the File Manager, click the middle **Panels** button in the top right to show two collections side by side. The left panel keeps the collection you already had open. ![File Manager in two-panel view](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/two-panel-view.png) 2. In the left panel, choose the source collection and path. In the right panel, search for the destination collection and enter its path. ![UNM CARC home on the left and UNM CARC scratch on the right](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/source-and-destination.png) 3. Optionally, open **Transfer & Timer Options**. The defaults suit most transfers. Useful settings: * **apply sync level:** copy only files that are new or changed on the source, like `rsync`. Handy for rerunning the same transfer. * **preserve source file modification times:** otherwise copied files get the transfer time as their modification time. * **Schedule Start / Repeat:** start later, or repeat on a schedule. File integrity checking and encryption are on by default, and the CARC collections require encryption. ![Transfer and Timer Options panel](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/transfer-options.png) 4. Select the files or folders to copy, or click **select all**. Then click the **Start** button on the source side, above the panel you're copying from. Each **Start** button sends files from its own panel to the other one; the one above the destination panel won't transfer your selection. A green *Transfer request submitted successfully* message appears. ![Files selected in the left panel with the transfer submitted message](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/transfer-submitted.png) 5. Click **View details** on the message, or **Activity** in the left menu, to follow the transfer. You don't need to keep the page open. ![Activity page for a completed transfer](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/transfer-details.png) Globus also emails you a summary when the transfer finishes. ![Globus transfer completion email](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/transfer-email.png) 6. The destination panel doesn't update on its own. Click **refresh list** above the destination panel to see the copied files. ![Destination panel after refreshing, showing the copied files](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/assets/images/globus/refresh-destination.png) ## Logging in again Every 24 hours, Globus asks for your CARC password again. When you open a CARC collection after that, you'll see the UNM CARC login page; sign in as in step 7. You don't need to link anything again, and transfers that are already running keep going. !!! tip "Locked out after wrong passwords?" Five wrong passwords in a row lock the UNM CARC login for a few minutes, and the login page says your account is temporarily disabled. Wait two minutes and try again; repeated lockouts last longer, up to 15 minutes. The lockout also applies to Open OnDemand logins, but not to SSH or your running jobs. If your password has expired, see [Password reset and one-time passwords](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/getting-started/password-reset/). ## Troubleshooting ??? question "\"Identity set contains an identity from an allowed domain, but it does not map to a valid username\"" Your CARC account isn't allowed to use Globus: it's an administrative account, or it isn't an active HPC account. Use your ordinary CARC account, or [open a ticket](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/support/help/). ??? question "The UNM CARC login rejects a password that works for SSH" Check that you typed your CARC username, not your NetID. After five tries, wait for the lockout to clear. ??? question "I linked the wrong CARC account" Log out of the UNM CARC login at [auth.alliance.unm.edu](https://auth.alliance.unm.edu/realms/carc/protocol/openid-connect/logout){ target=_blank }, remove the wrong identity under **Settings → Identities** in Globus, then open the collection again. ??? question "A transfer is slow or stuck" Check its status under **Activity** in Globus. Globus retries on its own. If it stays stuck, [open a ticket](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/support/help/) with the transfer's task ID, which you'll find on its Activity page. ## Related pages * [Transferring data](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/getting-started/transferring-data/) - scp and rsync for smaller transfers. * [Storage and backups](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/systems/storage/) - paths, quotas, and what is backed up. * [Getting help](https://carc.unm.edu/docs/support/help/) - open a ticket if Globus misbehaves.