> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arc.cdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# TCP Server Connector

> Host a generic TCP/IP endpoint for receiving arbitrary data streams, with configurable message delimitation, TLS/SSL support, and bidirectional communication.

export const TrustedIp = () => <>
    <p>The following functions are available in the <strong>Trusted IP Addresses</strong> section:</p>

    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr><td><strong>Add</strong></td><td>Enter a new IP address range.</td></tr>
        <tr><td><strong>Edit</strong></td><td>Modify the selected IP address range.</td></tr>
        <tr><td><strong>Delete</strong></td><td>Deletes the selected IP address range from the list.</td></tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>

    <p>The following restrictions apply to this feature:</p>

    <ul style={{
  listStyleType: 'disc',
  paddingLeft: '1.5rem'
}}>
      <li style={{
  display: 'list-item'
}}><code>localhost</code> cannot be modified or removed from the list.</li>
      <li style={{
  display: 'list-item'
}}>Any IP addresses outside of the defined ranges are rejected.</li>
      <li style={{
  display: 'list-item'
}}>Ranges are supported. For example, the entry <code>100.10.100.1-15</code> indicates that IP addresses between <code>100.10.100.1</code> and <code>100.10.100.15</code> are allowed.</li>
      <li style={{
  display: 'list-item'
}}>Classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) notation is supported. For example, the entry <code>100.10.100.0/24</code> indicates that IP addresses between <code>100.10.100.0</code> and <code>100.10.100.255</code> are allowed.</li>
      <li style={{
  display: 'list-item'
}}>Wildcard patterns are supported. For example, the entry <code>100.10.100.*</code> indicates that IP addresses beginning with <code>100.10.100</code> are allowed.</li>
    </ul>

    <Note>
      <p>In order for clients to reach the server, a clear network path is required. In cloud environments you might need to make changes in three places:</p>
      <p style={{
  paddingLeft: '1.5rem',
  marginTop: '0.25rem',
  marginBottom: '0.25rem'
}}>• The networking rules in the cloud console.</p>
      <p style={{
  paddingLeft: '1.5rem',
  marginTop: '0.25rem',
  marginBottom: '0.25rem'
}}>• The firewall rules on the machine hosting the application. For example, when using an Amazon AMI, you might use an <em>Uncomplicated Firewall</em> (UFW) to allow traffic on the desired port. A common strategy in Linux environments is to forward traffic from ports lower than 1024 to a non-standard port higher than 1024, while configuring the application to use the non-standard port. This avoids permission issues associated with non-root users binding to ports lower than 1024.</p>
      <p style={{
  paddingLeft: '1.5rem',
  marginTop: '0.25rem',
  marginBottom: '0.25rem'
}}>• The <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/network-access">Network Access</a> portion of the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/security">Security</a> tab.</p>
    </Note>
  </>;

export const SlasTab = ({siteName = "CData Arc"}) => <>
    <p><em>Settings related to configuring Service Level Agreements (SLAs).</em></p>
    <p>
      SLAs enable you to configure the volume you expect connectors in your flow to send or receive, and to set the time frame in which you expect that volume to be met. {siteName} sends emails to warn the user when an SLA is not met, and marks the SLA as <em>At Risk</em>, which means that if the SLA is not met soon, it will be marked as <em>Violated</em>. This gives the user an opportunity to step in and determine the reasons the SLA is not being met, and to take appropriate actions. If the SLA is still not met at the end of the at-risk time period, the SLA is marked as violated, and the user is notified again.
    </p>
    <p>
      To define an SLA, toggle <strong>Expected Volume</strong> on, then click the <strong>Settings</strong> tab.
    </p>
    <img src="/public/images/sla_empty.png" alt="SLA Empty" />
    <ul>
      <li>If your connector has separate send and receive actions, use the radio buttons to specify which direction the SLA pertains to.</li>
      <li>In the <strong>Expect at least</strong> portion of the window:
        <ul>
          <li>Set the minimum number of transactions you expect to be processed (the volume)</li>
          <li>Use the <strong>Every</strong> fields to specify the time frame</li>
          <li>Indicate when the SLA should go into effect. If you choose <strong>Starting on</strong>, complete the date and time fields.</li>
          <li>Check the boxes for the days of the week that you want the SLA to be in effect. Use the dropdown to choose <strong>Everyday</strong> if necessary.</li>
        </ul>
      </li>
      <li>In the <strong>Set status to 'At Risk'</strong> portion of the window, specify when the SLA should be marked as at risk.
        <ul>
          <li>By default, notifications are not sent until an SLA is in violation. To change that, check <strong>Send an 'At Risk' notification</strong>.</li>
        </ul>
      </li>
    </ul>
    <p>
      The following example shows an SLA configured for a connector that expects to receive 1000 files every day Monday-Friday. An at-risk notification is sent 1 hour before the end of the time period if the 1000 files have not been received.
    </p>
    <img src="/public/images/sla_defined.png" alt="SLA Configuration Example" />
    <Note>
      You can turn off SLA alerts if necessary. This can be useful during maintenance windows. Click <strong>Settings</strong> on the navbar, then navigate to <strong>Alerts &gt; General Alerts</strong>. Click the tablet and pencil icon to edit, and uncheck the <strong>SLA Alerts</strong> setting.
    </Note>
  </>;

export const AlertsTab = ({siteNameShort = "Arc"}) => <>
    <p><em>Settings related to configuring alerts.</em></p>
    <p>
      Before you can execute Service Level Agreements (SLAs), you need to set up email alerts for notifications. By default, {siteNameShort} uses the global settings on the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/alerts">Alerts</a> tab. To use other settings for this connector, toggle <strong>Override global setting</strong> on.
    </p>
    <p>
      By default, error alerts are enabled, which means that emails are sent whenever there is an error. To turn them off, uncheck the <strong>Enable</strong> checkbox.
    </p>
    <p>
      Enter a <strong>Subject</strong> (mandatory), then optionally enter a comma-separated list of <strong>Recipient</strong> emails.
    </p>
  </>;

export const MiscConnector = () => <>
    <p><em>Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.</em></p>
    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Setting</th>
          <th>Description</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Other Settings</strong></td>
          <td>Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, <code>setting1=value1;setting2=value2</code>). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </>;

export const Logging = () => <>
    <p><em>Settings that govern the creation and storage of logs.</em></p>
    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Setting</th>
          <th>Description</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Log Level</strong></td>
          <td>The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to <strong>Debug</strong>.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Log Subfolder Scheme</strong></td>
          <td>Instructs the connector to group files in the Logs folder according to the selected interval. The <strong>Weekly</strong> option (which is the default) instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all logs for the week in that folder. Leaving this setting blank tells the connector to save all logs directly in the Logs folder. For connectors that process many transactions, using subfolders helps keep logs organized and improves performance.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Log Messages</strong></td>
          <td>Check this to have the log entry for a processed file include a copy of the file itself. If you disable this, you might not be able to download a copy of the file from the <strong>Transactions</strong> tab.</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </>;

export const MacrosExamples = ({extraMacros = []}) => <>
    <p>
      Some macros, such as %Ext% and %ShortDate%, do not require an argument, but others do. All
      macros that take an argument use the following syntax: <code>%Macro:argument%</code>
    </p>

    <p>Here are some examples of the macros that take an argument:</p>

    <ul>
      <li>%Header:headername%: Where <code>headername</code> is the name of a header on a message.</li>
      <li>%Header:mycustomheader% resolves to the value of the <code>mycustomheader</code> header set on the input message.</li>
      <li>%Header:ponum% resolves to the value of the <code>ponum</code> header set on the input message.</li>
      <li>%RegexFilename:pattern%: Where <code>pattern</code> is a regex pattern. For example, <code>%RegexFilename:^([\w][A-Za-z]+)%</code> matches and resolves to the first word in the filename and is case insensitive (<code>test_file.xml</code> resolves to <code>test</code>).</li>
      <li>%Vault:vaultitem%: Where <code>vaultitem</code> is the name of an item in the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/global-settings-vault">vault</a>. For example, <code>%Vault:companyname%</code> resolves to the value of the <code>companyname</code> item stored in the vault.</li>
      <li>%DateFormat:format%: Where <code>format</code> is an accepted date format (see <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/scripting/value-formatters/date-formatters#sample-date-formats">Sample Date Formats</a> for details). For example, <code>%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%</code> resolves to the date and timestamp on the file.</li>
      {extraMacros.filter(item => item.example).map(item => <li key={`ex-${item.name}`}>{item.example}</li>)}
    </ul>

    <p>You can also create more sophisticated macros, as shown in the following examples:</p>

    <ul>
      <li>Combining multiple macros in one filename: <code>%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%%EXT%</code></li>
      <li>Including text outside of the macro: <code>MyFile_%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%</code></li>
      <li>Including text within the macro: <code>%DateFormat:'DateProcessed-'yyyy-MM-dd_'TimeProcessed-'HH-mm-ss%</code></li>
    </ul>
  </>;

export const MacrosTable = ({siteName = "CData Arc", extraMacros = []}) => <>
    <p>
      Using macros in file naming strategies can enhance organizational efficiency and contextual
      understanding of data. By incorporating macros into filenames, you can dynamically include
      relevant information such as identifiers, timestamps, and header information, providing
      valuable context to each file.
    </p>

    <p>{siteName} supports these macros, which all use the following syntax: <code>%Macro%</code>.</p>

    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr><th>Macro</th><th>Description</th></tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr><td>ConnectorID</td><td>Evaluates to the ConnectorID of the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>Ext</td><td>Evaluates to the file extension of the file currently being processed by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>Filename</td><td>Evaluates to the filename (extension included) of the file currently being processed by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>FilenameNoExt</td><td>Evaluates to the filename (without the extension) of the file currently being processed by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>MessageId</td><td>Evaluates to the MessageId of the message being output by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>RegexFilename:<em>pattern</em></td><td>Applies a RegEx pattern to the filename of the file currently being processed by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>Header:<em>headername</em></td><td>Evaluates to the value of a targeted header (<code>headername</code>) on the current message being processed by the connector.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>LongDate</td><td>Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in long-handed format (for example, Wednesday, January 24, 2024).</td></tr>
        <tr><td>ShortDate</td><td>Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in a yyyy-MM-dd format (for example, 2024-01-24).</td></tr>
        <tr><td>DateFormat:<em>format</em></td><td>Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in the specified format (<code>format</code>). See <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/scripting/value-formatters/date-formatters#date-formats-with-literal-characters">Sample Date Formats</a> for the available datetime formats.</td></tr>
        <tr><td>Vault:<em>vaultitem</em></td><td>Evaluates to the value of the specified vault item.</td></tr>
        {extraMacros.map(item => <tr key={item.name}>
            <td>{item.name}</td>
            <td>{item.description}</td>
          </tr>)}
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </>;

export const Performance = () => <>
    <p><em>Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.</em></p>
    <table>
      <thead>
        <tr>
          <th>Setting</th>
          <th>Description</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Max Workers</strong></td>
          <td>The maximum number of worker threads consumed from the threadpool to process files on this connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/performance-settings">Performance Settings</a> portion of the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/advanced-settings">Advanced Settings</a> page.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
          <td><strong>Max Files</strong></td>
          <td>The maximum number of files sent by each thread assigned to the connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/performance-settings">Performance Settings</a> portion of the <a href="/26.2/cloud/en/getting-started/administration/settings/advanced-settings">Advanced Settings</a> page.</td>
        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>
  </>;

export const siteNameShort = "Arc";

export const siteName = "CData Arc";

export const extraMacros = [{
  name: "ConnectionId",
  description: "Evaluates to the ConnectionId of the connection a client used to upload data."
}, {
  name: "RemoteHost",
  description: "Evaluates to the ConnectionId of the connection that the client used to upload data."
}];

TCP Server connectors support hosting a generic endpoint for receiving data over TCP.

## Key Capabilities

* Generic TCP/IP server endpoint with TLS/SSL and plain text support for arbitrary data streams
* Configurable message delimitation using static delimiters or length-based parsing
* Bidirectional communication with Connection ID-based routing and connection event messaging

## Overview

Each TCP Server connector listens on a specified port for incoming TCP traffic, either with TLS/SSL encryption or plain text. Use this connector when {siteName} needs to receive arbitrary data that does not necessarily fit into the constraints provided by other standard protocols.

Since TCP traffic is a constant stream that does not intrinsically have a start or end point, you must configure the connector to determine where one message ends and the next begins. The connector supports two approaches:

* A static string/character delimiter that ends the current message or begins the next message
* Reading a value in the incoming TCP data to determine how long the message should be

For the second approach, the connector requires an offset (how many bytes after the first byte to begin reading the message length) and a size (how many bytes to read, starting at the offset, to get the length value). If the length of the message is the first value in the header for the message, the offset is 0.

Once the delimiter or length is reached, the connector pushes a message into the {siteNameShort} flow containing the raw data received over TCP.

The TCP Server connector can also generate an {siteNameShort} message when a client connects or disconnects, to alert other processes within the flow. See the [Connected and Disconnected Messages](#connected-and-disconnected-messages) section for more information.

For information on sending responses back to TCP clients, see the [Sending Messages](#sending-messages) section.

## Connector Settings

### Settings Tab

#### Configuration

*Settings related to the core configuration of the connector.*

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                     |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Connector Id**          | The static, unique identifier for the connector.                                                |
| **Connector Type**        | Displays the connector name and a description of what it does.                                  |
| **Connector Description** | An optional field to provide a free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow. |
| **Port**                  | The port on which to listen for incoming TCP connections.                                       |

#### Message Decoding

*Settings related to distinguishing individual messages from the TCP stream.*

| Setting                     | Description                                                                                             |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Message Start Delimiter** | The single character or hexadecimal value (prefixed by `0x`) indicating the start of a new message.     |
| **Message End Delimiter**   | The single character or hexadecimal value (prefixed by `0x`) indicating the end of the current message. |
| **Message Length Offset**   | The number of bytes to skip before beginning to read the length of the message from the incoming data.  |
| **Message Length Size**     | The size in bytes of the length value in the incoming data.                                             |

#### TLS Settings

*Settings related to TLS/SSL transport security.*

| Setting                  | Description                                                                     |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Enable TLS**           | Whether clients must negotiate TLS/SSL encryption to connect to the TCP server. |
| **Server Certificate**   | The TLS/SSL certificate that identifies the TCP server.                         |
| **Certificate Password** | The password to access the server certificate's private key.                    |

### Advanced Tab

#### Keep Alive

*Settings related to keep-alive packets sent by the server to maintain an idle connection.*

| Setting                 | Description                                                                                                       |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Keep Alive**          | Whether to send keep-alive packets periodically to ensure that idle connections are not closed due to inactivity. |
| **Keep Alive Time**     | The length of inactivity that should elapse before sending the first keep-alive packet.                           |
| **Keep Alive Interval** | The interval between consecutive keep-alive packets.                                                              |

#### Advanced Settings

*Settings not included in the previous categories.*

| Setting                   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Connected Messages**    | Whether the connector should generate an {siteNameShort} message when a client connects. See the [Connected and Disconnected Messages](#connected-and-disconnected-messages) section for more information.                                                                                                                                                                   |
| **Disconnected Messages** | Whether the connector should generate an {siteNameShort} message when a client disconnects. See the [Connected and Disconnected Messages](#connected-and-disconnected-messages) section for more information.                                                                                                                                                                |
| **Idle Timeout**          | The length of time (in seconds) the server should wait for an idle client before disconnecting them due to inactivity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Local File Scheme**     | A scheme for assigning filenames to messages that are output by the connector. You can use macros in your filenames dynamically to include information such as identifiers and timestamps. For more information, see [Macros](#macros).                                                                                                                                      |
| **Local Host**            | The binding address of the local server, if not the default network interface.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| **Max Connections**       | The maximum number of concurrent connectors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| **TLS Enabled Protocols** | The list of TLS/SSL protocols supported when establishing outgoing connections. Best practice is to only use TLS protocols. SSL v2 and SSL v3 are considered vulnerable and should only be used if your partner does not support higher versions. Keep in mind that TLS v1.3 is not universally adopted, and might be refused if the destination server does not support it. |

#### Logging

<Logging />

#### Miscellaneous

<MiscConnector />

### Server Tab

#### Trusted IP Addresses

<TrustedIp />

### Automation Tab

#### Automation

*Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.*

| Setting  | Description                                                             |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Send** | Whether messages arriving at the connector are automatically processed. |

#### Performance

<Performance />

### Alerts Tab

<AlertsTab />

### SLAs Tab

<SlasTab />

## Connected and Disconnected Messages

By default, the TCP Server connector only generates {siteNameShort} messages when clients transfer data that the connector recognizes as a full message (according to the settings in the [Message Decoding](#message-decoding) section). The connector can also generate {siteNameShort} messages when a client connects to the server (if **Connected Messages** is enabled on the [Advanced tab](#advanced-tab)) or disconnects from the server (if **Disconnected Messages** is enabled on the Advanced tab).

When these special messages are generated, a special header is added to the {siteNameShort} message:

`x-tcpserver-event`

This header is set to the value `connected` when clients are connecting, and `disconnected` when clients are disconnecting.

This header value must be checked by later connectors in the flow to detect whether a message written to the output folder of a TCP Server connector is one of these special messages.

## Sending Messages

The TCP Server connector also uses a special header value to send messages back to connected clients:

`x-tcpserver-connectionid`

This header is added to any output messages generated by the connector, and is set to a Connection ID value that uniquely identifies the connected client. Messages that should be sent back to this client *must* have this header set to the same value to ensure that the message is sent to the appropriate client.

Since this header is already present on any messages written out by the connector, if the message passes through an {siteNameShort} flow and arrives back at the **Transactions** for the TCP Server connector, it still has the same Connection ID value and is returned to the client that sent the original message. If the message cannot be directly routed back to the TCP Server connector, the Connection ID value must be saved and applied as a header (with the name shown above) to any new messages that should be returned to the client.

## Macros

<MacrosTable extraMacros={extraMacros} />

### Examples

<MacrosExamples extraMacros={extraMacros} />