How to split a large file into smaller chunks in order to provide to RSA Customer Support

[#1]

Article Number

000034230

Applies To

RSA Product Set:  All
RSA Product/Service Type:  All

Issue

In some cases a file is too large to send to RSA Customer Support's SFTP server because of network timeouts and disruption.  
This solution provides instructions on how to split the file into multiple files for easier transmission.

Resolution

To send a large file to RSA Customer Support via SFTP, sometimes it is necessary to split a large file into several smaller files. This is easily achievable by using a file archiving utility. In this example we will be using an open source utility named 7-Zip.

In this example, we are splitting and compressing a 3.62GB file and breaking it into 500MB volumes / chunks.

1. Download and install 7-Zip, following the install wizard.
2. Open Windows Explorer and locate the file or the folder containing the file(s) that you want to split and compress.
3. Highlight the relevant file(s) and right click to open the context menu.
4. Select 7-Zip > Add to archive... from the context menu as depicted in the screenshot below.

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5. Here is a set of example parameters.  The most important is the Split to volume bytes option.  This will be the maximum size of each of the resulting files.

• Archive - Type any name you wish, adding the .zip exntesion then click the ... icon if you need to select an output folder. 
• Archive Format - Select Zip, since it is the most compatible option.
• Compression Level - Set to Maximum or any desired level.
• Split to volume bytes -  Key 500MB into the text box (or select a preconfigured value).

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6. When done, click OK. You should see the compression status as the files are being created:

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7. Once the multiple volume archive creation is complete, the destination you selected should contain multiple 500MB files, as shown below.

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8. Using guest credentials on the RSA SFTP server provided by the TSE, post the files and notify the engineer that they are available for review.

Notes

It is critical that all files created be sent to RSA Technical Support. If any piece is missing, the contents will likely not be able to be extracted by RSA support.