Questions:

  • Can YADE handle Managed File Transfer for UNC to UNC server transfers?
  • Does YADE allow single source to numerous destination UNC file transfers?
  • If I have to specify credentials for the transfer, can that be setup securely, without it being in plain text?

Answer:

UNC to UNC server transfers

Yes. YADE allows the use of UNC names as well as Server-2-Server (or Site-2-Site) transfer without touchdown. e.g. it is possible to use different protocols for the source and the target server for a transfer. YADE can be used standalone as a command line client and together with JobScheduler in a scheduling enviroment. We have customers who are using YADE together with different Job Schedulers.

Example I: Using UNC Names in YADE:

 [Copy_Local2Local_UNC]
 source_protocol = local
 source_dir = //8of9.sos/c/temp
 
 target_dir = //r2d2.sos/share/nobackup/junittests/testdata/JADE
 target_protocol = local
 
 log_filename = ${TEMP}/test.log
 file_spec = ^.*\.(txt|dot)$
 operation = copy
 remove_files = false

This is a profile (section) of a configuration file. Just start with

 jade.cmd -settings=settings-file-name -profile=Copy_Local2Local_UNC

All Files in the folder "//8of9.sos/c/temp" (source folder) with txt or dot file name extentions (specified with file_spec parameter) will be transferred (copied) to the "//r2d2.sos/share/nobackup/junittests/testdata/JADE" target folder. This is a local operation and therefore a (s)FTP(S) server is not needed. "file_spec" is not like a wildcard, it is a regular expression.

Example II: Using UNC Names and the "net use" command:

Note that it is possible to define the "net use" or any other os command directly in the profile:

 [Copy_Local2Local_UNC_withNetUse]
 include=Copy_Local2Local_UNC
 preTransferCommands=net use //8of9.sos/c;net use //r2d2.sos/share

In this example two commands, defined with the preTransferCommands parameter, will be executed after connecting and before starting the transfer.

Of course the commands that can be executed depend on the operating system on which the YADE Client is running.

See also Transfer to Multiple Destinations.

Securely Specifying Transfer Credentials

It is possible to securely specify transfer credentials, so that they are not visible in plain text.

Getting the password from a script

For a transfer where a password is required (e.g. (s)FTP(S)) you can get the password by specifing the name of a shell script (in backticks) which will return the value of the password.

 password=`get.password.sh`

The script itself will be executed as a separate process.
The content in stdout created by the script will be used as the value for the password.

private/public key usage

For SFTP you can use PPK authorisation.

Windows: net command

For UNC names you can use, for example on Windows systems, a .net command before you start the YADE Client.

 Example:  Net Use \\yourUNC\path /user:uname password

You don't need to specify a drive letter (on Windows).

If credentials are a concern, then we recommend the use of SFTP with PPK whenever possible, which, of course depends on the configuration of the server.