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Using SFTP in Chain.io Portal Overview

Justin Givens
  • Updated

Overview

Within the Chain.io Portal, customers can set up their flows to take advantage of connecting to an SFTP when transmitting data. There are two distinct ways of configuring your flows in order to successfully connect to an SFTP server. In this article you will learn how to configure flows when you need Chain.io to pick up files from an SFTP server as well as learn how to configure a flow so that Chain.io can send a file to an SFTP.




When Chain.io needs to retrieve data from an SFTP

 

When Chain.io needs to retrieve data from an SFTP server so that the file can be used at the start of a flow then an SFTP Launcher needs to be created.

 

The purpose of the SFTP Launcher is to retrieve a file or multiple files from the SFTP server and then send those files to the Chain.io flow for processing.

 

In order to properly set up an SFTP Launcher you will need to already know the following:

  1. SFTP Server Details
    • Username
    • Password
    • Port (usually Port 22)
    • Folder path in which the files will be stored in
    • How frequently you want to check the SFTP folder for files
  2. The Flow you want to send the files to
    • The Source System/Connections webhook url defined in the flow
    • API Key for the webhook url

 

To learn more about using the SFTP Launcher please refer to this article.

 

When Chain.io needs to send data to an SFTP endpoint

 

 

Chain.io also has the opportunity to process data and send the final file payload to an SFTP server. Once the file is dropped onto the SFTP server, the destination system can retrieve the file from the SFTP server for processing.

 

In order to set up the SFTP destination connection/host system you will need to know the following.

  1. Is the Chain.io flow you are setting up a Send or a Receive Flow?
    1. By answering this question, you will know if you need to set up a Workspace SFTP Host System or an Integration SFTP Connection.
      1. For Send Flow Type - You will set up an Integration SFTP Connection
      2. For Receive Flow Type - You will set up an SFTP Host System
    2. To learn more about send and receive flow types please visit the Flow’s and how they work article.
  2. SFTP Server Details
    1. Username
    2. Password
    3. Port (usually Port 22)
    4. The Folder path you want Chain.io to drop to
      1. This folder path will be needed once you select the SFTP Host System/Connection within the flow configuration.

To learn more about how to set up a flow that allows Chain.io to send a file to an SFTP Server click here. 

 

The recommended way to connect to the Chain.io portal is via HTTPs endpoint, but if your system does not allow that or if you prefer to connect to SFTP and do not have a hosted SFTP endpoint, Chain.io can host an SFTP server on behalf of you and your customer. To learn more about how to create a Chain.io hosted SFTP server to be used with the Chain.io portal, please refer to the “Chain.io SFTP Users” article for more information.

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