Omnilert FTP Inbound Processing

Omnilert's standard FTP Import utility provides an FTP client to connect to an external FTP server, typically at your own location. This works well for many organizations that host their own FTP servers and prefer vendors such as Omnilert to use those servers to retrieve data for processing. 

However, in some cases, it may be preferable to have Omnilert host the FTP server. For these cases, Omnilert offers Inbound FTP Processing which allows you to post files to Omnilert via secure FTP (SFTP). This allows you to simply use your own SFTP client to post files to Omnilert's servers for immediate processing.

Please note that Secure FTP (SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol) is required on all incoming FTP connections. 

How to request Inbound FTP Processing

You will need to request this additional service through your Omnilert account manager. They will be able to determine what cost (if any) applies to adding this feature to your Omnilert service account.

Once approved, your account manager will then provide you with your SFTP server connection information as well as your FTP user credentials. 

Note: Your Inbound SFTP user will never be the same credentials as your administrator logins. 

Using FTP Inbound Processing

This is a very simple process. Once you've been provided credentials, you can insert them into the FTP client of your choosing. 

When you connect to Omnilert's SFTP server, you'll note that you have 4 folders available to you:

FTP Folders

It is very important to post your CSV file to the proper folder for the type of import you are processing. Placing a file into the wrong folder may cause data to import incorrectly or not at all. 

The folders available are as follows:

Simply use the FTP "put" command to place a copy of your CSV file into the appropriate folder/directory. Omnilert will then detect that a file was posted and process the file accordingly.

Note: Processing is typically completed within a few minutes, but the timing may vary as files are queued and processed in the order they are received. Allow 10-15 minutes for processing a large CSV as a general rule. 

Once your CSV files have finished processing, you will be able to "get" reports from the /reports directory on the SFTP server. These reports will include a summary of the processing and logs of any errors that may have occurred due to bad data.

FTP Import Logs

You can view the transaction log for FTP connections to your Omnilert service in the Tools > FTP Import Logs. Click on an entry for a detailed view of the FTP actions.

Important Notes

• CSV files should be comma-separated text (.csv) using UTF-8 character encoding
  
  
• Send CSV files only via SFTP using "ASCII mode" (not "Binary mode")
  
  
• Do not use any "auto-resume" or "endurance" mode features when sending files via SFTP. (The Omnilert FTP server will not allow your FTP client to send ".filepart" files and then rename the file after the transfer completes. ) 
  
  
• The CSV filename for your CSV file must be a single, complete string of alphanumeric text, no spaces or special characters are allowed in the filename. (Underscores and dashes are permitted.) 
  
  
• SSH Keys can be used in place of username/password authentication. To use public keys for access to the FTP server, there are 2 choices: You may supply Omnilert with an RSA key (public) that is in the OpenSSH format or Omnilert can generate the key that is used & send you the private key.
  
  

  Public keys must be in OpenSSH format. If your key is in SSH2 format, you may convert it using the command ssh-keygen -i -f ssh2.pub > openssh.pub