Graphical User Interface (NIFTI)

NIFTI (Network Interface to File Transfer in the Internet) is the graphical user interface to FTM (File Transfer and Management). As shown in the screen shot below, the interface presents two file system views. Normally one view depicts the file system of the client, and the other the Subspace of the file system of the selected StorageServer.Commands may be issued on files in either view, and transfers may be requested between these views. Alternatively, both views may represent a remote StorageServer, so that transfers can be accomplished between them. NIFTI is offered for both Unix (e.g. Linux) and Windows clients.

User Guide

This is a short introduction on how to get started with NIFTI.
A more extensive Help system is available in the NIFTI application.
Please report bugs, problems or comments to Elke Flehmig to help improve the functionality of NIFTI.

Requirements

• Get a user account for the machines of the HLRS hww domain (a1, volvox, fileservers): Access Application Forms
• Request a user certificate at: HLRS Certifiation Authority
  by following these steps:
  1. Import the CA's certificate into your browser: Get CA certificate
  2. Get you own personal certificate: Request a Certificate.
  3. You will be notified when the certificate is available
  4. Use the link in the email to load the certificate into your browser.

  Export the private key from your browser preferences (look in the security settings) into a file on your local machine and remember the password you use. You will need both in NIFTI.

  Your public key certificate and user account name must be installed in the user database on the FTM server. Ask Elke Krumrueck to do so.

• Your browser must support Java Web Start Applications: files with suffix jnlp must be connected with the Java Web Start command javaws(javaw.exe) (look in download or file action settings).
• Your firewall must allow outgoing connections from your local machine to the FTM server safe.hww.de on TCP port 443.

First NIFTI Session

• Start NIFTI
• You will see a first-time installation dialog consisting of two parts:
  1. NIFTI Environment: a directory containing configuration files for NIFTI and FTM is installed on your machine.
  2. FTM Settings: In Certificate Settings set your private key as keystore file. Click the user alias textfield and enter your private key password in the dialog. The user alias is automatically filled in. Transfer Settings are optional and can be omitted here.

First FTM Connection

• In the right part of the gui, use the Connect to: button and select one of the listed items (e.g. HWW for hww domain) to connect to (Vorg).
• In the new window specify the machine (storage server) and its location (subspace) you want to connect to.

First File Transfer

• Select a file in any of the two views.
• Click the button with the arrow pointing to the other view to start the file transfer.

NIFTI Help

• For further information use the Help menu available in NIFTI.
• You may also view a standalone version of the Help here.

Known Issues

• Windows with removable device drives, e.g. floppy drive "A:"
  When NIFTI is started, a "no disk in drive" error popup window will show when no medium is found in the drive. This behavior is caused by method "File.listRoots()", which is used to list the filesystem contents for the local machine's view. The method scans all available drives and tries to get their contents without checking wether a floppy/cd/dvd is available before doing so. Listed in the java bug database as bug 4089199 and announced to be fixed in java 6.0 (mustang) sometime in 2006.
  Workaround: ignore the popup window and click "OK" to close it. NIFTI's functionality is not affected by this bug.
• Symbolic links on unix machines
  On the Local file system, NIFTI usually handles symbolic links like real files and directories. Java does not yet support the handling of symbolic links, but a solution is in progress. Listed in the java bug database as bug 4313887.
  On FTM connected file systems, symbolic links are listed with a special icon, but not with the target path of the link. On transfer, symbolic links are handled as real files and directories.