Version 23.4.8839

• Overview
• Connector Configuration
  • Settings Tab
    • Trading Partner Info
    • Local Profile
    • Connection Info
    • MDN Receipts
    • Upload
    • Download
    • Trading Partner Certificates
  • Automation Tab
    • Automation Settings
    • Performance
  • Alerts Tab
    • Connector Email Settings
    • Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings
  • Advanced Tab
    • TLS Client Authentication
    • Server Commands
    • Proxy Settings
    • Advanced Settings
    • Message
    • Logging
    • Miscellaneous
• Establishing a Connection
• Macros
  • Examples

AS3 Connectors support sending and receiving files via the AS3 protocol.

Overview

Each AS3 Connector is configured to exchange files with a single AS3 trading partner. AS3 Connectors use the FTP protocol to transfer files, and add security and verification through digital encryption and signatures. Configuring an AS3 trading relationship requires exchanging AS3-specific profile details, such as AS3 identifiers and digital certificates, and the connection details for the target FTP server.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Trading Partner Info

Settings for identifying and connecting to a specific AS3 trading partner.

• 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.
• AS3 Identifier The AS3 identifier specific to the target trading partner.

Local Profile

Settings that identify the local AS3 profile.

• Local AS3 Identifier Your AS3 identifier.
• Private Certificate The certificate used to decrypt incoming messages and sign outgoing messages.
• Certificate Password The password required to access the local private certificate.

Connection Info

Settings related to connection parameters for the target FTP server.

• Host The hostname or IP address of the FTP server.
• Port The port on which to connect to the FTP server.
• User The username credential for logging in to the FTP server.
• Password The password credential for logging in to the FTP server.
• TLS Type How to negotiate TLS/SSL when connecting to the server. Choose Explicit to establish a plain text connection where TLS/SSL is then started with an explicit command. Choose Implicit to immediately negotiate TLS/SSL without establishing a plain text connection.
• Send Message Security Whether to sign and/or encrypt outgoing AS3 messages. CData strongly recommends you use signatures and encryption.
• Receive Message Security Whether to require that signatures and encryption are present for incoming AS3 messages. An error is thrown if a received message does not have a required security parameter.
• Compression Whether to compress the payload of outgoing messages.
• Connection Timeout The length of time (in seconds) the connector waits for a connection response before throwing a timeout error.

MDN Receipts

Settings related to requesting MDNs when sending AS3 messages.

• Request MDN Receipt Whether an MDN receipt should be returned in response to outgoing AS3 messages. CData strongly recommends that you request MDN receipts.
• MDN Path The folder path on the server where the partner uploads MDN receipts.
• Security Whether the MDN receipt should include a signature block verifying the message integrity and identity of the recipient. Again, CData strongly recommends you use this option.

Upload

Settings related to how outgoing AS3 messages are uploaded.

• Remote Path The folder path on the remote FTP server where outgoing messages should be uploaded.

Download

Settings related to how incoming AS3 messages are downloaded.

• Remote Path The folder path on the remote FTP server from which incoming messages should be downloaded.
• File Mask A glob pattern that determines which files within the Remote Path should be downloaded (for example, *.txt).
• Delete files Whether files should be deleted from the FTP server after they are successfully downloaded.

Trading Partner Certificates

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

• Encryption Certificate The public key certificate used for AS3 encryption when sending messages. This certificate must be paired with the trading partner’s private certificate, and the trading partner should provide a public key certificate when sharing AS3 configuration details.
• Verification Certificate The public certificate used to verify AS3 signatures when receiving messages. This field is often unnecessary; most AS3 parties use the same private certificate for both signing and decrypting. If this field is not specified, the application uses the Encryption Certificate to verify signatures.
• TLS Server Certificate The public certificate used to verify the identity of an SSL/TLS server. This is only necessary if the FTP server requires FTPS (FTP over TLS/SSL). 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 it can be set to Any Certificate to unconditionally trust the target server’s identity.

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

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

• Upload Whether files arriving at the connector should automatically be uploaded.
• Retry Interval The number of minutes before a failed upload is retried.
• Max Attempts The maximum number of times the connector processes the input file. Success is measured based on a successful server acknowledgement, and validation of the receipt (when requested synchronously). If you set this to 0, the connect 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 timeframe.
• 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.
• Download Whether the connector should automatically poll the remote download path(s) for files to download.
• Download 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.

Performance

Settings related to the allocation of resources to the connector.

• 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 Settings > Automation 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 Settings > Automation page.

Alerts Tab

Settings related to configuring alerts and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

Connector Email Settings

Before you can execute SLAs, you need to set up email alerts for notifications. Clicking Configure Alerts opens a new browser window to the Settings page where you can set up system-wide alerts. See Alerts for more information.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Settings

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. CData Arc sends emails to warn the user when an SLA is not met, and marks the SLA as At Risk, which means that if the SLA is not met soon, it will be marked as Violated. 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.

To define an SLA, click Add Expected Volume Criteria.

• If your connector has separate send and receive actions, use the radio buttons to specify which direction the SLA pertains to.
• Set Expect at least to the minimum number of transactions (the volume) you expect to be processed, then use the Every fields to specify the time frame.
• By default, the SLA is in effect every day. To change that, uncheck Everyday then check the boxes for the days of the week you want.
• Use And set status to ‘At Risk’ to indicate when the SLA should be marked as at risk.
• By default, notifications are not sent until an SLA is in violation. To change that, check Send an ‘At Risk’ notification.

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.

Advanced Tab

TLS Client Authentication

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

• Use Profile Whether to use the Private Certificate configured on the Profiles page as the TLS certificate for client authentication.
• Private Certificate The private certificate presented during TLS client authentication. Only applicable if you are not using the same private certificate from the Profiles page.
• Certificate Password The password required to access the TLS client certificate.

Server Commands

These options allow you to execute custom commands on the remote server at various times during connector execution.

• After Connect Execute this command directly after connecting.
• After Get Execute this command after downloading each file.
• After Put Execute this command after uploading each file.
• Before Get Execute this command before downloading each file.
• Before Put Execute this command before uploading each file.

You can use the following commands:

• onerror: Pass the fail argument to instruct the connector to treat errors that come from the custom scripts as errors for the overall transaction. Wthout fail the connector logs any exceptions and continues processing.
• cd: Change directory.
• mkdir: Create directory.
• rn or move: Rename or move file.
• del or rm: Delete or remove file.
• rmdir: Remove directory.

CData Arc supports the following macros with these commands. They all use the following syntax: %Macro%. Some macros, such as %Date% and %SourceFilename%, do not require an argument, but others do. The macros that take an argument use the following syntax: %Macro:argument%.

Macro	Description
MsgHeader:headername	Evaluates to the header value of the message (for example: %MsgHeader:headername%).
SourceFilename	Evaluates to the filename (extension included) of the file currently being processed.
SourceFilenameNoExt	Evaluates to the filename (without the extension) of the file currently being processed.
Date	Evaluates to the date the file was last modified in a yyyy-MM-dd format (for example, 2024-02-13).
DateTime	Evaluates to the datetime the file was last modified in a yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm:ss format (for example, 2024-02-13T08:14:22).
Time	Evaluates to the time the file was last modified in a HH:mm:ss format (for example, 08:14:22).
DateTime.tz	Evaluates to the datetime the file was last modified in a yyyy-MM-dd’T’HH:mm:ss zzz format (for example, 2024-02-13T08:14:22 PST).
Time.tz	Evaluates to the time the file was last modified in a HH:mm:ss zzz format (for example, 08:14:22 PST).
DateFormat:format	Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in the specified format (format). See Sample Date Formats for the available datetime formats.

Example: After downloading, you want to move each file from the download folder to a History subfolder. Use the After Get field to supply the move command with the %SourceFilename% macro.

Proxy Settings

These are a collection of settings that identify and authenticate to the proxy through which the AS3 connection should be routed. By default, this section uses the global settings on the Settings Page. Clear the checkbox to supply settings specific to your AS3 connector.

• 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.

Advanced Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

• Active Mode Whether to enable Active or Passive mode on the remote FTP server. Passive mode is less likely to result in firewall interference with the connection.
• Clear Command Channel Check this to send FTP commands using a cleartext channel instead of an encrypted channel.
• Clear Data Channel Check this to have the application use a clear data channel when communicating with the FTP server.
• Encryption Algorithm The algorithm to use when encrypting outgoing AS3 messages.
• EPSV Check this to use extended passive mode. This might be necessary if you need to use a protocol other than IPv4.
• Excluded Extensions A comma-delimited list of file extensions that should not be processed by the connector.
• FSwitch Used in conjunction with Simple Dir List. Check this to restrict the directory listing to files only.
• 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 Input folder is delayed. This is a legacy setting. Best practice is to use a File connector to manage local file systems instead of this setting.
• Prot for Implicit TLS Tells the server that the data channel is protected for implicit TLS connections. Select the TLS type on the Settings tab.
• Remote Host Address for Passive Only applicable when Active Mode is not set. Leave the blank to have the application parse the remote host to send replies from the previous server response. When this is checked, the application uses the value of the RemoteHost setting instead.
• Signature Algorithm The algorithm to use when signing outgoing messages. The same algorithm is requested for the corresponding MDN receipts.
• Simple Dir List Check this when you need a simple directory listing command for servers that send back long responses that cannot be parsed. After you set this, if the connector is still unable to parse the directory listing, add the FSwitch setting to restrict the directory listing to files only.
• 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.

Message

Message settings determine how the connector searches for messages and manages them after processing. You can save messages to your Sent folder or you can group them based on a Sent folder scheme, as described below.

• Save to Sent Folder A toggle that instructs the connector to keep a copy of sent messages in the Sent folder.
• Sent Folder Scheme Instructs the connector to group files in the Sent folder according to the selected interval. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all sent files for the week in that folder. The blank setting instructs the connector to save all files directly in the Sent folder. For connectors that process many transactions, using subfolders can help keep files organized and improve performance.

Logging

Settings that govern the creation and storage of logs.

• 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. For example, the Weekly option instructs the connector to create a new subfolder each week and store all logs for the week in that folder. The blank setting 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 Input or Output tabs.

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous settings are for specific use cases.

• 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.

Establishing a Connection

To connect to the remote FTP server, specify the Host, Port, User, Password, and TLS Type required by the server. Use the Test Connection button to verify that the connection parameters are correct.

Once connected, set the upload and download Remote Path so that files are placed in and read from the appropriate location to communicate with the trading partner.

Macros

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. This helps ensure that filenames reflect details important to your organization.

CData Arc supports these macros, which all use the following syntax: %Macro%.

Macro	Description
ConnectorID	Evaluates to the ConnectorID of the connector.
Ext	Evaluates to the file extension of the file currently being processed by the connector.
Filename	Evaluates to the filename (extension included) of the file currently being processed by the connector.
FilenameNoExt	Evaluates to the filename (without the extension) of the file currently being processed by the connector.
MessageId	Evaluates to the MessageId of the message being output by the connector.
RegexFilename:pattern	Applies a RegEx pattern to the filename of the file currently being processed by the connector.
Header:headername	Evaluates to the value of a targeted header (headername) on the current message being processed by the connector.
LongDate	Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in long-handed format (for example, Wednesday, January 24, 2024).
ShortDate	Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in a yyyy-MM-dd format (for example, 2024-01-24).
DateFormat:format	Evaluates to the current datetime of the system in the specified format (format). See Sample Date Formats for the available datetime formats
Vault:vaultitem	Evaluates to the value of the specified vault item.

Examples

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: %Macro:argument%

Here are some examples of the macros that take an argument:

• %Header:headername%: Where headername is the name of a header on a message.
• %Header:mycustomheader% resolves to the value of the mycustomheader header set on the input message.
• %Header:ponum% resolves to the value of the ponum header set on the input message.
• %RegexFilename:pattern%: Where pattern is a regex pattern. For example, %RegexFilename:^([\w][A-Za-z]+)% matches and resolves to the first word in the filename and is case insensitive (test_file.xml resolves to test).
• %Vault:vaultitem%: Where vaultitem is the name of an item in the vault. For example, %Vault:companyname% resolves to the value of the companyname item stored in the vault.
• %DateFormat:format%: Where format is an accepted date format (see Sample Date Formats for details). For example, %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff% resolves to the date and timestamp on the file.

You can also create more sophisticated macros, as shown in the following examples:

• Combining multiple macros in one filename: %DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%%EXT%
• Including text outside of the macro: MyFile_%DateFormat:yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-fff%
• Including text within the macro: %DateFormat:'DateProcessed-'yyyy-MM-dd_'TimeProcessed-'HH-mm-ss%