Publication on SFTP Server

Presentation

Panel Server provides a connection to an SFTP server.

When data sampling and publication to SFTP are activated, the sampled data of devices is published to the SFTP server in json or csv files. A maximum of one month of data (Entry or Universal) or three months of data (Advanced) is published to the SFTP server. If data sampling was activated before this period, older data is not published.

Alarms are managed as follows when SFTP publication is active:

Alarms can be monitored and displayed in Panel Server webpages.
Alarms are not published in the CSV or JSON files.
Alarms can be enabled for email notification.

When SFTP publication is active, data publication on cloud services or HTTPS is not available.

Availability

This function is available on Panel Server Entry, Universal, and Advanced.

Setting the Parameters

Publishing function is set on the Panel Server webpages, at Settings > Data Publication > Publication method > SFTP.

Fill in the Connection information and Publication settings described in the following tables.

SFTP Publication Settings (Panel Server Entry and Universal)

The following table describes the settings.

Parameter	Settings	Description
Connection information	Server	The host name of the SFTP server can be defined as the IP address value or as, for example, `mysftpserver.mydomain.com`.
	Port	Used to define the SFTP server TCP port. It is usually set to 22.
	Path	Used to enter the path to use on the SFTP server for data publishing. For example, if `/home/user/` is the default directory for the SFTP server, then the path configured with `/mySFTPPath` will publish on `/home/user/mySFTPPath`.
	User ID	Used to type the username for SFTP server access.
	Authentication method	Used to select the authentication method to use when connecting to the SFTP server: By password By key
	Password	Used to type the password for SFTP server access.
	Import key file	Button used to upload to Panel Server a file containing the encrypted password to use to connect to the SFTP server. Displayed when authentication method is by key.
	Test connection	Button used to test connection to the SFTP server.
Publication settings	Publication format	Used to select the exported file format: JSON (for details) CSV (for details)
	Publication period	Used to select the publication frequency to the SFTP server (default setting: 1h). NOTE: The publication period is calculated from the end of one publication to the start of the next. The time needed for a publication varies depending on the quantity of data to be analyzed and published.
	Start	Button used to launch data publication to the SFTP server.

SFTP Publication Settings (Panel Server Advanced)

The following table describes the settings.

Parameter	Settings	Description
Connection information	Server	The host name of the SFTP server can be defined as the IP address value or as, for example, `mysftpserver.mydomain.com`.
	Port	Used to define the SFTP server TCP port. It is usually set to 22.
	Path	Used to enter the path to use on the SFTP server for data publishing. For example, if `/home/user/` is the default directory for the SFTP server, then the path configured with `/mySFTPPath` will publish on `/home/user/mySFTPPath`.
	User ID	Used to type the username for SFTP server access.
	Authentication method	Used to select the authentication method to use when connecting to the SFTP server: By password By key
	Password	Used to type the password for SFTP server access.
	Import key file	Button used to upload to Panel Server a file containing the encrypted password to use to connect to the SFTP server. Displayed when authentication method is by key.
	Test connection	Button used to test connection to the SFTP server.
Publication settings	Publication format	Used to select the exported file format: JSON (for details) CSV (for details)
	Publication period	Used to select the publication frequency to the SFTP server (default setting: 1h). NOTE: The publication period is calculated from the end of one publication to the start of the next. The time needed for a publication varies depending on the quantity of data to be analyzed and published.
	Include past data toggle switch	Used to include all data for past three months, or from the beginning of data sampling if less than three months.
	Start	Button used to launch data publication to the SFTP server. Refer to Date and Content of the First Data Publication.

Date and Content of First Data Publication (Panel Server Advanced)

The date and time of the first publication depends on the publication period set, as indicated in the following table.

Publication period	First publication date and time and start of data collection
Weekly	00:00 on first Thursday following publication launch
Daily	00:00 following publication launch
12h	00:00 following publication launch
4h	At the next full hour (for example, launch publication at 10:47, publication starts at 11:00)
3h	At the next full hour (for example, launch publication at 10:47, publication starts at 11:00)
2h	At the next full hour (for example, launch publication at 10:47, publication starts at 11:00)
1h	At the next full hour (for example, launch publication at 10:47, publication starts at 11:00)
10 min	At the next interval of 10 minutes (for example, 10:10, 10:20, 10:30 etc)

When the Include past data toggle switch is selected, the first publication will contain all the data from the past three months, or from the beginning of data sampling if less than three months.

Connecting to SFTP Server

To connect the Panel Server to an SFTP server:

On the SFTP server, configure a connection for the publication of data from the Panel Server.
In Settings > Network communication > Proxy , click HTTP proxy or HTTPS proxy and enter the required information.
In the Settings > Data publication webpage, select SFTP as Publication method.

By default, SFTP data publications (CSV or JSON file format) are stored at the top of the hierarchical file tree of the SFTP server. If you customize the file path for the data storage, make sure that the path is created and validated on the SFTP server. For more information, refer to the user guide of your SFTP server.
To connect to the SFTP server, enter the user name and password or user name and SSH key in PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) format in the Connection information section. Save your settings by clicking the icon at bottom right of the screen and selecting Save.
Click Test connection. The list of SSH key exchanges and ciphers supported by the Panel Server is available in Appendix E.

When using SSH key authentication, the key must be provided in PEM format (default setting when relying on OpenSSH version less than 7.8).

NOTE: If it is the first time the Panel Server connects to this SFTP server, a message appears and requests that you confirm the authenticity of the SFTP server.
Once the test is performed, the Panel Server webpage displays information:
- In case of success, a file has been successfully uploaded on the SFTP server.
- In case of dysfunction, check the SFTP server parameters, user credentials, and write access privileges on the SFTP server.
To publish data, set Publication settings and click Start.

Result: The sampled data of devices, related to the selected sampling period, is published to SFTP, in CSV file format or JSON format.
If you update the SFTP server, the SFTP server fingerprint changes. In this case, click Test connection to allow you to connect to the SFTP server again.

Disconnecting from Publishing Services

To disconnect Panel Server from the SFTP server, click Stop.

Disconnecting from the service allows you to connect to another publishing service.