Create an SFTP activity

Create an activity that executes basic SFTP commands on a remote server.

Before you begin

Roles required: activity_creator or workflow_admin

About this task

You can create a custom activity that manages files and directories on a target host or copies a file from one SFTP server to another. The file content is streamed through a MID Server, which avoids having to store the data on the hard drive of the MID Server host machine.

Note: This activity requires the credentials of a user who can execute SFTP commands on the source host. The Copy File activity, provided in the activity pack, requires separate credentials to access the target host.

Procedure

1. Create a custom activity.

   This action creates a custom activity using a template.

2. After setting up general properties and creating input variables, configure the SFTP Execution Command.

The system uses this logic to determine which files to move from the source host:

-   If the Source files field is empty, the system selects all the files in the source directory. Otherwise, it only selects those files whose names match one of the file name patterns given in the field.
-   If the Excluded files field is empty, the system excludes nothing. Otherwise, it excludes those files whose names match one of the file name patterns given in the field.
-   The exclude rule has a higher preference than the include rule. If a file name matches one of the file name patterns in the Excluded files field, it does not get into the selection regardless of the include rule.
-   When the Include subfolders check box is cleared, the system looks only in the source directory for files to include or exclude. Otherwise, it looks in the source directory and any of its subfolders for files to include or exclude.
**Note:** You can map parameter values in a test payload to variables in the **Outputs** tab automatically. See [automap output variables](automap-output-variable-inputs.md).

What to do next

• Use auto-mapping to generate outputs and parsing rules (recommended for JDBC)
• If you do not use auto-mapping, you can manually create output variables and create parsing rules

Parent Topic:Orchestration custom activity templates

SFTP template execution parameters

You use execution parameters to create the input process script in the Preprocessing form.

For descriptions of the command fields, see Configure the SFTP execution command.

Note: You must use the executionParam. prefix with all variables in this table.

SFTP post-processing parameters and payload parsing

Use these parameters to create a post-processing script, payload parsing, and tagging.

%%tagname1%%
output1 line 1
output1 line 2
…
%%</p>
<p>%%tagname2%%
output2 line 1
output2 line 2
…
%%
<div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><code>The tags returned are JavaScript hashmap objects in which each key is prefixed with `tag` appended with the tagname.

Configure the SFTP execution command

Use the input variables you created to configure the command that Orchestration executes on the SFTP target.

Before you begin

Create the input variables you need in the Inputs form before you can advance to the Execution Command stage.

Role required: activity_creator, admin

Note: You can test the JDBC connection between the MID Server and the target without having to run the activity in a workflow context. For details, see test template outputs.

Procedure

1. Drag variables from the list of inputs and drop them into command fields.

   The system formats the variable in the proper syntax for the command.

1. Complete the fields shown in the table.

The system uses this logic to determine which files to move from the source host:

-   If the **Source files** field is empty, the system select all the files in the source directory. Otherwise, it only selects those files whose names match one of the file name patterns given in the field.
-   If the **Excluded files** field is empty, the system excludes nothing. Otherwise, it excludes those files whose names match one of the file name patterns given in the field.
-   The exclude rule has a higher preference than the include rule. A file whose name matches one of the file name patterns in the **Excluded files** field does not get into the selection, even though it would be selected by the include rule.
-   When the **Include subfolders** check box is cleared, the system looks only in the source directory for files to include or exclude. Otherwise, it looks in the source directory and any of its subfolders for files to include or exclude.

1. Click Save.

2. Click Continue to advance to the Outputs stage.