Create a Connection Contract
Connection Contracts (in input or in output) define how Data Mover connects with the Producer to receive files or with the Consumer to retrieve files. In both scenarios, Data Mover acts as a protocol server.
This contract defines:
the actor that sends files to Data Mover or collects them from Data Mover
the server
the virtual file system (VFS) and its path.
In input, the Connection Contract defines when Data Mover receives files from the Producer. The Producer, acting as the protocol client, initiates the connection to Data Mover, which acts as the protocol server.
In output, it defines when the Consumer connects to Data Mover to retrieve the files. The Consumer acts as the protocol client, establishing the connection, while Data Mover remains the protocol server.
The Connection Contract consists of three main components:
Contract Clause. This component establishes the relationship between an actor, a protocol, and the VFS, specifying the dataflow and access parameters.
Associated VFS/Rule. This component links processing rules to VFS instructions, determining whether files are uploaded to or downloaded from the system, and specifies the associated metadata.
File Processing Rule. This component outlines the processes a file undergoes during transfer, including tasks such as encoding or compression.
Create a Contract Clause
To configure a Connection Contract, follow these steps:
Navigate to the Actors section and select the Actor.
Access the Connection Contracts tab and add a new Contract Clause.
Create a name and description for easy reference.
Assign the clause to a specific server to configure the VFS and users accurately. Each server available to the actor must have only one Connection Contract.
Warning!
When you select a PR4, PR5, or PR5S server, remember that associated Virtual File Systems must be defined as described here: Virtual File Systems and Spazio 2 protocols PR4 and PR5.
Click the Add User or Group button and select whether to access the VFS path via direct assignment or provide VFS access through assigned groups.
If you select direct assignment, insert the VFS and VFS path. Then, in the drop-down list, select the Users and Groups you want to grant access to. 🚀 Only for the FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS, PR4, PR5, and PESIT protocols, you can add custom file upload limits for every User/Group by switching the Upload limit toggle to ON. You can then choose the maximum file size and the unit of measurement. Possible values are: KB (default), MB, GB, and TB. Note that limits on Users supersede limits on Groups.
Click on the ADD button to add the User or Group. To delete the User or Group assigned, click on the
icon.Click Confirm and then Save to finalize the creation of the Connection Contract.
You have created the Connection Contract, associated the actor with the server, and given users access to the VFS path where files can be delivered or collected. In the image below, user CASTOR_1 can connect to the ftp-server to access all folders of the VFS called VFS-CASTOR.
The Contract Clauses section now lists the newly created clause, which can be edited or deleted with the standard edit and delete icons.
Associate the VFS with file processing rules
To associate a VFS with a File Processing Rule, follow these steps:
In the Associated VFS/RULE section, click the New associated VFS/RULE button.
In the Virtual File System window, click the SELECT VFS button.
In the Add Virtual File System window, select the VFS and the VFS path and click Confirm.
In the Virtual File System window, click Save and Continue.
In the File processing rule window, you can either:
Choose to use an already existing file processing rule. Click the Select existing file button and choose one of the listed File processing rules. Then, click the Confirm selection button.
Create a new file processing rule: click the Add New button and proceed with the creation of the Processing Rule, filling in the required fields:
name and description of the rule
file pattern
file resources
virtual box – select one of the listed Virtual Boxes or create a new one by clicking the View All option.
set the file processing rule as default (optional) to apply the rule to all paths. For more information on these fields, head over to the File Processing Rules section.
Click Confirm and verify that the configuration is correct.
Select when the rule will be applied: INPUT or OUTPUT.
Click Save to confirm.
File Processing Rules
Here, you can both view the file processing rules already associated with the selected Actor and create new rules by following these steps:
Click the NEW FILE PROCESSING RULE button.
In the New file processing rule window, fill in these fields:
Name and Description of the rule.
File pattern: specify to which files the File Processing Rule will be assigned. By default: . (all files).
File resources: refer to the File Resources tab page for details.
Virtual boxes: select one of the listed Virtual Boxes or create a new one by clicking View All → New VirtualBox.
Set the file processing rule as default (optional) to apply it to all paths when selected for the Contract. Remember! You must configure at least one of these two options: File Resource or Virtual Box!
When done, click Confirm to save. The newly created rule will be added to the list of Rules.
Whenever a File Processing Rule is needed, it must be associated with the Virtual Path to be used. Therefore, the File Pattern can be used to filter the files where the File Processing Rules will be applied, or it can be left generic, and the File Processing Rules will be applied to each file within the Virtual Path.
You can set the File Processing Rule as default by checking the box at the top of the window.
To better describe the usage guidelines for File Processing Rules, these are some sample use cases:
Data Mover receives a file through SFTP and saves it in DATA format Configuration of File Resource:
mime remote = text/plain
charset local = 819
mime local = text/plain (or null)
charset local = 819 (or null)
Data Mover receives and saves a file through PR4 with PGP encrypted Configuration of File Resource:
secure remote = NONE
secure local = PGP
Data Mover receives an uncompressed file through PR4, with compressed saving in Data Mover Configuration of File Resource:
compression type remote = null
compression type local = SPZIP
Data Mover receives a compressed file through PR4, with compressed save in Data Mover Configuration of File Resource:
compression type remote = SPZIP
compression type local = SPZIP
Data Mover has an uncompressed file and sends it compressed through PR4 Configuration of File Resource:
compression type remote = null
compression type remote = SPZIP
Last updated