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SMB Share Connector

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When to use this connector

Use this connector to create Flows that work with files in SMB Share.

Create a Connection

Step 1. In the Connections window, click +, and type in smb.

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Step 2. Select SMB Share.

Step 3. Enter Connection parameters.

Connection parameters

  • Host: SMB Share computer name, hostname, or IP address. Example: etlworks.
  • Share Name: the SMB Share name. Example: test. 
  • Directory: the directory containing the files. This parameter is optional. If it is empty the connector will work with files in the SMB Share root directory.

  • Note: The fully qualified network path to the files in the SMB Share is calculated as //Host/Share Name/Directory. Example: //etlworks/test/inbound.

  • Files: the actual file name or a wildcard file name, for example, *.csv.
  • User: username.
  • Password: password.
  • Domain: the optional domain name.
  • SMB Dialect: SMB Dialects are simply significant versions - just like dialects within human languages - that allow a client and server to agree on conversation behaviors. For example, the SMB 3.1.1 dialect came with Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. These dialects allow the assignment of various capabilities like encryption, signing algorithms, multichannel connections, etc. When the SMB client initially connects to a destination server, it negotiates the matched and required set of capabilities.
  • DSF Namespace: DFS (Distributed File System) Namespaces is a role service in Windows Server that enables you to group shared folders located on different servers into one or more logically structured namespaces.
  • Multi Protocol Negotiation: if enabled the connector will attempt multi-protocol negotiation when connecting to the SMB share.
  • Signing Required: SMB signing (also known as security signatures) is a security mechanism in the SMB protocol. SMB signing means that every SMB 3.1. 1 message contains a signature that is generated by using the session key and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. 
  • Add Suffix When Creating Files in Transformation: you can select one of the predefined suffixes for the files created using this Connection. For example, if you select uuid as a suffix and the original filename is dest.csv, Etlworks will create files with the name dest_uuid.csv, where uuid is a globally unique identifier such as 21EC2020-3AEA-4069-A2DD-08002B30309D.

Note: This parameter works only when the file is created using source-to-destination-transformation. Read how to add a suffix to the files created when copying, moving, renaming, and zipping files.

  • File Processing Order: Specifies the order in which source files are processed when using wildcard patterns in ETL and file-based flows (e.g., copy, move, delete). The default setting is Oldest, meaning files are processed starting with the oldest by creation or modification time. Choose from various criteria such as file age, size, or name to determine the processing sequence:
    • Disabled: wildcard processing is disabled,
    • Oldest/Newest: Process files based on their creation or modification time, Ascending/Descending: Process files in alphabetical order, Largest/Smallest: Process files based on their size. 

Connect to an SMB Share over SSH tunnel

An SMB Share that sits behind a firewall cannot be accessed directly from a client on the other side of the firewall, but it can often be accessed through an SSH tunnel. The firewall must be configured to accept SSH Connections, and you also need to have an account on the SSH host for this to work.

Note: Use an actual SMB Share hostname when configuring the Connection. Etlworks will automatically replace it with the localhost and the available port.

If you need to access an SMB Share that can only be accessed via an SSH tunnel, you need to specify additional information in the Connect over SSH tunnel section of the Connection screen.

  • SSH Host: the name or IP address for the host accepting SSH Connections.
  • SSH Port: the port accepting SSH Connections. The default value is 22.
  • SSH User: the user name.
  • SSH Password: the optional password.
  • Private Key File: the private key file in the pem or ppk Format used for SSH authentication. Click the Upload SSH key to manage SSH keys using GUI. You can also upload the private key file manually and use the token {app.data} as a part of the filename, for example, {app.data}/keys/secret.pem. This parameter is optional.

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  • SSH Passphrase: the optional passphrase (password) used together with a private key file.

Decryption

When SMB Share Connection is used as a source (FROM) in the source-to-destination transformation, it is possible to configure the automatic decryption of the encrypted source files using the PGP algorithm and private key uploaded to the secure key storage.

If the private key is available, all source files processed by the transformation will be automatically decrypted using the PGP algorithm and given key.  Note that the private key requires a password. 

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Read how to generate a pair of public/private keys.

Expected Compression

The Expected Compression setting allows you to specify the compression format expected when reading individual files from a connection. Supported options include No Compression, Zip, and GZip.

If set to Zip or GZip, Etlworks will automatically decompress each resource as it’s read. This setting assumes that each compressed file contains a single resource; it does not support archives with multiple files. Use this setting with caution, as the system will always attempt to decompress the resource based on the selected format, regardless of its file extension or actual content.

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