OFTP Connector - CData Arc Documentation

The OFTP connector sends and receives files via the Odette FTP protocol.

Key Capabilities

Odette FTP support for automotive and manufacturing industry secure file exchange
Bidirectional file transfer with certificate-based encryption, signing, and compression
Message routing through intermediary OFTP entities with SSID/SFID configuration
Automatic retry and resend logic with synchronous and asynchronous receipt handling

Overview

An OFTP connection is configured in two places. Configure the OFTP Profiles page with an Odette identifier, settings for the local OFTP server, and other information that is global across all OFTP connections. Then configure individual OFTP connectors with connection settings specific to a single trading partner (a single OFTP entity). For information on routing an OFTP message through a separate OFTP entity (for example, a clearinghouse), see Message Routing.

Profile Configuration

The OFTP profile must be configured before connections can be established with individual OFTP connectors. Click Profiles > OFTP on the navbar.

OFTP Profile Tab

Personal Id

Settings for identifying the local profile.

Setting	Description
Odette Identifier (SSID Code)	Your Odette identifier. This value is included in outgoing transmissions to identify the sender, and incoming messages must be addressed to this identifier. Odette identifiers are provided by the Odette organization.
Password (SSID Password)	The password associated with the Odette Identifier. You can choose this value as long as your trading partners have the same value configured on their systems.

Server Settings

Settings related to the OFTP server implementation.

Setting	Description
Port	The port on which the server listens for incoming connections.
SSL/TLS	Whether SSL/TLS must be negotiated to connect to the server.
TLS Private Certificate	If TLS/SSL is enabled, specify the TLS/SSL certificate required to verify the server’s identity.
Certificate Password	The password required to access the TLS/SSL certificate.

Personal Certificate

Settings related to the private decryption and signature certificate.

Setting	Description
Data Decryption Certificate	The certificate used to decrypt incoming messages and sign outgoing messages. Never share this certificate with external parties. Click the Create Certificate button to generate a self-signed certificate that is ready to use in an OFTP transaction; a corresponding public key certificate is also generated with the same filename and a `.cer` extension.
Certificate Password	The password required to access the Data Decryption Certificate.

Optional Certificate Settings

Optional settings to define parameters for a certificate.

Setting	Description
Auth Challenge Private Certificate	A certificate with a private key used when challenged by the server to verify authenticity. Accepts PKCS#12 certificates in `.pfx` or `.p12` formats.
Certificate Password	The private certificate password.
Sign Private Certificate	A certificate with a private key used when signing sent messages. Accepts PKCS#12 certificates in `.pfx` or `.p12` formats.
Certificate Password	The private certificate password.
Strong Certificate Verification	Only allow strong certificate verification from trusted certificate authorities.

Advanced Settings

Setting	Description
Inactivity Timeout	The length of time (in seconds) to wait before closing inactive connections to the server.

Lockouts

Optional settings related to locking server access.

Setting	Description
Failed Attempts	The number of unsuccessful login attempts allowed before the user is locked out.
Lockout Period	The length of time (in minutes) that the user is locked out.
Time Check Period	The length of time (in minutes) that records are kept of failed login attempts.

Trusted IP Addresses

Logging

Settings that govern the creation and storage of logs.

Setting	Description
Log Level	The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to Debug.
Log Rotate Interval	The number of days to wait before creating a new log file.
Log Delete Interval	The number of days to wait before deleting old log files.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

Setting	Description
Other Settings	Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, `setting1=value1;setting2=value2`). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Host Configuration

Settings related to the remote OFTP entity to connect to.

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.
Server Status	The current state of the connector’s underlying service: Active (the service is running), Inactive (the service is configured but is not currently running), Not Configured (the underlying profile or service has not been set up). Depending on whether you have already created the OFTP profile, click the Configure OFTP Profile or View OFTP Profile links to open the profile in a new tab.
Odette Identifier	The Odette identifier for the remote OFTP entity (the trading partner’s identifier).
Password	The password associated with the partner’s identifier.
Version	The version of the OFTP protocol to use when exchanging files.
Remote Host	The hostname or IP address of the remote OFTP server.
Port	The port on which to connect to the remote OFTP server.
Connection Timeout	The length of time (in seconds) the connector waits for a connection response before throwing a timeout error.
Use SSL/TLS	Whether to negotiate SSL/TLS when connecting to the remote OFTP server.
Secure Odette Authentication	Whether to perform application-layer encryption and decryption. To perform this authentication, you must specify both a signing and encryption certificate.

Connection Info

Settings related to the OFTP connection parameters.

Setting	Description
Virtual File Format	The OFTP file format to use when transmitting files.
Virtual Outgoing File Security	Whether to sign and/or encrypt outgoing messages.
Virtual Incoming File Security	Whether to require signed and/or encrypted incoming messages.
Compression	Whether to compress outgoing messages.
Signed Receipts	Whether outgoing messages should request or require a signed receipt to be returned.

Trading Partner Certificates

Settings related to the public key certificates provided by the trading partner.

Setting	Description
Encryption Certificate	The public key certificate used for encryption when sending messages. This certificate must be paired with the trading partner’s private decryption certificate. The trading partner must provide this public key certificate when sharing their OFTP configuration details.
TLS Server Certificate	The public key certificate used to verify the identity of a TLS/SSL server. This is only necessary if the partner’s OFTP system requires HTTPS instead of HTTP. If the trading partner does not provide a TLS server certificate, you can leave this setting blank to allow the underlying OS/JVM to perform certificate validation, or set it to `Any Certificate` to unconditionally trust the target server’s identity.

Routing

Settings related to routing an OFTP message through a separate OFTP entity.

Setting	Description
Routing Partner	If outgoing OFTP messages should be routed through an OFTP entity that is separate from the target OFTP entity, set this field to the OFTP connector that is configured to connect to the intermediary OFTP server.

For example, if the connector needs to send files to serverA and route the file through serverB, configure the connector to connect to serverA and set this field to an OFTP connector configured to connect to serverB. See Message Routing for more information.

Advanced Tab

Optional Certificates (PEM/CER Format)

Settings related to additional certificates to use for enhanced security.

Setting	Description
Auth Challenge Certificate	The public key certificate to present when challenged by the server to verify authenticity.
Verification Certificate	The public key certificate to use when verifying digital signatures on incoming messages.
Receipt Verification Certificate	The public key certificate to use when verifying digital signatures on incoming receipts.
Rollover Certificate	An additional certificate to use for authentication. This is useful when you need an overlap period while changing certificates.
Rollover Verification Certificate	An additional certificate to use for signature verification. This is useful when you need an overlap period while changing certificates.

Alternate Local Profile

Settings that override the OFTP configuration on the Profile page. Setting an alternate local profile allows the use of different local certificates and identifiers for certain trading partners.

Setting	Description
SSID	Your Odette identifier. This overrides the Odette Identifier on the Profiles tab. When set, the OFTP server uses the alternate SSID and password for this partner. When sending, this ID is used as the file sender and for session authentication, unless it is overridden by the relaying partner. If SSID and SFID are both set, the SFID is used when sending the file.
Password	The local identifier password.
SFID	When accepting incoming OFTP files, CData Arc processes messages in this connector as if they were relayed from the local OFTP profile. Unless this value is set, incoming network connections are greeted with the SSID and password from the OFTP profile. If SSID and SFID are both set, the SFID is used when sending the file.
Private Certificate	The certificate used to decrypt incoming messages and sign outgoing messages. This overrides the Data Decryption Certificate setting on the Profiles page.
Certificate Password	The password required to access the local private certificate.

TLS Client Authentication

Settings related to client authentication when two-way TLS authentication is required.

Setting	Description
Use Profile Settings	Use the private certificate on the Profiles page.
Private Certificate	The private certificate presented during TLS client authentication.
Certificate Password	The password required to access the TLS client certificate.

Automatic Certificate Identification

The fields in this section let you specify patterns that allow the connector to automatically identify certificates. The default wildcard character in each field (*) instructs the connector to not search for each pattern.

Advanced Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

Setting	Description
Credit Count	The maximum credit value to be sent in the initial connection (SSID command).
Encryption Algorithm	The algorithm to use when encrypting outgoing messages.
Exchange Buffer Size	The data exchange buffer size, in bytes, to be sent in the initial connection (SSID command).
Enforce Protocol Version	Whether to accept protocol versions not configured for this partner.
File Description Map	The map to set file description text for sending files. Use a semi-colon-delimited list of glob patterns for matching filenames. For example, `INVOICE=This is an invoice;ORDER*=This is an order`.
Max Record Size	When the virtual file format is Fixed or Variable, this field determines the maximum size of each record. The default record size is 128.
File Hash Algorithm	The file hash algorithm to use.
Receipt Hash Algorithm	The receipt hash algorithm to use.
Received Filename Format	Incoming files are written to the Transactions tab using this filename convention. You can use the following macros to ensure that unique filenames are generated: %VirtualFilename%, %VirtualFileDate%, %GUID%.
TLS Enabled Protocols	The list of TLS/SSL protocols supported when establishing outgoing connections. Best practice is to only use TLS protocols. Some obsolete operating systems do not support TLS 1.2.
Virtual Filename Map	The map from local filenames to outgoing virtual filenames to use when sending files. Use a semi-colon-delimited list of glob patterns for matching filenames. For example, `INVOICE=filename1;ORDER*=filename2`.
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.
Processing Delay	The amount of time (in seconds) by which the processing of files placed in the Transactions tab is delayed. This is a legacy setting. Best practice is to use a File connector to manage local file systems instead of this setting.

Proxy Settings

These are a collection of settings that identify and authenticate to the proxy through which the connection should be routed. By default, this section uses the global settings on the Proxy Settings portion of the Security Settings page. Clear the checkbox to supply settings specific to your connector.

Setting	Description
Proxy Type	The protocol used by a proxy-based firewall.
Proxy Host	The name or IP address of a proxy-based firewall.
Proxy Port	The TCP port for a proxy-based firewall.
Proxy User	The user name to use to authenticate with a proxy-based firewall.
Proxy Password	A password used to authenticate to a proxy-based firewall.
Authentication Scheme	Leave the default None or choose from one of the following authentication schemes: Basic, Digest, Proprietary, or NTLM.

Logging

Settings that govern the creation and storage of logs.

Setting	Description
Log Level	The verbosity of logs generated by the connector. When you request support, set this to Debug.
Log Subfolder Scheme	Instructs the connector to group files in the Logs folder according to the selected interval. The Weekly 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.
Log Messages	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 Transactions tab.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

Setting	Description
Other Settings	Enables you to configure hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list (for example, `setting1=value1;setting2=value2`). Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require the use of these settings.

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

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

Setting	Description
Send Automation	Whether files arriving at the connector are automatically sent as OFTP messages.
Retry Interval	The number of minutes before a failed send is retried. A retry is triggered when the server does not respond to a send attempt, or responds negatively to communicate that the file was not received.
Max Attempts	The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file. Success is based on a successful server acknowledgement and validation of the receipt (when requested synchronously). If you set this to 0, the connector retries the file indefinitely.
Resend Interval	The number of minutes before unacknowledged messages are resent. A resend is triggered when the server receives the file, but an asynchronous MDN receipt is not provided within the expected time frame.
Max Attempts (async)	The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file when asynchronous receipts are requested. Success is based on the return of an asynchronous receipt within the Resend Interval after a successful server acknowledgement. If a successful server acknowledgement is not returned, Max Attempts is applied instead. If this is set to 0, the connector resends the file indefinitely.
Receive	Whether the connector should automatically make pull requests to receive messages from the trading partner.
Interval	The interval between automatic download attempts.
Minutes Past the Hour	The minutes offset for an hourly schedule. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Hourly. For example, if this value is set to 5, the automation service downloads at 1:05, 2:05, 3:05, etc.
Time	The time of day that the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
Day	The day on which the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Weekly or Monthly.
Minutes	The number of minutes to wait before attempting the download. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Minute.
Cron Expression	A five-position string representing a cron expression that determines when the attempt should occur. Only applicable when the interval setting above is set to Advanced.
Start Date and Time	The date and time at which the automation first runs. Every run after that follows the interval setting above. The last and next run times appear in the Automation Status section.

Automation Status

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

Setting	Description
Max Workers	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 Performance Settings portion of the Advanced Settings page.
Max Files	The maximum number of files sent by each thread assigned to the connector. If set, this overrides the default setting on the Performance Settings portion of the Advanced Settings page.

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Establishing a Connection

The following settings are required to establish an outgoing OFTP connection:

Identifier (the trading partner’s identifier)
Password (the password associated with the trading partner’s identifier)
Remote Host
Port

After establishing a connection, the appropriate trading partner certificates must be configured before files can be securely transferred.

Send and Receive Files

Once the OFTP profile and partner-specific OFTP connectors have been configured, files can be securely sent and received.

Send Files

In an OFTP connector, the Transactions tab displays the files to be sent to the target trading partner. If Send Automation is enabled on the Automation tab, files that reach the Transactions tab of the connector are automatically packaged and sent. Access the log files for all transmissions by expanding the row associated with the transmitted file. The Create Test Files button lets you generate a simple series of test files to send to the trading partner.

Resend and Retry

An OFTP Resend is triggered when the trading partner is expected to return an asynchronous receipt, but fails to do so within the Resend Interval duration (60 minutes by default). The application then attempts to resend the transmission. The application continues resending the message until a receipt is received or the Max Attempts (async) is exhausted. A Retry is triggered when the protocol response from the trading partner’s system indicates that the server has not received the transmission. This can indicate a networking or connectivity issue, which is often transient. The application retries the transmission every Retry Interval minutes until the transmission is received or the Max Attempts is exhausted.

Receive Files

In an OFTP connector, the Transactions tab displays the files that have been received by the application and routed to the connector. Files are routed to a specific OFTP connector based on the Odette identifier present in the incoming OFTP message. Expand each file row to display a list of available logs for the transmission. These files are available on the connector Transactions tab. If the connector is connected to other connectors in the flow, files are automatically moved from the Transactions tab of the OFTP connector to the Transactions tab of the next connector in the flow.

Message Routing

Each OFTP connector is configured to connect to a single OFTP entity. Sometimes using OFTP requires a routing scenario where a file originating at one OFTP entity (agent A in the image below) needs to pass through another OFTP entity (agent B) to reach the destination OFTP entity (agent C).

In this scenario, the Odette identifier of agent B is the SSID value during the transfer, and the Odette identifier of agent C is the SFID. In other words, the SSID identifies the ‘middleman’ server that the originator connects to, and the SFID identifies the target entity that this ‘middleman’ should route the OFTP message to.

OFTP Routing in Arc

To accomplish this routing scenario in Arc, configure one OFTP connector to connect to agent B (the ‘middleman’ server) and another OFTP connector to connect to agent C (the destination server). Set the Routing Partner field (in the Routing portion of the Settings tab) for the agent C connector to the OFTP connector that is configured to connect to agent B. Files to send out to the destination server should be processed by the OFTP connector configured to connect to agent C. The other OFTP connector (targeting agent B) is used behind-the-scenes to route the message, but does not directly process files in the Flow.

SSID vs SFID

If a partner provides a single identifier that they call an SFID, configure an OFTP connector to connect with this entity, and use the SFID as the SSID. If the partner provides an SFID value and an SSID value, the SFID corresponds to server C in the above scenario, and the SSID corresponds to server B.

​Key Capabilities

​Overview

​Profile Configuration

​OFTP Profile Tab

​Personal Id

​Server Settings

​Personal Certificate

​Optional Certificate Settings

​Advanced Settings

​Lockouts

​Trusted IP Addresses

​Logging

​Miscellaneous

​Connector Configuration

​Settings Tab

​Host Configuration

​Connection Info

​Trading Partner Certificates

​Routing

​Advanced Tab

​Optional Certificates (PEM/CER Format)

​Alternate Local Profile

​TLS Client Authentication

​Automatic Certificate Identification

​Advanced Settings

​Proxy Settings

​Logging

​Miscellaneous

​Automation Tab

​Automation Settings

​Automation Status

​Performance

​Alerts Tab

​SLAs Tab

​Establishing a Connection

​Send and Receive Files

​Send Files

​Resend and Retry

​Receive Files

​Message Routing

​OFTP Routing in Arc

​SSID vs SFID

​Macros

​Examples

Key Capabilities

Overview

Profile Configuration

OFTP Profile Tab

Personal Id

Server Settings

Personal Certificate

Optional Certificate Settings

Advanced Settings

Lockouts

Trusted IP Addresses

Logging

Miscellaneous

Connector Configuration

Settings Tab

Host Configuration

Connection Info

Trading Partner Certificates

Routing

Advanced Tab

Optional Certificates (PEM/CER Format)

Alternate Local Profile

TLS Client Authentication

Automatic Certificate Identification

Advanced Settings

Proxy Settings

Logging

Miscellaneous

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Automation Status

Performance

Alerts Tab

SLAs Tab

Establishing a Connection

Send and Receive Files

Send Files

Resend and Retry

Receive Files

Message Routing

OFTP Routing in Arc

SSID vs SFID

Macros

Examples