The FTP Connector provides connectivity between Application Integration and remote FTP servers. With the connector, you can monitor an FTP server for new files, move files, read and write content from files, and select options to handle processed files.
FTP is a common protocol for file transfer that enables access to a remote FTP server. SFTP, or Secure File Transfer Protocol, encrypts the data transferred to the FTP server. With SFTP, you can access the FTP server's file system on a secure channel.
You specify connection parameters for the FTP or SFTP protocol and other options to receive or stream content through the connection. You might use the FTP Connector, for example, to write log files needed as part of a larger integration, or to monitor a file system for new .csv files, read the delimited content from the files, and use the generated XML in a set of process objects. When you create event sources and event targets with the FTP Connector, the Process Designer also generates a set of process objects you can access to obtain file information, such as the number of records or file size.
The FTP Connector runs on an Informatica Secure Agent.
This guide assumes you are familiar with Process Designer, process objects, and the options available for any FTP servers you want to work with.
FTP Connector Capabilities
The FTP Connector includes these capabilities:
•Monitor a remote FTP server for new files and process files when they are added.
•Perform file operations in a remote folder like move or delete.
•Parse the contents of delimited files to create process objects so the contents are available for use in Process Designer.
•Create event targets that are published as event services you can call from Process Designer.
•Serialize a set of process objects to a delimited format or to XML/JSON format and save to a file.
•Write and read text content to a file.
•Write and read binary content to and from files found in the remote folder using a binary or attachment format.
•Parse JSON and XML files found in the remote folder and convert them to a set of process objects.
•Read files with fixed width columns and no delimiter characters.