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FTP Download

Downloading files from a remote location is the main purpose of this job. It supports the default FTP protocol, as well as secure connections using SSH. The resulting files can be processed by the following actions.

The Configuration Permission is required to use this Job.

Use Case

The FTP Download action can be used to repeatedly download sources/files. These files can then be used by actions to send the files using email or process them with a subsequent task using the Next Task action.

FTP

Transferring files to a remote location is the main purpose of this action. It supports the default FTP protocol, as well as secure connections using SSH.

Supported protocols

The following protocols are available and can be selected in the configuration dialog:

FTP: the standard FTP connection to the server using port 21
FTP with implicit TLS¹⁾; secure connection to the server using port 990
FTP with explicit TLS²⁾: secure connection to the server using port 21
Secure FTP³⁾: secure connection to the server using SSH via port 22

The following protocols are available and can be selected in the configuration dialog:

FTP: the standard FTP connection to the server using port 21
FTP with implicit TLS⁴⁾; secure connection to the server using port 990
FTP with explicit TLS⁵⁾: secure connection to the server using port 21
Secure FTP⁶⁾: secure connection to the server using SSH via port 22

Connection to FTP server

The connection to the FTP server is established using the selected protocol. The following options have to be set in the configuration dialog of the task.

Server information

Server: the hostname or IP at which the FTP server is available

Port: the port number where the FTP server can be reached at - only needed if it does not correspond to the standard port of the selected protocol

Passive connection : used when the server can not connect to the client. This is, for example, the case when the client is behind a router that changed its IP address using NAT, or if a firewall shields the client's network from outside access.
- Note: this option is available only for standard FTP connections

Server: the hostname or IP at which the FTP server is available

Port: the port number where the FTP server can be reached at - only needed if it does not correspond to the standard port of the selected protocol

Passive connection : used when the server can not connect to the client. This is, for example, the case when the client is behind a router that changed its IP address using NAT, or if a firewall shields the client's network from outside access.
- Note: this option is available only for standard FTP connections

Authentication

Login Type: determines which authentication fields will be offered.
- Anonymous - can be enabled if the server supports this type of login. User and Password are not required. It can only be used with standard FTP protocol
- User name and password - insert authentication credentials. It can be used with standard FTP as well as Secure FTP protocols. Is implied, hence not visible, with TLS protocol types.

User Name: login name of the user for authentication against the FTP server

Password: password of the user for authentication against the FTP server

Private Key: a key for public/private key authentication. This key can optionally be secured with a password, which has to be set instead of the user password.

Login Type: determines which authentication fields will be offered.
- Anonymous - can be enabled if the server supports this type of login. User and Password are not required. It can only be used with standard FTP protocol
- User name and password - insert authentication credentials. It can be used with standard FTP as well as Secure FTP protocols. Is implied, hence not visible, with TLS protocol types.

User Name: login name of the user for authentication against the FTP server

Password: password of the user for authentication against the FTP server

Private Key: a key for public/private key authentication. This key can optionally be secured with a password, which has to be set instead of the user password.

Public/Private Key Authentication

The public/private key authentication can be used with the Secure FTP protocol. The private key has to be pasted in full length into the text field. It will only be displayed once and is stored with an additional encryption together with the Taskplaner task configuration. If the private key is secured with a password, it has to be set as well and will also be stored encrypted.

Note: Errors with the encryption keys may be a hint on the wrong format of the key. It is then required to change to format to an RSA or PEM format and should look like the following block:

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

Using OpenSSH and ssh-keygen on supported systems, the following commands can be used:

[dev@localhost] $ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "<User Note>"
# Generating public/private rsa key pair.
# Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa):
# Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
# Enter same passphrase again: 
# Your identification has been saved in /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa.
# Your public key has been saved in /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
# ...
 
[dev@localhost] $ ssh-keygen -p -f /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa -m pem
# ...

Note: Errors with the encryption keys may be a hint on the wrong format of the key. It is then required to change to format to an RSA or PEM format and should look like the following block:

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

Using OpenSSH and ssh-keygen on supported systems, the following commands can be used:

[dev@localhost] $ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "<User Note>"
# Generating public/private rsa key pair.
# Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa):
# Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
# Enter same passphrase again: 
# Your identification has been saved in /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa.
# Your public key has been saved in /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
# ...
 
[dev@localhost] $ ssh-keygen -p -f /Users/dev/.ssh/id_rsa -m pem
# ...

Where will the files be stored

The target path determines the location where the files will be stored at the FTP server side. Directories that do not exist will be created.

The File Name Format is a pattern for the name of the file(s) that will be saved.

File Name Format

There are three placeholders to dynamically determine the resulting file name:

[filename] - the name of the file as generated by a job
[date] - the date, when the job was executed
[time] - the time at which the job was executed

Note: the File Name Format must not define the file extension. The extension will be added at the end.

There are three placeholders to dynamically determine the resulting file name:

[filename] - the name of the file as generated by a job
[date] - the date, when the job was executed
[time] - the time at which the job was executed

Note: the File Name Format must not define the file extension. The extension will be added at the end.

Example

Pattern:     [filename] [date] [time]

File Input:  abc.pdf
File Output: abc 2017-04-07 09-45.pdf

Path Input:  abc/def.pdf
Path Output: abc 2017-04-07 09-45/def.pdf

Pattern:     [filename] [date] [time]

File Input:  abc.pdf
File Output: abc 2017-04-07 09-45.pdf

Path Input:  abc/def.pdf
Path Output: abc 2017-04-07 09-45/def.pdf

The target path determines the location where the files will be stored at the FTP server side. Directories that do not exist will be created.

The File Name Format is a pattern for the name of the file(s) that will be saved.

Downloading files

The last two options determine the files that will be loaded and where they are stored:

Source Path or File: A source path on the remote server.
- The source folder has to be absolute.
- Note: a folder at the root path (/) may mean different paths on the remote server when used with SFTP or FTP(S)
- Every non-hidden file from this directory will be loaded (directories are excluded).

Target Path: a path on the local server to put every file in

¹⁾ , ²⁾ , ⁴⁾ , ⁵⁾

FTPS

³⁾ , ⁶⁾

SFTP