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FTP Advanced Settings

Connecting to an FTP Server 

FTP supports both plaintext and SSL/TLS connections. To connect to an FTP server specify the RemoteHost, User, and Password. Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with TLS/SSL. See Advanced Settings for more information on configuring connectivity over TLS/SSL.

Connecting to Data 

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 subfolders to report as views.
  • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve files recursively and list them in the Root table.

Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See Data Model for more on using SQL to interact with the server.

Establishing a Connection

Connecting to an FTP Server

 FTP supports both plaintext and SSL/TLS connections. To connect to an FTP server specify the RemoteHost, User, and Password. Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with TLS/SSL. See Advanced Settings for more information on configuring connectivity over TLS/SSL.

Connecting to Data

 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 subfolders to report as views.
  • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve files recursively and list them in the Root table.
Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See Data Model for more on using SQL to interact with the server.
 

Customizing the SSL Configuration

Set SSLMode to connect to the RemoteHost over TLS/SSL. By default, the provider attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store. To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats to do so.
 

Connecting Through a Firewall or Proxy

Set the following properties: Set FirewallType, FirewallServer, and FirewallPort. To tunnel the connection, set FirewallType to TUNNEL. To authenticate specify FirewallUser and FirewallPassword. To authenticate to a SOCKS proxy, additionally set FirewallType to SOCKS5.

Troubleshooting the Connection

To show provider activity from query execution to network traffic, use Logfile and Verbosity. The examples of common connection errors below show how to use these properties to get more context. Contact the support team for help tracing the source of an error or circumventing a performance issue.

  • Authentication errors: Typically, recording a Logfile at Verbosity 4 is necessary to get full details on an authentication error.
  • Queries time out: A server that takes too long to respond will exceed the provider's client-side timeout. Often, setting the Timeout property to a higher value will avoid a connection error. Another option is to disable the timeout by setting the property to 0. Setting Verbosity to 2 will show where the time is being spent.
  • The certificate presented by the server cannot be validated: This error indicates that the provider cannot validate the server's certificate through the chain of trust. (If you are using a self-signed certificate, there is only one certificate in the chain).

    To resolve this error, you must verify yourself that the certificate can be trusted and specify to the provider that you trust the certificate. One way you can specify that you trust a certificate is to add the certificate to the trusted system store; another is to set SSLServerCert.