Integrate with FTP Data in SnapLogic

SnapLogic's iPaaS platform helps organizations automate application, data and cloud integrations. When paired with CData Connect AI, SnapLogic gets access to live FTP data. This article demonstrates how to connect to FTP using Connect AI and integrate with FTP data in SnapLogic.

CData Connect AI provides a pure SQL Server interface for FTP, allowing you to query data from FTP without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect AI pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to FTP, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested FTP data quickly.

Configure FTP Connectivity for SnapLogic

Connectivity to FTP from SnapLogic is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with FTP data from SnapLogic, we start by creating and configuring a FTP connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "FTP" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to 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.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add FTP Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured and a PAT generated, you are ready to connect to FTP data from SnapLogic.

Connect to FTP from SnapLogic using Connect AI

To establish a connection from SnapLogic to CData Connect AI, you will need to download the CData Connect AI JDBC Driver.

1. Open the Integrations page of CData Connect AI.
2. Search for and select JDBC.
3. Download and run the setup file.
4. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (inside the lib folder).

After copying the JDBC CData Connect AI JAR file, you will need to paste it into the SnapLogic installation location and configure the connection to Connect AI.

1. Log into SnapLogic.
2. Click the Managers tab.
3. Select a folder from the Project Spaces to add the JDBC JAR file to.
4. Click the Files tab.
5. Click the button in the top right to upload the CData Connect AI JDBC JAR file. It appears as a file once uploaded.
6. Click the Designer tab.
7. Click JDBC to expand the options for "snaps."
8. Click and drag a Generic JDBC - Select "snap" onto the designer.
9. Click Add Account > Continue.
10. Enter the JDBC connection properties.
    • JDBC driver: add the CData Connect AI JAR file
    • JDBC driver Class: enter cdata.jdbc.connect.ConnectDriver
    • JDBC Url: enter a JDBC connection string for the JDBC driver. For example: jdbc:connect:AuthScheme=Basic;User={username};Password={PAT};
    • Username: enter your CData Connect AI username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect AI interface. For example, [email protected].
    • Password: enter the PAT you generated previously.
    
11. Click Validate. If the connection succeeds, the "snap" is ready to use.
12. Click Apply.

You can now create reports with the connected data.

Get CData Connect AI

To get live data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from SnapLogic, try CData Connect AI today!