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An easy-to-use database-like interface for Java based applications and reporting tools access to remote files and directories.

Access FTP Data in Mule Applications Using the CData JDBC Driver



Create a simple Mule Application that uses HTTP and SQL with the CData JDBC Driver for FTP to create a JSON endpoint for FTP data.

The CData JDBC Driver for FTP connects FTP data to Mule applications enabling read , write, update, and delete functionality with familiar SQL queries. The JDBC Driver allows users to easily create Mule applications to backup, transform, report, and analyze FTP data.

This article demonstrates how to use the CData JDBC Driver for FTP inside of a Mule project to create a Web interface for FTP data. The application created allows you to request FTP data using an HTTP request and have the results returned as JSON. The exact same procedure outlined below can be used with any CData JDBC Driver to create a Web interface for the 200+ available data sources.

  1. Create a new Mule Project in Anypoint Studio.
  2. Add an HTTP Connector to the Message Flow.
  3. Configure the address for the HTTP Connector.
  4. Add a Database Select Connector to the same flow, after the HTTP Connector.
  5. Create a new Connection (or edit an existing one) and configure the properties.
    • Set Connection to "Generic Connection"
    • Select the CData JDBC Driver JAR file in the Required Libraries section (e.g. cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar).
    • Set the URL to the connection string for FTP

      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 the Driver class name to cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver.
    • Click Test Connection.
  6. Set the SQL Query Text to a SQL query to request FTP data. For example: SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM MyDirectory
  7. Add a Transform Message Component to the flow.
  8. Set the Output script to the following to convert the payload to JSON:
    %dw 2.0
    output application/json
    ---
    payload
            
  9. To view your FTP data, navigate to the address you configured for the HTTP Connector (localhost:8081 by default): http://localhost:8081. The FTP data is available as JSON in your Web browser and any other tools capable of consuming JSON endpoints.

At this point, you have a simple Web interface for working with FTP data (as JSON data) in custom apps and a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools. Download a free, 30 day trial of the JDBC Driver for FTP and see the CData difference in your Mule Applications today.