How to use¶

This solution serves two distinct audiences: on-premises lab users, who access files through a standard network file share, and external partners, who access files through a managed SFTP endpoint. This page covers both.

For On-Premises Lab Users¶

Prerequisites¶

• Your account must belong to the appropriate lab access group in Active Directory.
• You need network access to the internal lab environment where the file share is presented.

Accessing your lab's directories¶

Once your account has been added to the relevant lab group, you can connect to the file share using standard file-sharing tools:

Windows:

\\<file-share-host>\<lab-group>-upload
\\<file-share-host>\<lab-group>-download

macOS:

smb://<file-share-host>/<lab-group>-upload
smb://<file-share-host>/<lab-group>-download

On macOS, use Finder → Go → Connect to Server and enter the path above.

Uploading a file for external partners¶

1. Connect to your lab's -upload directory as shown above.
2. Copy the file into the directory as you would with any network drive.
3. The file is automatically synchronized to cloud storage and becomes available to the corresponding external partner shortly afterward.

Reading a file submitted by an external partner¶

1. Connect to your lab's -download directory.
2. Files submitted externally typically appear after being uploaded
3. Copy or open the file as needed.

For External Partners¶

Prerequisites¶

• You need an SSH key pair. If you don't already have one, generate it as follows:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-identifier"

This generates a modern, secure key pair (Ed25519). Keep the private key safe — it is never shared with anyone.

• Share your public key with the team who provides access so it can be registered against your partner account. Your private key never leaves your system.

Connecting via SFTP¶

Once your public key has been registered, connect using any SFTP client that supports key-based authentication, for example:

sftp -i <path-to-your-private-key> <your-username>@sftp.example.com

Access is granted only when the private key you present matches the public key registered against your account.

Directory structure¶

Each partner account is provisioned with two logical directories:

Typical workflow¶

1. Connect using your registered key, as shown above.
2. To retrieve files published by the lab, download from /inbound.
3. To submit files back to the lab, upload into /outbound.
4. Files you upload to /outbound are automatically synchronized to the on-premises lab environment.

You will not be able to write to /inbound, or read files outside your own designated directories — this is enforced automatically

Onboarding a New Lab or Partner¶

Onboarding (adding a new lab group or a new external partner) is handled by Hybird File Transfer Solution Team and typically involves:

• For a new lab: creating the corresponding access group in Active Directory and provisioning its upload/download directories.
• For a new partner: provisioning a dedicated set of directories, registering the partner's public SSH key, and configuring the associated access policy.

Contact your Hybird File Transfer Solution team to request onboarding for a new lab or partner.