File Transfer Job Details

The information in this section applies to defining a File Transfer job. The text fields in the graphical interfaces support OpCon token replacement. Properties are resolved as the SAM prepares to send the job to the LSAM. For additional information about the SMA File Transfer process, refer to File Transfer Jobs.

danger

If the LSAMs and the machines involved in the file transfer are not properly configured, the file transfer job fails. For more information, refer to File Transfer Settings. These settings are commingled with the LSAM's Job Output Retrieval System (JORS) parameters. For additional information, refer to the LSAM online help for the desired platform. For more information on the JORS Port Number and viewing job output, refer to Viewing a Job Output File.

note

Machine definition for Primary and Alternate machines and Machine Groups is not available for File Transfer Job Details.

File Information

• Machine (Source): Defines the machine with the source file to transfer. Only the machines enabled for file transfer can be defined for this value. Refer to File Transfer Settings.

• User (Source): Defines the Batch User ID with access to the file on the Source machine. Define "N/A" if the platform does not require a user. OpCon Users can only specify Batch User IDs they have privileges to that are defined in Batch User Privileges.

• Source File: Defines the full path and file name to transfer.

  note

  To use Machine Instance Properties, always fully qualify the property so OpCon resolves the correct values (e.g., [[MI.LSAMPath.Windows1]]). For more information, refer to Fully Qualified Property Name Syntax.

  note

  Regarding the Source File and Destination File information, folders or directory names may not be specified without a file name following them because you cannot transfer a folder to a folder.

  • To achieve a multiple file transfer:
    note

    At the publication of this document, the following platforms support multi-file transfer: Windows and UNIX.

    • Use asterisk (*) as a wildcard to match zero or more characters in the source file name.
    • Use question mark (?) as a wildcard to match any single character in the source file name.
      note

      Only Windows and UNIX agents support wildcards at this time.

    • Do not use wildcards in the path leading to the group of files to transfer.
      note

      SMA Technologies uses gzip for packaging multiple files, and some platforms may limit the file size to 2GB while others allow much larger sizes. For more information about gzip, please visit http://www.gzip.org/.

    • If you use wildcards for the source file and the source machine does not support the feature, the job will fail.
      note

      The multiple file transfer feature does not include transferring subdirectories. It only transfers the matching individual files names in the directory specified.

• Machine (Destination): Defines the machine that will receive the file. Only the machines enabled for file transfer can be defined for this value. Refer to File Transfer Settings.

• User (Destination): Defines the Batch User ID with access to the location on the Destination machine that will receive the file. Define "N/A" if the platform does not require a user. OpCon Users can only specify Batch User IDs they have privileges to that are defined in Batch User Privileges.

• Destination File: Defines the full path and file name for the destination.

  note

  To use Machine Instance properties, always fully qualify the property so OpCon resolves the correct values (e.g., [[MI.LSAMPath.Windows1]]). For more information, refer to Properties.

  • To achieve a multiple file transfer between two machines that support the feature:

    • Do not use wildcards in the path leading to the group of files to transfer.

    • For Windows as destination:

      • Name the destination file with the same wildcard pattern as the source file.
      • Use asterisk (*) as a wildcard to match zero or more characters in the file name.
      • Use question mark (?) as a wildcard to match any single character in the file name.
      Examples when Windows is the Destination

      When transferring from Windows or UNIX to a destination Windows machine, the following combinations of Source and Destination wildcard file names are supported:

      • FILE.TXT may be changed to ANY.RTF
      • ?FILE.TXT may be changed to ?ANY.RTF
      • FIL?XX.TXT may be changed to FILE?YYY.RTF

      The non-wildcard characters may be changed in content and length, as long as the wild card character appears in the same relative position. Also, the suffix may be changed.

      The following combinations of Source and Destination wildcard file names are not supported by the destination Windows agent:

      • C:\path*today.* may not be changed to C:\new\path*back (the number of wildcard characters do not match)
      • FIL*XX.TXT may not be changed to FIL?XX.TXT (the type of wildcard character used does not match)

      Note: If you interchange * and ?, the job will not fail and the file name will only replace one character.

    • For UNIX as destination:

      • Set the destination as the directory for the files to be transferred to.

      • Do not define a destination file.

        Examples when UNIX is the Destination

        The following example is supported:

        • Source: /tmp/text*

        • Destination: /usr

          The following example is not supported:

        • Source: /tmp/text*

        • Destination: /usr/text* (destination must be a directory)

          Note: Wildcard file transfer only supports the Overwrite option for "When File Exists".

    • If you use wildcards for the destination file and the destination machine does not support the feature, the job will fail.

    • You can transfer multiple files from a source that supports multiple file transfer to a destination that does not. To do this, specify a single file name in the destination. The single file created is a gzip file; therefore, SMA Technologies recommends naming the file with an extension of ".tar.gz" (e.g., "myfiles.tar.gz").

note

On File Transfer jobs where an MCP or IBM i machine is the destination machine and the data type is text, the record length of the destination file may be specified. Specify record length by appending a comma to the destination file title, and then the constant "REC=nnnnn" (without quotation marks), where nnnnn is the desired record length.

note

When a specific blocking factor is required on an MCP destination file, the blocking factor will be identified by the string, ",BLK=nnnnnnnn", where nnnnnnnn represents the number of records per block to be declared for the destination file. Currently, the customer indicates the record length by the string, ",REC=nnnnnnnn". The BLK and REC mnemonics are to follow the file title of the destination file, but need not be in any particular order.

note

When UNIX is involved in a wildcard transfer, If File Exists must be set to Overwrite. Also, Encryption and Compression must be set to None.

• Source Data Type: Defines the data type of the file on the source machine. The following are valid options:
  note

  If anything other than Binary is defined as the Source Data Type, the integrity of the file is maintained but the file structure will likely be altered. This is done in an effort to present the transferred file in a user-friendly structure for the given platform.

  • ASCII: Indicates the file is a simple text file in ASCII format. Set this option when the file should explicitly be treated as an ASCII file.
  • Binary: Indicates the file's structure should be left intact during the transfer process. This option must be set for all non-text files. Additionally, this option should be set for text files being transferred between platforms with different text types when the file structure should be left in the original form.
  • Default text: Indicates that the SMA File Transfer Agent and Server should use the default text data type for the platform when working with the file. Set this option when the file is a known text file, but it is unknown if the file is ASCII or EBCDIC.
  • EBCDIC: Indicates a text file that uses the Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code format. (For example, the MCP and IBM i platforms use this text type.) Set this option when the file should explicitly be treated as an EBCDIC file.
• Destination Data Type: Defines the final data type of the file that will be transferred to the destination machine. This data type is available to support cross-platform file transfers that may require translation from one text type to another.
  • ASCII: Indicates the file should be written to the Destination Machine as a simple text file in ASCII format. Set this option when the file should explicitly be written as an ASCII file.
  • Binary: Indicates the file's structure should be left intact during the transfer process. This option must be set if the Source Data Type is set to Binary, but this option is invalid if the Source Data Type is anything other than Binary.
  • Default text: Indicates that the SMA File Transfer Agent and Server should use the default text data type for the platform when working with the file. Set this option when the file is a known text file, but it is unknown if the file is ASCII or EBCDIC and must be readable on the Destination Machine.
  • EBCDIC: Indicates the file should be written to the Destination Machine as a text file that uses the Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code format (e.g., the MCP and IBM i platforms use this text type). Set this option when the file should explicitly be written as an EBCDIC file.
• If File Exists: Determines how the SMAFT Agent behaves when a target file exists. The following are valid options:
  • Do Not Overwrite: Indicates the SMAFT Agent checks for the existence of the file on the destination machine before starting the transfer. The job fails if the file exists; otherwise, the job proceeds.
  • Overwrite: Indicates the SMAFT Agent transfers the file while overwriting any existing file on the destination machine.
  • Backup then Overwrite: Indicates the SMAFT Agent checks for the existence of the file on the destination machine before starting transfer. If it exists, the file is copied as <filename>.bak (in the same directory) and the original file is then overwritten. If the file does not exist on the destination machine, a new file is created.
  • Append: Indicates the SMAFT Agent will append the source file to the destination file. If the destination file does not exist, a new file is created with destination filename.
  • Backup then Append: Indicates the SMAFT Agent checks for existence of the file on the destination machine before starting transfer. If it exists, the file is copied as <filename>.bak (in the same directory) and the source file is appended to the original destination file. If the file does not exist on the destination machine, a new file is created.
• Delete Source File: Determines if the deletion of the Source File is disabled, required, or preferred. Only the Windows agent supports this feature at this time (other platforms will follow). The following are valid options:
  • No: Indicates the Source File will not be deleted upon successful completion of the file transfer.
  • Required: Indicates the SMAFT job will fail if the Source file is not deleted upon successful completion of the file transfer.
  • Preferred: Indicates the deletion of the Source File is attempted upon successful completion of the file transfer. The result of the attempt to delete the source file does not affect the final status of the job.
    note

    z/OS does support the "delete source file" option when z/OS is the destination. It is not supported when z/OS is the source.

• Maximum Transfer Rate (kbits/second): Defines the transfer rate for the job. Valid values include 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, and >2048 kbits/second.
• Compression: Determines if compression is disabled, required, or preferred. Supported compression types are tar, gzip, and zip. The following are valid options:
  • <None>: Indicates the transfer does not use compression.
  • Required: Indicates the transfer job fails if compression does not occur.
  • Preferred: Indicates compression is attempted during the transfer. The result of the compression attempt does not affect the final status of the job.
    caution

    Both the agent and the server must both support the same compression type for compression to succeed.

• Encryption: Determines if encryption is disabled, required, or preferred. Supported encryption types are 3DES, AES, and DES. The following are valid options:
  • <None>: Indicates the transfer does not use encryption.
  • Required: Indicates the job fails if encryption does not occur.
  • Preferred: Indicates encryption is attempted during the transfer. The result of the encryption attempt does not affect the final status of the job.
    caution

    Both the agent and the server must both support the same encryption type for the encryption to succeed.

• Start Transfer On: Determines where the job will start. This is important for sites where one machine may be on the outside of a firewall. File transfers across a firewall should start on the Source machine if possible. Contact your firewall administrator to open the required File Transfer Ports. No matter which machine the job starts on, the file transfer port for that machine must be open on the firewall. For more information, refer to File Transfer Settings.
  • This field is enabled only if both machines in the File Transfer Information have upgraded LSAMs that support starting the transfer on the Source machine.
    note

    Each upgraded LSAM must communicate with the OpCon server to send a message indicating it has the capability to start the transfer on the Source machine.

  • If the LSAMs are not yet upgraded, this field is disabled and the job will start on the Destination machine.
  • The valid options include:
    • Source Machine: Choose this option to start the job on the Source machine.
    • Destination Machine (Default selection): Choose this option to start the job on the Destination machine.
• TLS Security Override: Determines if TLS Security for file transfers is disabled, required, or preferred. The following are valid options:
  • <None>: Indicates that TLS Security should not be used by the SMAFT Agent when connecting to the SMAFT Server.
  • Required: Indicates that the SMAFT Agent must use TLS Security; otherwise, the job will be failed.
  • Preferred (Default): Indicates that the OpCon job request assembly routine uses the SMAFT Server Port numbers and the SMAFT Server/Agent TLS Capability flags to decide what value to send in the TLS Security Mode field.

note

When the TLS Security Override field is left at Preferred status, the OpCon job start request build routine will compare the SMAFT Server/Agent Port number fields and the SMAFT Server/Agent Capable Flags of the two machine records to determine if TLS Security can be supported. If the settings suggest TLS can be supported, it uses TLS; otherwise, it uses an unsecured connection.

To require TLS Security, both the SMAFT Server and the SMAFT Agent must indicate they can support TLS Security. Otherwise, the choice must be to request an unsecured (non-TLS) connection between the two.

Options

The following table lists the LSAM platforms supporting SMA File Transfer and the options each platform supports.

IBM i File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
Destination Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
If File Exists	All
Delete Source File	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Start Transfer On	All

MCP File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
Destination Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
If File Exists	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Start Transfer On	All

OS220 File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII Default Text
Destination Data Type	ASCII Default Text
If File Exists	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Start Transfer On	Destination

UNIX File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII Default Text Binary
Destination Data Type	ASCII Default Text Binary
If File Exists	Single File: All Wild Card: Overwrite
Delete Source File	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Compression	Single File: All Wild Card: None
Encryption	Single File: All Wild Card: None
Start Transfer On	All

Windows File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII Default Text Binary
Destination Data Type	ASCII Default Text Binary
If File Exists	All
Delete Source File	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Compression	All
Encryption	All
Start Transfer On	All
TLS Security Overwrite	All

z/OS File Transfer Options Support

Supported Options	Supported Values
Source Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
Destination Data Type	ASCII EBCDIC Default Text Binary
If File Exists	All
Maximum Transfer Rate	All
Start Transfer On	Destination

Failure Criteria

• Fails if "Preferred" settings not satisfied: Determines if the job should fail when the file transfer itself succeeds, but the transfer did not comply with the preferred settings for Delete Source File, Compression, and Encryption.