RE: FTP Trainee -- MIDRANGE-L

Hi Al

If you're initiating FTP from your end then they will need to have the FTP
server running at their end.  If you know the IP address of their FTP server
then you don't need to know their system name or URL, but the rest of your
list is correct.

To automate FTP you should create a source member on your box.  I like to
create two source files, QFTPSRC and QFTPLOG.  In QFTPSRC create a member
that looks like this:

   userID password
   namefmt 0
   bin
   put yourlib/yourfile theirlib/theirfile
   quit

The first line of the script passes the User ID and password to their system
to log on with.
The "namefmt 0" tells the server that you want to use standard naming
conventions, e.g. "lib/file.mbr"
The "bin" tells the server that you're transmitting a binary image, as
opposed to ascii which transmits text and would be used for transferring,
say, source members to a PC.
"Put" transmits the file and "quit" quits.

In your CL you would have the lines:

   OVRDBF INPUT TOFILE(QFTPSRC/member)
   OVRDBF OUTPUT TOFILE(QFTPLOG/member)
   FTP 'xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx'

To run the script.  When the script finishes, source member QFTPLOG/member
would hold the results of the transmission.  You can check for errors by
reading through the generated log, any return codes beginning 4xx or 5xx
indicate an error.

As an alternative to using an FTP script, Scott Klement has an FTP API
available on his site (www.scottklement.com) which allows you to FTP on the
fly from you RPG program.

All the best

Jonathan



-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al Mac
Sent: 18 August 2006 06:24
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: FTP Trainee

Suggesting some other way to transmit data is not an option.  I use several
other ways, my favorite being 400 report via VPN/400 to Ops Nav to text file
to e-mail.  I have a mandate I need to rapidly comply with.

I have zero experience using FTP, but have decades experience with lots of
IBM stuff, fluent in several dialects of half a dozen 400 languages, my
current favorite being SQL embedded in RPG, now I need to also learn FTP
pretty fast.  I got into HELP/400 ... looks like there's only about 100
functions and their permutations, hopefully I only need to learn a fraction
of this.

My business needs to regularly (at least weekly) send a work file to an
AS/400 at another enterprise.  To make this work, what all info will I need
from the other site?  I thinking
* Their AS/400 system "name" or TCIP "name" or other "name"?
* Their Internet ###.###.###.### whatever
* Some port # that works for both them and us
* Will we need sign-on / password equivalent info?
* layout of data they need from us
* library name of target AS/400 which is to get our file

I not want to be asking for something, get it & try some FTP stumbling, find
out need something else, ask for more, loop repeats ... what all will I need
to get this to work?  We are AS/400 model 170 V5R1.

After I create a physical file with the layout of data desired by the other
place, what other object does it need to be converted to, such as a *TBL or
*SAVF, and how do I do that?  I not asking what THEY need, but what FTP
needs.

Can someone point me at IBM manual url with sample CL whatever command lines
to get this to work?  I want to put whatever into a CL program onto a menu,
so a person can just take a menu option and not have to be prompted for
anything.
What needs to go in various parameters of various command strings?

We have the complete CL manual collection, detailing all the CL commands (as
of some V3).  Is this FTP stuff in there, or some other set of manuals?  I
could not find it in the Programmer's Reference Handbook.  Possibly I was
not looking in the right place.

Does FTP have to be running in coordination at both ends to work, or can any
AS/400 connected to Internet do FTP to any other AS/400 if they know system
name & Internet ###.etc. address?

Does some DSPLOG entry show up on a system that has been FTP contacted "Hey
guys, we had an FTP visitor, and what they did was ..."
I got nervous when I saw that someone can connect via FTP then use that
connection to delete files.

Google found me some reading material
(there's lots more, but this will do for starters, to explode my brain)
http://faq.midrange.com/data/cache/67.html
http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh070703-story04.html
http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh041403-story04.html
Chapter 6 of http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg245190.html
http://search400.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid3_gci1049532,00.html
http://www.as400pro.com/servlet/sql.tipListInq?cat=FTP
http://www.patownsend.com/FTPManagerFAQ.htm
http://www.tylogix.com/Articles/AS400FTPQandA.htm
http://www.ftpplanet.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000136.html
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/21193/21193.html?Ad=1
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/5581/tips.htm
http://www.nwrdc.com/zOS_Support/ftp_qa.htm
http://www.texas400.com/b400tip20.html
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jbmmdietz/iseries.html
Buying some manual is probably not an option.  Eating a ream of paper,
printing out some of this stuff to study over the weekend is a distinct
possibility.
My boss wants this implemented up & running like next week.

-
Al Macintyre
BPCS/400 Computer Janitor ... see
http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/2002/11/08/bpcsDocSources.html