Standard CDN Storage (CDN Origin Server)

Our standard CDN storage solution allows the storage of content on our storage servers (i.e., CDN origin servers). Content stored on our CDN storage solution can then be made available to clients either through:

You should not store personally identifiable informationExamples of PII are: name, Social Security number, passport number, and IP address. (PII) within our CDN storage solution.

A list of CDN and edge CNAME URLs that may be used to access content in our CDN storage solution may be viewed from the URLs for CDN Origin section of the home page of the platform through which data will be delivered.

Key information:

Uploading Content

The following table describes three protocols that facilitate the transfer of files to CDN storage.

Protocol

rsync Feature Requirement

Description

SFTP

Yes

An SFTP client can be used to transfer data securely to our storage servers using the SFTP protocol (SSH FTP).

  • Windows: This client may have a user interface through which you can navigate through your local machine to find the folders and files that should be transferred to CDN storage.
  • Linux/Unix: A command-line utility (i.e., SFTP) is provided.

rsync

Yes

The rsync tool, which was designed for use in a Linux/Unix environment, can synchronize data between two machines in a variety of ways. For example, you may use this tool to transfer data between your local machine and our storage servers.

FTP

Discontinued

Not Applicable

FTP access to CDN storage was discontinued on May 26, 2020 due to its insecure nature. Use SFTP or rsync instead.

Due to the insecure nature of the FTP protocol, user account credentials may be exposed during the FTP authentication process. In turn, this may compromise the integrity of your CDN configuration.

Please contact your CDN account manager to activate the rsync feature.

SFTP

This section provides instructions on how transfer files to CDN storage over the SFTP protocol using either a client or the command-line.

Each user account that will transfer content using either SFTP or rsync must be initialized by our system. This initialization process occurs the first time that a new user provides valid credentials when authenticating to the system. As a result, a new user will be denied access on their first authentication attempt. After which, the user will be able to authenticate normally.

The SFTP protocol may only be used if the rsync feature has been enabled on your account. For more information, please contact your CDN account manager.

Transferring Files over the SFTP Protocol (Client)

Transfer data to CDN storage using an SFTP client by configuring it as indicated below.

User names and passwords are case-sensitive.

Transferring Files Using the SFTP Command-Line Tool

Transferring data using an SFTP command-line tool requires syntax that identifies the following items:

Syntax:

The rsync hostname assigned to your account is provided on the RSYNC page.

After passing the above command, authenticate the session using the password corresponding to the specified MCC user account. Upon successful authentication, use interactive commands to transfer files.

If a connection cannot be established, try using a backslash to escape the @ symbol specified as a part of the specified user name (e.g., joe\@cdn.com).

An alternative to providing a user name and password when authenticating a session is to use SSH keys.

Rsync

Rsync is a command-line utility that was designed for use in a Linux/Unix environment. Among its many uses, this utility allows you to quickly and easily synchronize the content on a local machine to one of our storage servers via a shell-like interface.

Please contact your CDN account manager to activate rsync on your account.

Each user account that will transfer content using rsync must be initialized by our system. This initialization process occurs the first time that a new user provides valid credentials when authenticating to the system. As a result, a new user will be denied access on their first authentication attempt. After which, the user will be able to authenticate normally.

Using Rsync to Transfer Files to CDN Storage

The recommended syntax for transferring your content to our storage servers is defined below.

View your rsync hostname from the RSYNC page.

The following terms must be defined in the above command:

Term Description

Local Path

Replace this term with the relative path to the folder or the file that will be transferred to our storage servers.

Typically, this path is specified relative to the current folder. This can be accomplished by first specifying a period, a forward slash, and then the relative path from the current folder to the desired folder (e.g., ./Folder1/SourceFolder).

The specified folder will be copied recursively to our storage servers. This means that the contents of the specified folder and all of its subfolders will be copied to your CDN storage account.

User Name

Replace this term with the case-sensitive user name (i.e., email address) for the user account through which content will be transferred.

If you have trouble establishing a connection, then you may need to use a backslash to escape the @ symbol specified as a part of your user name (e.g., joe\@cdn.com).

POP

Replace this term with the three-letter abbreviation for the CDN storage location (e.g., vny, cpm, or ams) assigned to your account.

View your rsync hostname from the RSYNC page.

AN

Replace this term with your customer account number (e.g., 0001). This account number is displayed in the upper-right hand corner of the MCC.

Destination Path

Replace this term with the relative path from the root folder on your CDN storage account to the folder where your content will be transferred. The root folder should be indicated through the use of a forward slash.

Example:

The following destination folder copies your content to a subfolder of the root folder called DestinationFolder:

/DestinationFolder

Establishing a connection to CDN storage requires session authentication. Authenticate your session by providing your MCC password or through the use of an SSH key.

Rsync Code Sample

The following sample command copies a folder from your local machine to your CDN storage account.

rsync -avp ./MySourceFolder joe@cdn.com@rsync.vny.0001.edgecastcdn.net:/MyFolder

The source and destination folders for the file transfer are described below.

SSH Keys

An alternative to providing MCC credentials whenever you need to transfer content to one of our storage servers is to use SSH keys. An SSH key, which uses public-key cryptography, authenticates your local machine when it connects via rsync or SFTP to one of our storage servers. The use of an SSH key is more secure than user account authentication and it prevents MCC credentials from being exposed during the connection to one of our storage servers.

Typically, a passphrase is used to ensure that only authorized users can use your key to connect to our storage servers.

Before you can take advantage of an SSH key, you will need to perform the following:

Once the authorized_keys file has been copied to one of our storage servers, you will be able to rsync or SFTP from any machine on which the corresponding SSH key has been installed. If you specified a passphrase when the SSH keys were generated, then you will need to specify it before the connection will be established.

More Information