Transferring large data files with confidence

Craig Windell, a QCIF eResearch Analyst at QUT, outlines how to transfer large data files with confidence.

Transferring large data files? Want to have confidence they arrive matching the source file?   Have a look at md5sum.

md5sum creates a hash file. A hash file can be considered a digital fingerprint of the file.   How does md5sum help?   Firstly, you create a hash, or digital fingerprint of the file with a command, such as:   Send both to your preferred service, say Cloudstor.   At the other end, after download, use md5sum again to check the file matches the hash:    The command will print OK if they match. If they don’t match, you can try a download again, or another upload.   md5sum is most likely available on your Linux or Mac computer, and easy to install on Windows.

This article was first published on 18/12/2019.