SFTP Access

Files are available from the SFTP server at www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu once you provide us with a secure SSH key for login AND your IP Address from the machine you wish to use for accessing data.

If you don't have an account yet, first create an account. Then you can login and select "Add SFTP Key" from your user menu. Paste your public SSH key and (optionally) IP Address into the boxes and click "Add."

If you need to generate an SSH key or aren't sure what one is, see "Creating an SSH Key" below.
If you need help determining what your IP is, see "Finding My IP Address" below.

IMPORTANT! Your SFTP username will be your email address with "@" replaced with "AT" (Example: cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu) since we'll use "@" to specify the SFTP server in commands.

Adding an Additional IP Address

If you need to add an additional IP address (Example: you would like to access our SFTP server from home in addition to at your office), login and select "Add IP for SFTP" from your user menu. Simply paste your IP Address and then click "Add".

Updating Your SFTP Key

To update your SFTP key, simply paste the new key and your IP into the "Add SFTP Key" form accessible from your user menu.

Creating an SSH Key

Reminder: You should be creating this key on the machine you wish to use for accessing data.

Windows Instructions

Open Command Prompt (you can search for it via the Start Menu)
Run the command ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa (we recommend the default location; use of a passphrase is up to you)
Once you're done, run the commands cd .ssh and then type id_rsa.pub (yes, type is a Windows command and not an imperative to use a keyboard!) and copy the output starting with "ssh-rsa" and ending with "USERNAME@MACHINENAME"
Login to our website and then in the user menu click "Add SFTP Key"
Paste what you copied in Step 3 into the box, and then click "Add" - you should receive a success message
Now you should be able to run the command sftp AT_EMAIL@www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu, where AT_EMAIL is your email with "@" replaced with "AT" (Example: cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu).
Since this is your first connection, you'll receive a message prompting you to trust the server. Type "yes" (it may not appear as you type - that's OK!) and then you'll be connected!

Mac/Linux Instructions

Open a terminal
Run the command ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa (we recommend the default location; use of a passphrase is up to you)
Once you're done, run the commands cd ~/.ssh and then cat id_rsa.pub and copy the output starting with "ssh-rsa" and ending with "USERNAME@MACHINENAME"
Login to our website and then in the user menu click "Add SFTP Key"
Paste what you copied in Step 3 into the box, and then click "Add" - you should receive a success message
Now you should be able to run the command sftp AT_EMAIL@www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu, where AT_EMAIL is your email with "@" replaced with "AT" (Example: cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu).
Since this is your first connection, you'll receive a message prompting you to trust the server. Type "yes" (it may not appear as you type - that's OK!) and then you'll be connected!

Note: While our instructions use a 2048-bit RSA key (minimum), we also accept Ed25519 keys as well (minimum 256-bit).

Finding My IP Address

To determine your IP address, you can run a Google search for "what's my ip?" and copy the result. If you are on a server without access to a browser or graphics, you may try the Linux command ifconfig instead. We will need your IPv4 address, which is typically in the format ###.###.###.### (Example: Many home routers use a local IP address of 192.168.0.1).

Do not paste your IPv6 address - they are not currently supported. Those are typically in the format y:y:y:y:y:y:y:y, where each "y" is a hexidecimal number between 0000 and FFFF.

SFTP Clients

If you prefer a client for SFTP after setup in lieu of a terminal, we recommend the following:

Overview of CloudSat File Access

Data files on the SFTP server include released CloudSat Level 1 and Level 2 data products that have directory names and structures that follow this pattern: [Product.version]/[Year]/[Day]. For example: 2B-FLXHR.P1_R05/2008/007

Other types of resources that are availble on the server include:

CloudSat's Level 3 data products in the 3F-RMCP.* and 3S-RMCP.* directories. Each contains subdirectories for annual, monthly, and seasonal results.
CloudSat research community-supplied products in the community-products directory
CloudSat ground tracks at one-second resolution in the ground-tracks directory

Bulk Download Example(s)

You may use the sftp command by itself or in a script to simplify data retrieval. A typical sftp download command looks like the following:

sftp cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu@www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu:Data/2B-GEOPROF.P1_R05/2015/001/* .

Note: If you're using zsh on MacOS, you will need to wrap the wildcard portion of the statement in quotes.
Example: sftp 'cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu@www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu:Data/2B-GEOPROF.P1_R05/2015/001/*' .

To download an entire directory, the "-r" flag is required and the "/*" wildcard can be removed. For example, to download all 2B-GEOPROF.P1_R05 files for the year 2015:

sftp -r cloudsat_userATcolostate.edu@www.cloudsat.cira.colostate.edu:Data/2B-GEOPROF.P1_R05/2015 .