Understanding Endpoints

An endpoint serves as a transfer source or destination for transfers initiated in the Console UI between nodes (managed or unmanaged) and between nodes and clusters. It is defined by a login credential and address. These appear in the Transfer drop-down menus for Source and Destination as login@address, such as xasp1@10.0.0.2 for a node or ats-aws-us-east-1.aspera.io for a managed cluster.

Whenever a node or cluster is added to Console, Console automatically creates a "wildcard" endpoint with the format *@address (for example, *@192.168.0.100. The wildcard endpoint is listed as just the IP address or domain name. When a user selects the wildcard endpoint as a source or destination, they must enter credentials to authorize the transfer. Wildcard endpoints enable you to monitor all transfers on a node per user account or access key.

Console admins can add more endpoints to nodes and clusters, and configure them with credentials. The credentials required to set up and use an endpoint depend on the endpoint type:

• SSH: An Aspera transfer user's username and either a password or SSH key.
• Node API: An Aspera node username and password. (Only supported for managed nodes)
• Access Key: An Aspera access key and secret. (Only supported for clusters)

When you create a new endpoint, you can enter the credentials or leave the password/secret field blank (you must provide a login - a username or access key). Sharing a credentialled endpoint with a user who does not have login credentials allows that user to send or receive files without compromising the security of your nodes. When the password for the endpoint is not set, the user must enter it when initiating a transfer. These credentials are then stored in the user's Saved Endpoints under the Preferences tab.