Remote access to your EWS Linux home directory is provided via the SCP (Secure CoPy) protocol or SFTP (Secure FTP) protocol. Please see the instructions below that are relevant to the operating system that you are using. 

Please note that EWS support for personal devices is best-effort, and that these instructions are provided for reference only. EWS cannot guarantee that remote access to our systems will be compatible with your personal device.

If you're connecting from off-campus, a Technology Services VPN connection using the "2 Tunnel All" option is required before the EWS home directory can be accessed. If you're connecting from on-campus, the wired network and IllinoisNet wireless will allow you to access your EWS home directory. 

EWS home directories are only meant to provide enough space for instructors and students to work on their courses for the current semester. Data will not persist beyond the current semester. At the end of each semester, we strongly recommend moving important files to the free cloud storage provided through your campus account, such as OneDrive, Box, or Google Drive (sign into these services with your campus account).

From Linux

From Windows

On more recent builds of Windows 10 and 11, scp and sftp are native commands. Here are some examples:

To copy a single file to your local system, use a command similar to the following:
scp NetID@home-migration.ews.illinois.edu:/home/NetID/example.txt C:\Users\LocalUsername\ewsbackup\

To copy an entire directory, specify the "recursive" flag similar to the following:
scp -r NetID@home-migration.ews.illinois.edu:/home/NetID/thisdirectory C:\Users\LocalUsername\ewsbackup\

If you prefer a graphical interface, one application that we recommend for this is WinSCP, which is available for free. After launching WinSCP, you will get the following dialogue:

Ensure that the file protocol is set to "SFTP." The hostname will be "home-migration.ews.illinois.edu" and you will use your NetID and password. Once you have entered this, click login.



The remote (EWS Linux) file system is on the right, and your local file system is on the left. The remote file system will default to your Linux home directory. Simply select which files/folders you need, right-click, and select "Download." Choose the local location to save, and the file transfer will begin. You can also drag files between the local and remote file systems. 

From macOS

Short URL for this page: https://go.illinois.edu/ews-remote-homedir-linux