Managing files with the WinSCP client

WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy) is an open source software with which a connection can be established via FTP, FTPS, SCP, SFTP, WebDAV or S3h.

Use WinSCP to establish an SFTP connection under Windows to an industrial PC running Beckhoff RT Linux^®. After a successful connection, a graphical user interface is launched, enabling secure data and file transfer to the industrial PC running Beckhoff RT Linux^®. WinSCP can be used to copy files to Beckhoff RT Linux^® directories, create new directories, and edit files.

Prerequisites:

- Download WinSCP at: https://winscp.net/

Configure new session

1. Start WinSCP.

2. Set the following parameters for a new session:

File protocol: SCP
Host name: <IP_ADDRESS> (replace this with the actual IP address of your Beckhoff RT Linux^® Industrial PC)
Port number: 22
User name: Administrator

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3. Then click on Advanced... to open the advanced settings.

Navigate to SSH > Authentication on the left.

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4. In the Authentication section, click on Tools -> Generate New Key Pair with PuTTYgen.

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5. Click Generate in the PuTTY Key Generator window and follow the instructions to generate a random key pair.

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6. Once the key pair has been created, save both the public and the private key on your local computer.

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7. Click on Save private key and select a secure storage location on your local computer.

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8. Click on Save public key and select a storage location for the public key.

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9. Close the window and return to the Advanced options. Choose the private key file you have just saved by clicking on the [...] button next to the Private key file field.

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10. Open PowerShell and copy the following command to the command line, but do not execute it yet.


Get-Clipboard -Raw | ssh Administrator@<IP_ADDRESS> "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

11. Click on Display Public Key and then on Copy Key to copy the public key to the clipboard.

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12. Click OK to close the Advanced Site Settings window and save your settings.

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Now click on Login to establish the connection to the Beckhoff RT Linux^® Industrial PC. The connection should be established without a password prompt.