Using the FTP Definition Type

The FTP process type allows you to specify jftp commands in a process that can then be executed on Platform Agents. The same process can be used across platforms without the need adapt the syntax to the target platform.

The following default FTP processes allow you to perform basic actions.

Name Description
System_FTP_delete Deletes a file from the FTP server.
System_FTP_get Gets a file from the FTP server.
System_FTP_list Lists the contents of a directory on the FTP server.
System_FTP_mget Retrieves files matching a pattern from the FTP server.
System_FTP_mkdir Creates a directory on the FTP server.
System_FTP_mput Uploads files matching a pattern to the FTP server.
System_FTP_put Uploads a file to the FTP server.
System_FTP_rmdir Removes a directory from the FTP server.

Security

If the RunAsUser property of a process is set, that user is used to launch jftp. If not, the default user of the Platform Agent will be used.

If the RemoteRunAsUser property of a process is set, that user is used to connect to the remote FTP server. This lets you use credentials with jftp.

You can also use the following process parameters to specify users.

  • JCS_USER: OS user. This parameter takes precedence over Run As User.
  • JCS_ENDPOINT: The endpoint for JCS_USER.
  • JCS_REMOTE_USER: The FTP user. This parameter takes precedence over Remote Run As User.
  • JCS_REMOTE_ENDPOINT: The endpoint for JCS_REMOTE_USER.

Warning: If JCS_USER, JCS_REMOTE_USER, JCS_REMOTE_PASSWORD, or JCS_PASSWORD contain a password, make sure you set the Password property on the parameter, or the password will be stored and displayed in clear text.

Note: Process parameters take precedence over the [Remote] Run As User fields. This lets you use generic credentials. Use JCS_REMOTE_ENDPOINT when the endpoint in the Run As User field should only be used to find a credential.

The syntax for the Run As User / Remote Run As User fields and JCS_USER / JCS_REMOTE_USER parameters is as follows.

Copy 
[[{virtual}:]user[[/password][[@endpoint]

You can specify defaults on the Process Server with Process Server parameters.

Warning: The following special characters in passwords will cause problems: @, /, :

Note: JCS_USER behaves differently on Windows in RunMyJobs version 9 than did JCS_NTUSER in version 7 and earlier. JCS_USER defaults to local accounts (when no domain is specified), whereas JCS_NTUSER defaults to domain accounts.

Using Credentials

When you use credentials, the connection is already established when the process source is evaluated. This means that you cannot specify a non-standard port in the process source while using credentials. In this case you can specify the port in the Endpoint of the credential as follows.

[{virtual}:]<user>@<endpoint>:<port> or jdoe@ftp.example.com:2021

Examples

The following examples illustrate how to specify users.

  • JCS_USER set to jdoe: A login credential for jdoe must exist for the endpoint specified by the RemoteHostName Process Server parameter. If the credential does not exist or is not valid, the process will fail.
  • JCS_REMOTE_USER set to jdoe@ftp.example.com: A login credential for jdoe must exist for endpoint ftp.example.com. If the credential does not exist or is not valid, the process will fail.
  • JCS_REMOTE_USER set to {virtual}:ftp_user@ftp.example.com: A login credential for virtual userftp_user must exist for endpoint ftp.example.com; the username of this credential can be set to testuser in the Test environment, devuser in the development environment, and jdoe in the production environment. There is thus no need to change the process if you promote it from one environment to the other. If the credential does not exist or is not valid, the process will fail.
  • Run As User set to jdoe@MSLN_UNIXS3:sjobs@MSLN_UNIXS3: First, the credential for jdoe will be used. If this fails, the credential for sjobs will be used. If both fail, the process will go into Error status. Note that in this example, the RemoteHostName Process Server parameter must be set to MSLN_UNIXS3.
  • Run As User is set to jdoe/tiger@MSLN_UNIXS3: No credential lookup is done, because the password is provided.
  • Another example using multiple parameters:
    • JCS_USER is set to jdoe/tiger
    • JCS_ENDPOINT is set to MSLN_UNIXS3

Syntax

You can create your own FTP processes using the following syntax.

Copy 
get     <options>  <outfile> <infile>
mget    <options>  <pattern> <localdir>
put     <options>  <infile> <outfile>
mput    <options>  <pattern> <remotedir>
list    <options>  <directory>
delete  <options>  <file>
mkdir   <options>  <directory>
rmdir   <options>  <directory>
quote   <options>  <command>
include <options>  <includefile>

<options>         := [ [ -ascii | -binary ] |<p />
                       -use_cwd             |<p />
                       -pasv                |<p />
                       -port <port_number>  |<p />
                       -secretfile <file>   |<p />
                       <options>            ]

Examples

The following sections provide examples of how to use the FTP Definition Type.

Specifying Username, Password, and Host

The Remote Run As User is set to jsmith/htimsj@ftp.example.com. The Source is set to the following.

Copy 
list pub/shared_cars

Note: The password will be obscured once the Process Definition is saved.

Using a Credential

The Remote Run As User is set to jsmith@ftp.example.com. The Source is set to the following.

Copy 
list pub/shared_cars

Retrieving a File

The Remote Run As User is set to jsmith@ftp.example.com. The Source is set to the following.

Copy 
list pub/shared_cars/
get pub/shared_cars/Application_Example.car /tmp/Application_Example.car
mget pub/shared_cars/JobDefinition_* /tmp/

Note: For more information and additional examples, see jftp.