Integrate SFTP with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including SFTP, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SFTP data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to SFTP, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SFTP and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with SFTP data using native data types.

Connect to SFTP in SnapLogic

To connect to SFTP data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData SFTP JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for SFTP/lib by default).

Upload the SFTP JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to SFTP.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.sftp.SFTPDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the SFTP JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:sftp:RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;RTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     Built-In Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.sftp.jar

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

     SFTP can be used to transfer files to and from SFTP servers using the SFTP Protocol. To connect, specify the RemoteHost;. service uses the User and Password and public key authentication (SSHClientCert). Choose an SSHAuthMode and specify connection values based on your selection.

     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 subfolders to report as views.
     • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve files recursively and list them in the Root table.
     Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See gdatamodel for more on using SQL to interact with the server.

5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read SFTP Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "SFTP"
• Set Table name to a table for SFTP using the schema name, for example: "SFTP"."MyDirectory" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your SFTP data to another endpoint.

Piping SFTP Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your SFTP data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from SFTP and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

Piping External Data to SFTP

As mentioned above, you can also use the JDBC Driver for SFTP in SnapLogic to write data to SFTP. Start by adding a Generic JDBC - Insert or Generic JDBC - Update snap to the dashboard.

1. Select the existing "Account" (connection) or create a new one
2. Configure the query:
   • Set Schema name to "SFTP"
   • Set Table name to a table for SFTP using the schema name, for example: "SFTP"."MyDirectory" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
3. Save the Generic JDBC - Insert/Update snap

At this point, you have configured a snap to write data to SFTP, inserting new records or updating existing ones.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for SFTP you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating SFTP data with external services. For more information about connecting to SFTP, check at our CData JDBC Driver for SFTP page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for SFTP and get started today.