How to Set Up and Configure the FTP Target Connector

• Solution Deployment Specifics

• Content Configuration Specifics

• How to Configure Your FTP Target

• FTP Protocol Settings

Solution Deployment Specifics

To add the package to the target farm, follow these steps:

1. Open the SharePoint Management PowerShell with admin rights and run the following command in order to add the solution to the target farm:
      Add-SPSolution "<fullPathToTheWSP>\BAInsight.Search.Service.Ftp.Target.wsp"
2. Install and deploy the FTP Target solution:
      Install-SPSolution -Identity BAInsight.Search.Service.Ftp.Target.wsp -GACDeployment

Content Configuration Specifics

How to Create an FTP Target

Use the following steps to create and configure your FTP Target connector:

1. In the Targets page of the Connector Framework add a new Custom API target.
   
2. Specify the title of the Target.
   
3. Select the content source Content Sources do the following: Receive data from the Source System via the Connection, Filter the data it receives, Provide the results to the Target, Define the specific search index that contains the content you wish to index (and later search)..
   
4. Type the following value in the API class:
      BAInsight.Search.Service.Ftp.Target.FTPTarget
5. Click the Load button

How to Configure Your FTP Target

Once the FTP Target is loaded, the UI controls specific to the FTP target appears.
Configure them as follows:

1. Enter the FTP Server login account that will be used to connect to the FTP server.
   1. In case a Certificate or Private Key file are used, the password field becomes optional.
      
2. Specify the FTP Server name or IP and port number.
   
   • The port number is optional.
   • Default value: 22
   • Expected format:
     <server_name_or_ip>:<port_number>
3. Specify the Identifier Property Name.
   
   • Represents the name of the property that will be used to name the files on the FTP server.
   • The values returned by the Connector for this property must be unique for each file.
     
4. [Optional] Specify the timeout in minutes for the FTP Client. Default value is 30.
   
5. [Optional] If a Proxy is used to connect to the FTP server, use the following XML to configure the Proxy settings.

<proxysettings>
    <type>SOCKS4|SOCKS5|HTTP<type>
    <host></host>
    <port></port>
    <user></user>
    <password></password>
</proxysettings> 

FTP Protocol Settings

Use the following XML to configure the protocol settings (element names are case sensitive).

<ftpprotocolsettings>
    <remoteparentdirectory></remoteparentdirectory>
    <mode></mode>
    <certificateorprivatekeypath></certificateorprivatekeypath>
    <hostkeyorcertificatefingerprint></hostkeyorcertificatefingerprint>
    <privatekeypassphrase></privatekeypassphrase>
</ftpprotocolsettings>

Protocol Settings XML Elements

• remoteparentdirectory
  • Represents the path to the remote parent directory where the files will be pushed. the path is relative to the root directory. 
  • [Optional] Default remote parent directory is 'root'
• mode – possible values:
  • Sftp (uses SSH FTP)
  • Ftp
    
    • Ftp mode has two additional settings that must be added on the same line and separated by the pipe (|) sign
      • Security setting values for FTP over SSL:
        • None
        • Implicit
        • Explicit

• • • • Transfer Mode settings values:
        • Passive
        • Active

Implicit Secure FTP Example

For an implicit secure FTP with a Passive transfer mode, the values are as follows:
   FTP|Implicit|Passive

• certificateorprivatekeypath
  • If Ftp|None protocol is used, or if the authentication is done using username/password, this element is optional.
  • If the Sftp protocol mode is used add the SSH private key path.
  • If the Ftp|Implicit or Ftp|Explicit mode is used, add the TLS Certifficate path.

• hostkeyorcertificatefingerprint
  • If the Sftp protocol mode is used, add the SSH Host Key fingerprint.
    • If left empty, the target automatically retrieves the Host fingerprint.
  • If the Ftp|Implicit or Ftp|Explicit mode is used, add the TLS Host Certificate Fingerprint.
  • If the Ftp|None mode is used, this element is optional.

• privatekeypassphrase
  • If the Ftp|None mode is used, this element is optional.
  • If it exists, add the pass-phrase for the private key or certificate.