025 Securely Transfer Files Between Systems

Tech Tutorial: Operate Running Systems #

Exam Objective: Securely Transfer Files Between Systems #

This tutorial is designed specifically for aspiring Red Hat Certified System Administrators (RHCSA) who need to master the skills of securely transferring files between systems. We’ll focus on using secure methods appropriate for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) distributions.

Introduction #

In the realm of system administration, securely transferring files between systems is a fundamental skill. Whether you’re updating configurations, deploying applications, or backing up data, ensuring the integrity and security of your data during transit is crucial. For RHEL systems, several tools and protocols can be utilized to achieve secure file transfers, including scp, rsync, and sftp. This tutorial will cover these tools, providing real-world examples that you might encounter in your day-to-day operations as a systems administrator.

Step-by-Step Guide #

1. Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) #

scp is a simple tool built over SSH (Secure Shell) that allows for the secure transfer of files between computers. It uses the same authentication and provides the same security as SSH.

Example: Copying a File from a Local Computer to a Remote Server

# Syntax: scp [OPTION] [user@]SRC_HOST:]file1 [user@]DEST_HOST:]file2
scp /path/to/local/file.txt username@192.168.1.5:/path/to/remote/directory/

This command will copy file.txt from the local system to the specified directory on the remote server with the IP address 192.168.1.5.

Options to Note:

  • -P port: Specifies the SSH port if it is not the default port (22).
  • -i identity_file: Specifies the private key to use.
  • -r: Recursively copy entire directories.

Example: Copying a Directory from a Local Computer to a Remote Server

scp -r /path/to/local/directory username@192.168.1.5:/path/to/remote/directory/

2. Rsync #

rsync is another powerful tool used for efficiently transferring and synchronizing files across computer systems, using the delta encoding when appropriate. rsync can compress and decompress data on the fly, saving bandwidth.

Example: Syncing a Local Directory with a Remote Directory

# Syntax: rsync options source destination
rsync -avz /path/to/local/directory username@192.168.1.5:/path/to/remote/directory/

Key Options:

  • -a: Archive mode, which preserves permissions, symlinks, etc.
  • -v: Verbose mode.
  • -z: Compress data during the transfer.

3. Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) #

sftp is a secure file transfer protocol that provides a secure encrypted method for transferring files over a network.

Example: Transferring Files Using SFTP

  1. Start an SFTP session:
sftp username@192.168.1.5
  1. Navigate and transfer files within the SFTP shell:
cd remote_directory
lcd local_directory
put local_file.txt
get remote_file.txt
  1. Exit the SFTP shell:
exit

Detailed Code Examples #

Let’s consider a scenario where you need to backup a local directory /var/www/html to a remote backup server backup.mydomain.com.

Using scp:

scp -r -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa_backup /var/www/html username@backup.mydomain.com:/backups/

Using rsync:

rsync -avz -e "ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa_backup" /var/www/html username@backup.mydomain.com:/backups/

Conclusion #

Mastering secure file transfer techniques is essential for anyone managing RHEL systems. By using scp, rsync, and sftp, you can ensure your data is securely moved or synchronized between systems, protecting your infrastructure against data breaches and leaks. Practice these commands, understand the options, and apply them in different scenarios to become proficient in securely managing files in RHEL environments.