Settings

(1) File pattern: File name pattern. You can enter multiple file patterns separated by the pipe character "|" (e.g. "*.txt|*.csv").

(2) Only for sub folder: You can restrict the response to incoming files to a specific directory. Only files that match the file pattern and are stored in this directory will then be considered. The can use the placeholder "$USER$", e.g. "/data/$USER$/somefolder". The placeholder is replaced by the login ID.

(3) Process received data on logout: The processing of the data starts only after the logout of the respective user. Note: See also system variable VAR_SYS_LASTINBULK.

(4) Accept empty files: If this checkbox is set, empty files (0 bytes) will be accepted. Important note: In order for such files to reach the Input Agent, system property "hub.datawizard.acceptEmptyFtpFiles" must have the value "true" (configuration see there).

(5) List on the left: This list allows you to select (see arrows) all active "FTP" channels of the system.

(6) Selected partner channels: All selected and active "FTP" channels appear in this list on the right. At least one must be selected.

Example

The following figure shows how the Input Agent "FTP" works.

The FTP server provides a maximum number of FTP connections. These FTP connections allow FTP users to put files in the assigned directories. After a file has been successfully stored (or renamed), it is immediately checked whether a profile should process the file. If there is an appropriate profile, a job is created and placed in the job queue. Normally, the job queue is empty and the processing of the job starts immediately. As a result, the input set file is immediately saved as the backup file of the job and the original file is deleted.

The following figure shows the temporal behaviour.

(1) Start of the transfer of the first file.

(2) The transfer was successful, a backup is created immediately and the analysis of the input data is started.

(3) After creating the backup, the original input file is deleted. The file can therefore only be seen in the directory for a very short time.

The processing of the different FTP connections happens simultaneously and very efficiently. Clients who want to check the existence of stored files often have problems with this speed. When the "get" command arrives, most files will already have been deleted from the FTP directory.

Note: If a DMZ server is used, its user management can be used.

Note: It is possible that FTP users are still logged on when the Integration Server is shut down. Normally these sessions are terminated by the Integration Server after a (adjustable) waiting time and the FTP service is shut down. However, if you do not want to stop FTP sessions automatically, you can set a different behaviour with option "stopServices". If this option is activated, the maximum waiting time for the FTP service is ignored. The following listing shows the option in the configuration file ./etc/startup.xml in section "com.ebd.hub.datawizard.app.DataWizard". By default, this entry is commented out. The option also applies to the SMTP service.