FTP Connection Properties

FTP Protocol Settings

Property	Description
FTP Protocol	Required. Determines which FTP protocol to use. Select SFTP it you want to enable a secure channel with data encryption. Default: FTP

FTP Host settings

Property	Description
FTP Host	Required. The FTP host name. For example, enter an IP address as "127.0.0.1." The question mark (?) is a prohibited character in this field.
FTP Port	Optional. The FTP server port number. If not specified here, the default port number is 21 (FTP) or 22 (SFTP).
Known Hosts File (SFTP only)	Optional. The path to a known_hosts file that contains a list of host names and public keys to be verified when the connection occurs. If you supply a file path here and disable Strict Host Key Checking, the FTP Connector adds new hosts to the file.

Client Authentication Settings

Property	Description
User Name	Optional. The user name to use when the connection logs in to the remote file system. If not provided, the connection attempts an anonymous login. The question mark (?) is a prohibited character in this field.
Password	Optional. The pass Default: No word to use to log in to the remote file system. Leave blank to configure an anonymous login.
Private Key File (SFTP only)	Optional. The private key file to use for private key verification. The connector assumes that the corresponding public key is in the file with the same name and the suffix, ".pub".
Private Key Passphrase (SFTP only)	Optional. The passphrase for the private key file.

Proxy Settings

Property	Description
Use HTTP Proxy	Enable this setting if you use an HTTP proxy server. An HTTP proxy server is a dedicated computer or software system that acts as an intermediary between an endpoint device and a server from which a user or client requests a service. Use an HTTP proxy server to create a connection between an FTP client and an FTP server. Important: If you enable this setting for FTP, you must set the Use Passive Mode property under the FTP Connection Settings to Yes. Default: No
Proxy Host	Required. The IP address or host name of the machine that hosts the HTTP proxy server. For example, "192.176.3.761" or "name.mycompany.tech."
Proxy Port	Optional. The port number of the HTTP proxy server. For example, "8060". Default: 80.
User Name	Optional. The user name to use when the connection logs in to the HTTP proxy server. If you leave this field empty, you configure an anonymous login.
Password	Optional. The password to use when the connection logs in to the HTTP proxy server. If you leave this field empty, you configure an anonymous login.

FTP Connection Settings

Property	Description
Content Transfer Format	Required. The format for the file transfer, either Binary or ASCII. In most cases, you can use Binary, the most universal transfer format. Default: Binary Select ASCII only if your FTP connection has specific limitations that require this option.
Use Passive Mode (FTP only)	Determines whether the connection uses passive mode for data connections. Important: If you set the Use HTTP Proxy setting under Proxy Settings to Yes, you must set the Use Passive Mode property to Yes. Default: No
Stepwise	Determines whether the connection should traverse directories one directory at a time. Default: Yes
Fast Exists Check	Determines whether the connection should refer to a list file to check if the file exists, if supported by the FTP server. This option may improve performance if the FTP server has a large number of files. Default: No
Server Alive Interval (SFTP only)	Required for SFTP. Seconds to wait before sending a server alive message to the FTP server. If set to 0, no messages are sent to the FTP server. Default: 0
Server Alive Count Max (SFTP only)	Required for SFTP. The maximum number of server alive messages that can be sent. Default: 1
Connection Timeout	Required. Seconds to wait before connection times out. Default: 10 seconds
Data Channel Timeout (FTP only)	Required for SFTP. Seconds to wait before the data channel times out. Default: 30.
Socket Timeout	Required. Seconds to wait before the socket times out. Default: 300.

Reconnection Settings

Property	Description
Max Reconnection Attempts	Required. Determines the maximum number of reconnection attempts to make when the connection tries to reach the remote FTP server. Enter 0 to disable. Default: 3
Reconnection Delay	Required. Seconds to wait between reconnection attempts. Default: 1
Fail On Connection Error	Determines whether the connection attempt should fail after the maximum number of reconnection attempts. If enabled, the connection throws an exception, the connection closes, and the related event source is stopped. You can then address connection issues and republish the connection before proceeding. Otherwise, the connection tries to establish a new connection with the FTP server until it is successful.

SFTP Data Encryption Settings

Property

Description

Ciphers (SFTP only)

Optional. A comma-separated list of ciphers, in order of preference, to use for encryption during data transfer. For example, the list might include aes128-3tr, aes128-cbc, 3des-cbc, or blowfish-cbc. The FTP server may not support all available cipher names. If a list is not specified, the connection applies the default list from JSch (Java Secure Channel). JSch is a Java implementation of SSH2. Default: No

File Operations Settings

Property	Description
Idempotent Repository Folder	Optional. The path to a local directory where the connection can store idempotent repository files. Applicable only when you also select the Event Source property, No File Operations. For more information, see Repository Files.
Clear Idempotent Repository	Determines whether to clear the idempotent repository file when an event source starts up. Default: No

Other Guidelines for FTP Connections

• •If you supply values that are inapplicable to the protocol (FTP or SFTP), they are generally ignored. However, to configure anonymous access, leave the user name, password, and private key fields empty.
• •You can use a known_hosts file with or without strict host key checking, to prevent connections to unverified hosts. With these options:
• - The list of valid hosts should include the host address and public key.
• - You can specify a known_hosts file without strict host key checking, the connection appends the host names it accesses to the known_hosts file.
• •Some settings, including Passive Mode, Stepwise, and Fast Exists Check are server-specific. Verify that your FTP server supports these options before you use them.
• •You can use the Fail On Connection Error, Max Reconnection Attempts, and Reconnection Delay to handle connection failures and prevent continuous connection attempts. If a connection is lost and the event source stops attempting to connect based on these settings, an error message is logged. See the property descriptions above for more information.