Build FTP-Connected ETL Processes in Google Data Fusion

Google Data Fusion allows users to perform self-service data integration to consolidate disparate data. Uploading the CData JDBC Driver for FTP enables users to access live FTP data from within their Google Data Fusion pipelines. While the CData JDBC Driver enables piping FTP data to any data source natively supported in Google Data Fusion, this article walks through piping data from FTP to Google BigQuery,

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for FTP to Google Data Fusion

Upload the CData JDBC Driver for FTP to your Google Data Fusion instance to work with live FTP data. Due to the naming restrictions for JDBC drivers in Google Data Fusion, create a copy or rename the JAR file to match the following format driver-version.jar. For example: cdataftp-2020.jar

1. Open your Google Data Fusion instance
2. Click the to add an entity and upload a driver
3. On the "Upload driver" tab, drag or browse to the renamed JAR file.
4. On the "Driver configuration" tab:
   • Name: Create a name for the driver (cdata.jdbc.ftp) and make note of the name
   • Class name: Set the JDBC class name: (cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver)
5. Click "Finish"

Connect to FTP Data in Google Data Fusion

With the JDBC Driver uploaded, you are ready to work with live FTP data in Google Data Fusion Pipelines.

1. Navigate to the Pipeline Studio to create a new Pipeline
2. From the "Source" options, click "Database" to add a source for the JDBC Driver
3. Click "Properties" on the Database source to edit the properties

   NOTE: To use the JDBC Driver in Google Data Fusion, you will need a license (full or trial) and a Runtime Key (RTK). For more information on obtaining this license (or a trial), contact our sales team.

   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value for any future references (i.e.: cdata-ftp)
   • Set Plugin Type to "jdbc"
   • Set Connection String to the JDBC URL for FTP. For example:
     
     jdbc:ftp:RTK=5246...;RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;

     To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

     Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

     Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

     The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

     • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
     • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
     • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

     Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the FTP JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   • Set Import Query to a SQL query that will extract the data you want from FTP, i.e.:
     SELECT * FROM MyDirectory
4. From the "Sink" tab, click to add a destination sink (we use Google BigQuery in this example)
5. Click "Properties" on the BigQuery sink to edit the properties
   • Set the Label
   • Set Reference Name to a value like ftp-bigquery
   • Set Project ID to a specific Google BigQuery Project ID (or leave as the default, "auto-detect")
   • Set Dataset to a specific Google BigQuery dataset
   • Set Table to the name of the table you wish to insert FTP data into

With the Source and Sink configured, you are ready to pipe FTP data into Google BigQuery. Save and deploy the pipeline. When you run the pipeline, Google Data Fusion will request live data from FTP and import it into Google BigQuery.

While this is a simple pipeline, you can create more complex FTP pipelines with transforms, analytics, conditions, and more. Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for FTP and start working with your live FTP data in Google Data Fusion today.