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File Transfer

What is it?​

SMA File Transfer (SMAFT) transfers files between the MCP platform and other platforms — including Windows and UNIX — as an OpCon job. The MCP Agent includes three SMAFT components: SMA/FTAGENT, SMA/FTSERVER, and SMA/FTHANDLER.

  • Use SMAFT to automate the movement of files between MCP and other platforms without manual FTP sessions.
  • The MCP SMA/FTSERVER supports up to nine concurrent transfers.
  • File transfer behavior, including compression, encryption, and character set conversion, is controlled by the job definition and agent configuration settings.

Introduction​

The SMA File Transfer (SMAFT) system reliably transfers files across multiple platforms via an OpCon job. The SMA/FTAGENT, SMA/FTSERVER, and SMA/FTHANDLER components are installed with the MCP Agent. The source and destination machines must have these components for a file transfer.

After receiving instructions from the resident MCP Agent, the SMAFT component determines the best method for transporting the file with the corresponding SMAFT component on the participating machine. After negotiating the file transfer settings, the file is transferred. Configuration in the Enterprise Manager and on the agent machine (refer to MCP LSAM Configuration) in addition to the File Transfer Job's details (refer to File Transfer Job Details in the Concepts online help) dictate a transfer's behavior. Also, refer to Print File Conversion later in this topic for a utility that can be used to prepare the contents of an MCP print file for transfer to a Windows/UNIX/ASCII-based machine.

The MCP SMA/FTSERVER permits the user to configure up to nine concurrent transfers.

Note

If encryption and/or compression are "Preferred", the transfer takes place but the job appears as Failed with a status description of P-DS.

Note

When using an MCP file for the Source File or Destination File on the Job Details, the full file title must be entered, including the usercode and family.

File Transfer Requirements​

Additional disk space is required to run SMA File Transfer:

  1. SMAFTAGENT requirements:

    a. Prior to initiating the MCP SMAFT Agent, the MCP Agent creates a temporary file called *TEMP/SMAFTPARMS/<SAM job id>. This file is later removed by the SMAFT Agent if debugging is not active.

    b. Upon receiving the source file parameters and data, the SMA/FTAGENT creates a temporary file to contain the incoming data stream. The temporary file, named TEMP/SMAFT/<10-digit SAM job id> is located on the primary family associated with the usercode used to initiate the agent. Immediately prior to the SMA/FTAGENT going to end of job, this temporary file is removed (unless debugging has been set). The size of the temporary file varies depending on the two platforms involved in the transfer, the type of transfer, and the amount of data being transferred. Allow approximately 20% more than the size of the source file as a general rule. In most cases, this figure will be more than sufficient to accomplish the transfer.

    c. If the user has requested that the destination file be backed up (Backup, Overwrite or Backup, Append), a copy of the existing destination file will be made. This backup file is named by appending the backup node specified in the agent configuration file to the name of the existing destination file. In effect, there must be sufficient disk space to duplicate the existing destination file as it exists before the start of the transfer request.

    d. Some additional disk space is used to present the destination file in a format consistent with files on the destination platform. For text files, the MCP destination file will generally consume more bytes than the source file, particularly if the source machine stores data files as stream files rather than fixed-length record files. For binary transfers, the size of the destination file can be expected to more closely approximate the size of the source file, in bytes.

  2. SMAFTSERVER requirements:

    a. At this time, the SMAFTSERVER does not require additional disk space for use in transferring the source file.

SMA File Transfer Architecture​

sma file transfer architecture

Configuration​

Before attempting a transfer, configure the machines in the Enterprise Manager and in the source and destination machines' agents.

In the source and destination machines' agent configuration files, define the parameters for file transfers. For many agents, these settings are commingled with the agent's Job Output Retrieval System (JORS) parameters. However, for the MCP Agent, JORS and the FTSERVER are separate processes and are configured individually.

In the Enterprise Manager, adjust the Advanced Machine Settings for the destination machine to correspond with the source machine's agent file transfer settings (or vice versa). Under the category File Transfer Settings, define the "File Transfer" type and the "File Transfer Port Number". For information on these settings, refer to File Transfer Jobs in the Concepts online help. Once configuration is complete (and verified), a File Transfer Job can be defined. For more information, refer to File Transfer Job Details in the Concepts online help.

Within MCP SMA File Transfer, the record length applied to the destination file using predefined SMA File Transfer protocol is sometimes unacceptable for downstream user programs.

  • If a file with the same name as the destination file exists, the record length of the existing file is used. This is true whether the existing file is to be overwritten or appended to.

  • If there is no existing file with a name identical to the destination file, the record length will be determined in accordance with general SMA File Transfer specifications.

Specify the Destination File Record Length​

Occasionally, there is a need to provide the capability to specify the record length on the destination file in order to accommodate downstream processing of the destination file. To utilize this approach, you must modify the Destination File on the Job Details to include both the full title of the destination file title and the desired value for the file attribute MAXRECSIZE. This is supported by placing a constant of ,REC= (comma, followed by the string REC=), followed by the desired record length in bytes immediately following the destination file title in the SMA File Transfer Job Details Destination File Name.

Specify the Destination File Blocking Factor​

You may also specify the blocking factor for the MCP destination file. The blocking factor is defined as the number of records per block, and is specified by placing a constant of ,BLK=, followed by the desired blocking factor immediately following the destination file title and record length.

For example, if the destination file title were "(USER)DATA/FILE ON PRODPK", the desired record length is 300, and the desired blocking factor is 60 records per block, the Destination File entry would be:

  • (USER)DATA/FILE ON PRODPK,REC=300,BLK=60

Specify the ACCESSCODE Associated with the Destination File​

Some sites require an ACCESSCODE in addition to a USERCODE. To specify the ACCESSCODE, append a comma (,) followed by ACC= then the desired ACCESSCODE immediately following the file title of the destination file (i.e., is 300 and the desired blocking factor is 60 records per block). The Destination File entry would be:

  • (USER)DATA/FILE ON PRODPK,REC=300,BLK=60,ACC=MYACCESSCODE

Logging​

For the MCP Agent, the SMAFTAGENT logs general information messages to the PRT_FTAGENT print file when SW2 is set for the agent. The SMAFT Server logs general information messages to the SMAFT_DEBUG_PRT print file when SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, and SW6 are set for the agent. Refer to Debug Information.

FAQs​

How many concurrent file transfers does the MCP FTSERVER support? The MCP SMA/FTSERVER supports up to nine concurrent file transfers.

What happens if encryption or compression is set to "Preferred" but the other platform does not support it? The transfer proceeds, but the job appears as Failed with a status description of P-DS. Use "Required" if you need the transfer to fail when encryption or compression is unavailable, or "None" if these features are not needed.

How do I specify a custom record length and blocking factor for the destination file? Append ,REC=<length> and optionally ,BLK=<factor> directly to the destination file title in the Job Details. For example: (USER)DATA/FILE ON PRODPK,REC=300,BLK=60. This is only needed when the default SMAFT record length is incompatible with downstream MCP programs.

Must the full MCP file title (usercode and family) be specified for source and destination files? Yes. When using an MCP file for the Source File or Destination File on the Job Details, the full file title must be entered, including the usercode and family.

Where are SMAFT log messages written? The SMAFTAGENT logs to the PRT_FTAGENT print file when SW2 is set for the agent. The SMAFT Server logs to the SMAFT_DEBUG_PRT print file when SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, and SW6 are set.

Glossary​

SMA/FTAGENT (SMAFTAGENT): The MCP component that acts as the file transfer agent, receiving or sending the file data stream and creating/removing temporary transfer files.

SMA/FTSERVER (SMAFTSERVER): The MCP component that accepts incoming transfer connections from remote SMAFT agents and coordinates up to nine concurrent transfers.

SMA/FTHANDLER: The MCP SMAFT component that handles transfer handshaking and negotiation with the corresponding SMAFT component on the participating machine.

REC=: A suffix appended to the destination file title (in the Job Details) to specify the MAXRECSIZE attribute of the destination file in bytes.

BLK=: A suffix appended to the destination file title (in the Job Details) to specify the blocking factor (number of records per block) of the destination file.

ACC=: A suffix appended to the destination file title (in the Job Details) to specify the ACCESSCODE associated with the destination file, required at sites that use access codes in addition to usercodes.