Connecting to and mounting the Edge-DTN-STOR via WebDAV (Nextcloud)

About Edge-DTN-STOR

NSF CC* CRISPIE Edge-DTN-STOR (Edge-DTN-STOR) is a high-performance research storage service built on Nextcloud and integrated with CRISPIE Data Transfer Nodes (DTN). It provides participating institutions with secure storage and multiple access methods for managing and transferring research data. Edge-DTN-STOR is made possible through the NSF CC* Regional Networking: Connectivity through Regional Infrastructure for Scientific Partnerships, Innovation, and Education (CRISPIE, NSF #2346648) award.

This document outlines instructions for mounting the Edge-DTN-Stor.

Create a Nextcloud app password

Important credential note

Use your Nextcloud username and app password for WebDAV mounts. This is different from your institutional credential and should be created in Nextcloud before configuring a client or mount point.

If you don't have a NextCloud Account, follow the Requesting Access guide to set up an account.

Steps

Log in to your Nextcloud account in a web browser.
Click your profile icon and open Settings.
Open Security in the left menu.
Scroll to Devices & sessions.
Enter an app name of your choice (eg. credential-1).
Click Create new app password.
A username and password will be generated.
Save the generated username and password for your WebDAV client.

Mounting Edge-DTN-STOR

Edge-DTN-STOR can be mounted as a WebDAV drive on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Once mounted, it behaves like a local network filesystem and can be used by applications, scripts, and cluster workflows. Below are platform-specific instructions for mounting.

Linux and HPC with davfs2

Note: davfs2 is a Linux tool for connecting to WebDAV shares as though they were local disks. It is an open-source GPL-licensed file system for mounting WebDAV servers.

Install and mount

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install davfs2

# RHEL / CentOS
sudo yum install davfs2

# Fedora
sudo dnf install davfs2

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/Edge-DTN-STOR

sudo tee -a /etc/fstab <<EOF
https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/ /mnt/Edge-DTN-STOR davfs user,rw,noauto,_netdev 0 0
EOF

mount /mnt/Edge-DTN-STOR

Unmount and interactive access

umount /mnt/Edge-DTN-STOR

sudo apt install cadaver
cadaver https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/

You will be prompted for your Nextcloud username and app password when credentials are not already stored.

macOS

Finder

Open Finder.
Press Cmd + K.
Enter https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/
Click Connect.
Authenticate with your Nextcloud username and app password.

Terminal

mkdir -p ~/Edge-DTN-STOR
mount_webdav https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/ ~/Edge-DTN-STOR

umount ~/Edge-DTN-STOR

Windows

Map network drive

Open File Explorer.
Right-click This PC and choose Map network drive.
Choose a drive letter, such as Z:.
Use folder https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/
Check Connect using different credentials.
Authenticate with your Nextcloud username and app password.

PowerShell / Command Line

net use Z: https://nextcloud.crispie.njEdge.net/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/ /user:<username> *

Policy notice

The service does not include data redundancy or backup. Users must maintain independent backups of all stored content. Use Nextcloud app passwords for WebDAV mounts instead of institutional passwords.