Sun Support Files - Help and Users Guide

h2. Note to visitors

This wiki page, albeit new and light on content is the official online help guide for how to use the website supportfiles.sun.com. (Sun Support Files). We invite members and Sun employees to contribute content to this guide to help make the guide more useful to you and others.

h3. *Table of Contents*

[#FAQs]
[#User Tips]

h3. FAQs

[1. Where's my file?|#1. Where's my file?] \- {color:red}{*}NEW{*}{color}
[2. Can external users still use anonymous FTP to upload their files?|#2. Can external users still use anonymous FTP to upload their files?] \- {color:red}{*}NEW{*}{color}
[3. What are the major differences between the FTP and HTTPS file transport protocols?|#3. What are the major differences between the FTP and HTTPS file transport protocols?]
[4. Why was HTTPS chosen over other protocols like SSL-FTP or FTP over SSH?|#4. Why was HTTPS chosen over other protocols like SSL-FTP or FTP over SSH?]
[5. How do customers upload/download core or explorer files using HTTPS?|#5. How do customers upload/download core or explorer files using HTTPS?]
[6. What is Sun's policy regarding customer upload/download requirements?|#6. What is Sun's policy regarding customer upload/download requirements?]
[7. Are there issues when transferring large files?|#7. Are there issues when transferring large files?]
[8. How does one get CURL downloaded and ready to go?|#8. How does one get CURL downloaded and ready to go?]
[8a. How do I see upload progress with a CURL HTTP(S) upload?|#8a. How do I see upload progress with a CURL HTTP(S) upload?]
[9. Is openSSL also required for CURL?|#9. Is openSSL also required for CURL?]
[10. Can we provide an alternative non-GUI option to customers?|#10. Can we provide an alternative non-GUI option to customers?]
[11. What should I do if I do not have a browser installed on the machine being affected?|#11. What should I do if I do not have a browser installed on the machine being affected?]
[12. Can Sun Explorer output be automatically uploaded using HTTPS?|#12. Can Sun Explorer output be automatically uploaded using HTTPS?]
[13. What is the estimated transfer rate to expect when uploading/downloading customer files?|#13. What is the estimated transfer rate to expect when uploading/downloading customer files?]
[14. Are there things I can try if I am experiencing slow transfer rates when uploading/downloading files?|#14. Are there things I can try if I am experiencing slow transfer rates when uploading/downloading files?]
[15. What indication is given to a customer that their file has been successfully uploaded?|#15. What indication is given to a customer that their file has been successfully uploaded?]
[16. How long will a file be stored on the various supportfiles.sun.com destination directories before it is deleted from the system? Can a deleted file be retrieved from HTTPS log files or must the user transmit the file again?|#16. How long will a file be stored on the various supportfiles.sun.com destination directories before it is deleted from the system? Can a deleted file be retrieved from HTTPS log files or must the user transmit the file again?]
[17. How do I get support, report a problem, or send feedback regarding Sun's Secure File Transfer Service?|#17. How do I get support, report a problem, or send feedback regarding Sun's Secure File Transfer Service?] \- *Updated/Revised*


{anchor:1. Where's my file?}
{info:title=1. Where's my file?}
{note:title=Uploads to Sunsolve.sun.com is decommissioned please use supportfiles.sun.com}
Customer Upload Service has been upgraded. As part of the upgrade we have moved the access point to supportfiles.sun.com. Access will not be available from SunSolve.sun.com for uploads/downloads. Please use supportfiles.sun.com for all uploads.
* Files that have been uploaded during the migration from sunsolve.sun.com can be accessed by authorized Sun employees.
{note}
*Customer Uploads*
Files can be located by Sun Employees via the internal site. Files uploaded will reside in the selected upload directory (ex. /cores) and the migrated to the "downloaded" directory (ex /cores/downloaded) after they have been processed. Files uploaded are available *only* to authorized Sun Employees on Sun's internal network.
*Customer Downloads*
Authorized Sun employees can make files available to customers for download. A confirmation notice with a URL will be provided locate the file. Please allow approximately 10 minutes from the confirmation notice to availability of the file.

* Internal Sun Microsystems, Inc. employees should refer to ServiceDesk Supportfiles from more information.
{info}

{anchor:2. Can external users still use anonymous FTP to upload their files?}
{info:title=2. Can external users still use anonymous FTP to upload their files?}
Yes. External users can still use anonymous ftp to upload and download to and from supportuploads.sun.com, supportfiles.sun.com etc.
To be able to download a file from supportuploads the user must know in advance the location and name of the file. Filenames are not visible to anonymous users.
{info}

{anchor:3. What are the major differences between the FTP and HTTPS file transport protocols?}
{info:title=3. What are the major differences between the FTP and HTTPS file transport protocols}
FTP is a method for exchanging files over the internet utilizing standard TCP/IP protocols to enable data transfer.

* FTP is not a secure method for transporting files, therefore, customers utilizing FTP are vulnerable to potential security breaches.
* HTTPS is a communications protocol designed to transfer encrypted information between computers over the Internet. HTTPS is HTTP using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL). All information transmitted using HTTPS is directed to a Storage Area Network (SAN) in Sun's datacenter. Protection of Sun's customer information is critical; therefore, it is recommended that customers utilize HTTPS when transferring files containing security sensitive information.
{info}

{anchor:4. Why was HTTPS chosen over other protocols like SSL-FTP or FTP over SSH?}
{info:title=4. Why was HTTPS chosen over other protocols like SSL-FTP or FTP over SSH?}
When Sun did its initial review of the options available, there were two primary reasons why the HTTPS direction was selected:

# The long term goal is to End of Life (EOL) FTP as a transport mechanism. Until FTP is EOL'd, FTP and HTTPS will coexist, and customers will have the option of choosing the method they prefer.
# SSL-FTP is not yet accepted as a standard, by the Internet Engineering Task Force (ietf.org) - it is still a draft specification.
# Anonymous FTP will only be replaced when a reasonable alternative secure mechanism which is available from the command line is available.
{info}

{anchor:5. How do customers upload/download core or explorer files using HTTPS?}
{info:title=5. How do customers upload/download core or explorer files using HTTPS?}
The HTTPS method can be utilized either via a web browser, or via command line interface, using third party tools, such as CURL(for additional details on using CURL, refer to FAQ questions 6-9).

Customers who prefer a web browser can be directed to one of the following sites:

*Upload files:* [https://supportfiles.sun.com/upload]

Customers are instructed by the Sun engineer to choose a destination directory in which to upload their file, based on the customer location and type of file being uploaded. Choices are:

* cores
* europe-cores/asouth/incoming
* europe-cores/ch/cores
* europe-cores/de/incoming
* europe-cores/fr/cores
* europe-cores/se/cores
* europe-cores/uk/incoming
* iplanetcores
* explorer
* explorer-amer
* explorer-apac
* explorer-emea

*Download files:* [https://supportfiles.sun.com/download]

Customers are instructed by the Sun engineer to choose a directory from which to download their file, based on the customer location and type of file being downloaded. Choices are:

* downloads
* iplanetdownloads
* europe-cores/asouth/downloads
* europe-cores/asouth/outgoing
* europe-cores/ch/downloads
* europe-cores/de/downloads
* europe-cores/de/outgoing
* europe-cores/fr/downloads
* europe-cores/se/downloads
* europe-cores/uk/downloads
* europe-cores/uk/outgoing
{info}

{anchor:6. What is Sun's policy regarding customer upload/download requirements?}
{info:title=6. What is Sun's policy regarding customer upload/download requirements?}
Customers are not allowed to upload and download files from/to the same directory. Although customers can place files in any of the destination directories at /upload, and get files from /downloads, customers are not allowed to read or delete any other files within the directory they are uploading/downloading from. It is the responsibility of the support engineer, in conjunction with the external customer, to determine the exact file name and full path name, so the file/destination folder can be appropriately identified.
{info}

{anchor:7. Are there issues when transferring large files?}
{warning:title=7. Are there issues when transferring large files?}
Standard browsers have a 2GB upload limitation, therefore, CURL is recommended for transferring files larger than 2GB. CURL is a command line tool for transferring files with URL syntax, supporting FTP, FTPS, HTTP, HTTPS. CURL compiled in 64bit mode has no size limitation. A customer can use CURL to send files automatically with HTTPS, just as files are sent automatically with FTP.
{warning}

{anchor:8. How does one get CURL downloaded and ready to go?}
{info:title=8. How does one get CURL downloaded and ready to go?}
The easiest solution is download Sun Explorer version 5.5 or later from [http://sunsolve.sun.com/explorer] and use the version of CURL which this package installs into /opt/SUNWexplo/bin.

Alternatively visit [http://www.sunfreeware.com] and download the latest version of CURL available for your version of Solaris. You may also need to download some additional packages, such as openssl, zlib and libgcc, if you do not already have these installed. Each of these can then be installed using pkgadd. If you prefer, these CURL can be compiled from source, although that is beyond the scope of this document.

An example of using CURL with ksh/bash follows:
curl \-T $1 [https://supportfiles.sun.com/curl?file=$2\&root=$3]

An example of using CURL with csh follows:
curl \-T $1 [https://supportfiles.sun.com/curl?file=$2\&root=$3]

where:
$1 is the local filename
$2 is the remote filename - no path
$3 is the remote directory (one of the following)

* cores
* europe-cores/asouth/incoming
* europe-cores/ch/cores
* europe-cores/de/incoming
* europe-cores/fr/cores
* europe-cores/se/cores
* europe-cores/uk/incoming
* iplanetcores
* explorer
* explorer-amer
* explorer-apac
* explorer-emea

{anchor:8a. How do I see upload progress with a CURL HTTP(S) upload?}
{tip:title=8a. How do I see upload progress with a CURL HTTP(S) upload?}
CURL does not output progress for HTTP PUT and POST transfers. To get CURL to display a progress bar for PUT and POST you must redirect output to a file using the \-o option.

Using the ksh/bash example:
curl \-T $1 [https://supportfiles.sun.com/curl?file=$2\&root=$3] \-o - \| tee /dev/null

Using tee and /dev/null allows us to have our progress bar and see the completion message, without creating an intermediate file:

{code}
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 96.1M 0 149 100 96.1M 1 1087k 0:01:30 0:01:30 --:--:-- 1027k

Supportfile Transfer Complete

Received 96.17 MB [ 1.07 MB/S ]
Please inform your Support Engineer to access file /$3/$2
{code}

A cut-n-paste bash function
{code}
function supportfiles {
srcf=$1;destf=$2;destdir=$3
if [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
destf=`basename $srcf`
echo "Using base name of $srcf ($destf) as remote file"
echo "Using unspecified upload path (remote defaults to cores)"
fi
if [ $# -eq 0 -o $# -gt 3 ]; then
echo "
$FUNCNAME takes up to three arguments
where:
\$1 ($1) is the local filename
\$2 ($2) is the remote filename - no path
\$3 ($3) is the remote directory - one of the following (defaults to cores)
* cores
* europe-cores/asouth/incoming
* europe-cores/ch/incoming
* europe-cores/de/incoming
* europe-cores/fr/incoming
* europe-cores/se/incoming
* europe-cores/uk/incoming
* iplanetcores
* explorer
* explorer-amer
* explorer-apac
* explorer-emea
"
return 1
fi
curl -T $srcf https://supportfiles.sun.com/curl?file=$destf\&root=$destdir -o - | tee /dev/null
}
{code}
{tip}
{info}

{anchor:9. Is openSSL also required for CURL?}
{info:title=9. Is openSSL also required for CURL?}
The CURL binary included with Sun Explorer is statically linked with OpenSSL and does not require OpenSSL to be installed on the system. The CURL package on [http://www.sunfreeware.com] does require OpenSSL. If you are compiling CURL from source, then you can proceed without OpenSSL although you will not be able to perform secure uploads using it.
{info}

{anchor:10. Can we provide an alternative non-GUI option to customers?}
{info:title=10. Can we provide an alternative non-GUI option to customers?}
CURL is the recommended non-GUI transport option.
{info}

{anchor:11. What should I do if I do not have a browser installed on the machine being affected?}
{info:title=11. What should I do if I do not have a browser installed on the machine being affected?}
The recommended tool is CURL. Alternatively, you can also move the core file to another system on the network which does have a web browser installed.
{info}

{anchor:12. Can Sun Explorer output be automatically uploaded using HTTPS?}
{info:title=12. Can Sun Explorer output be automatically uploaded using HTTPS?}
Sun Explorer version 5.5 and later support automatically uploading Explorer output to Sun using HTTPS by specifying the \-P option on the Explorer commandline. The latest version of Sun Explorer can be downloaded from [http://sunsolve.sun.com/explorer]
{info}

{anchor:13. What is the estimated transfer rate to expect when uploading/downloading customer files?}
{info:title=13. What is the estimated transfer rate to expect when uploading/downloading customer files?}
The time it takes to upload/download files will vary depending on the size of the file, network traffic, what geographic region the customer is located in, etc. Although performance via HTTPS is generally slower than FTP, the enhanced security offered by HTTPS makes it the recommended protocol to use for customers who have security concerns with transmitting files via FTP. In general, US customers usually have somewhat better performance because the files are stored on a server located in the United States. Performance times may be slower for customers/engineers located in non-US locations.
{info}

{anchor:14. Are there things I can try if I am experiencing slow transfer rates when uploading/downloading files?}
{info:title=14. Are there things I can try if I am experiencing slow transfer rates when uploading/downloading files?}
Yes. Please try the following to enhance your transfer rates:

# Compress your file before uploading.
# Most browsers are generally set to use the highest encryption standard available, and in many cases, will adopt 256-bit encryption which is slow. If you do not have a business or security need for 256-bt encryption, then you can use a lower grade encryption Adjust your browser settings as follows:

In mozilla try Edit \-> Preferences \-> Privacy & Security \-> SSL

Click "Edit Ciphers" and go through each of the three tabs and disable anything higher than 128-bit.

Now try reconnecting to supportfiles - downloads/uploads should be faster.
# When a transfer is running, try using prstat to see how much CPU the browser is using. If the browser is using close to 100% CPU, then it's likely that your CPU is the bottleneck in the transfer.
{info}

{anchor:15. What indication is given to a customer that their file has been successfully uploaded?}
{info:title=15. What indication is given to a customer that their file has been successfully uploaded?}
A limitation of the current client-side tool, is the absence of an indicator advising the user of the progress of the upload towards completion. Customers should be patient. Hitting the upload button multiple times may actually cause the file transmission to stop and be restarted. If an upload has successfully completed, the customer should see the following message on their display:

"Thanks for your upload. Your file has been stored as <full file/path name> on the Supportfiles service."
{info}

{anchor:16. How long will a file be stored on the various supportfiles.sun.com destination directories before it is deleted from the system? Can a deleted file be retrieved from HTTPS log files or must the user transmit the file again?}
{info:title=16. How long will a file be stored on the various supportfiles.sun.com destination directories before it is deleted from the system? Can a deleted file be retrieved from HTTPS log files or must the user transmit the file again?}
Depending on the type of file, they are stored anywhere from 3-20 days on the destination directories. Once a file is deleted from a destination directory, it can not be retrieved and must be transmitted again.

File intended for Customer downloads in external Supportfiles, which is uploaded by Sun Engineers, will be removed based on the following retention policy.
* 7 Days
iplanetdownloads

* 3 Days
downloads
europe-cores/asouth/downloads
europe-cores/ch/downloads
europe-cores/de/downloads
europe-cores/fr/downloads
europe-cores/se/downloads
europe-cores/uk/downloads
{info}




{anchor:17. How do I get support, report a problem, or send feedback regarding Sun's Secure File Transfer Service?}
{info:title=17. How do I get support or report a problem I am experiencing with the HTTPS functionality?}
External customers can click on the Contact link that displays in the footer (left side) on all supportfiles.sun.com pages. Depending on the nature of the problem, one can either:
* click [Website Feedback|http://www.sun.com/secure/contact/feedback/index.jsp?refurl=] located below Feedback & Subscriptions to send comments and non-technical questions or report web site issues;