FTP/SFTP/FTPS

Nexla's bi-directional connectors can both send data to and receive data from any data system. This means that once a user has created or gained access to a credential for any data system, building any data flow to ingest data from or send data to a location within that data system requires only a few simple steps.

1. Credentials

This section provides information about and step-by-step instructions for creating a new FTP/SFTP/FTPS credential in Nexla.

1.1 Add a New FTP/SFTP/FTPS Credential

1. After selecting the data source/destination type, in the screen, click . This will open the Add New Credential window.

     

2. Enter a name for the credential in the Credential Name field.

     

3. Optional: Enter a description for the credential in the Credential Description field.

     

1.2 Configure the Connection

4. Enter the URL of the FTP/SFTP/FTPS server in the Host field.

   Do not include the connection protocol in this field.

     

5. Enter the number of the port to which Nexla should connect in the FTP Port field.

   Typically, the port number is 21 for FTP and 22 for secure FTP.

     

6. Select the type of FTP protocol that should be applied for this connection from the FTP Connection Type pulldown menu.

     

7. Enter the username that will be used to connect to the FTP/SFTP/FTPS server with this credential in the Username field.

   If this credential will be used to connect to the FTP/SFTP/FTPS server as an anonymous user, skip Steps 7-8.

     

8. Enter the password for the username entered in the previous step in the Password field.

     

9. Optional: If this credential will be used to establish server connections as an anonymous user, check the box next to "Anonymous access".

     

   • When this box is checked, the Username and Password fields will be removed.

       

10. Section 1.3 provides information about advanced settings available for FTP/SFTP/FTPS credentials along with step-by-step instructions for configuring each setting.

    • To configure any desired additional advanced settings for this credential, continue to Section 1.3, and complete the relevant steps.

    • To create this credential without configuring any advanced settings, continue to Section 1.4.

1.3 Advanced Settings

This section provides information about the optional advanced settings available for FTP/SFTP/FTPS credentials, along with step-by-step instructions for configuring each of these settings.

1. Click to access additional available settings for the FTP/SFTP/FTPS credential.

     

2. Follow the instructions below to configure the desired advanced setting(s).

   • Active/Passive FTP Connection Mode
   • File Encryption/Decryption

Active/Passive FTP Connection Mode

1. To configure Nexla to establish the server connection in either active or passive FTP connection mode when using this credential, select the desired option from the FTP Mode pulldown menu.

   Typically, the default setting is sufficient for FTP/SFTP/FTPS connections.

   • active – In active FTP connection mode, the client specifies the client-side port that has been opened for the connection, and the server initiates the connection.
   • passive.local – Passive local FTP connection mode is used for client–server data transfers. Inthis mode, the server specifies the server-side port to which the client should connect, and the client initiates the connection.
   • passive.remote – Passive remote FTP connection mode is used for server–server data transfers. In this mode, the first server specifies the server-side port to which the client connect, and the server initiates the connection. The second server must then connect to the first server's data port to initiate data transfer.

     

File Encryption/Decryption

Nexla can be configured to automatically decrypt files from a data source created with this credential before ingestion and/or to encrypt generated files before uploading them to a data destination created with this credential.

1. To configure Nexla to encrypt/decrypt files when accessing the FTP/SFTP/FTPS server via this credential, check the box next to "Handle File Encryption/Decryption?".

     

2. Select the type of file-encryption protocol that should be used to encrypt/decrypt files from the list of available protocols in the File Encryption Protocol pulldown menu.

   Currently, only PGP encryption is available for FTP/SFTP/FTPS credentials.

     

3. Enter the ID of the user whose public key will be used for file encryption/decryption in the External User ID field.

     

4. Enter the public key that will be used for file encryption/decryption in the External User's Public Key field.

   The public key entered must include the delimiters -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- and -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- from the public key file.

     

5. Enter the user ID that was used to generate the PGP private key in the Your User ID for Private Key field.

     

6. Enter the password for the user ID in Step 5 in the Your Password for Private Key field.

     

7. Enter the PGP private key that will be used to encrypt/decrypt files in the Your Private Key field.

     

1.4 Save and Create the FTP/SFTP/FTPS Credential

1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click at the bottom of the Add New Credential screen to save the credential and all entered information.

2. The newly added credential will now appear in a tile on the screen and can be selected for use with a new data source or destination.

     

2. Data Source

To ingest data from an FTP/SFTP/FTPS server, follow the instructions in Section 2 of Common Setup for File-Based Storage Systems.

3. Data Destination

To send data to an FTP/SFTP/FTPS server location, follow the instructions in Section 3 of Common Setup for File-Based Storage Systems.