Load FTP Data to a Database Using Embulk

Embulk is an open source bulk data loader. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for FTP, Embulk easily loads data from FTP to any supported destination. In this article, we explain how to use the CData JDBC Driver for FTP in Embulk to load FTP data to a MySQL dtabase.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live FTP data. When you issue complex SQL queries to FTP, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to FTP and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Configure a JDBC Connection to FTP Data

Before creating a bulk load job in Embulk, note the installation location for the JAR file for the JDBC Driver (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for FTP\lib).

Embulk supports JDBC connectivity, so you can easily connect to FTP and execute SQL queries. Before creating a bulk load job, create a JDBC URL for authenticating with FTP.

To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

• RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
• TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
• FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the FTP JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)

Below is a typical JDBC connection string for FTP:

jdbc:ftp:RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;

Load FTP Data in Embulk

After installing the CData JDBC Driver and creating a JDBC connection string, install the required Embulk plugins.

Install Embulk Input & Output Plugins

1. Install the JDBC Input Plugin in Embulk.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-input-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-input-jdbc

embulk gem install embulk-input-jdbc

2. In this article, we use MySQL as the destination database. You can also choose SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or Google BigQuery as the destination using the output Plugins.
   https://github.com/embulk/embulk-output-jdbc/tree/master/embulk-output-mysql

   embulk gem install embulk-output-mysql
   

With the input and output plugins installed, we are ready to load FTP data into MySQL using Embulk.

Create a Job to Load FTP Data

Start by creating a config file in Embulk, using a name like ftp-mysql.yml.

1. For the input plugin options, use the CData JDBC Driver for FTP, including the path to the driver JAR file, the driver class (e.g. cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver), and the JDBC URL from above
2. For the output plugin options, use the values and credentials for the MySQL database

Sample Config File (ftp-mysql.yml)

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver
	url: jdbc:ftp:RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;
	table: "MyDirectory"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "MyDirectory"
	mode: insert

After creating the file, run the Embulk job.

embulk run ftp-mysql.yml

After running the the Embulk job, find the Salesforce data in the MySQL table.

Load Filtered FTP Data

In addition to loading data directly from a table, you can use a custom SQL query to have more granular control of the data loaded. You can also perform increment loads by setting a last updated column in a SQL WHERE clause in the query field.

in:
	type: jdbc
	driver_path: C:\Program Files\CData[product_name] 20xx\lib\cdata.jdbc.ftp.jar
	driver_class: cdata.jdbc.ftp.FTPDriver
	url: jdbc:ftp:RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;
	query: "SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM MyDirectory WHERE [RecordId] = 1"
out: 
	type: mysql
	host: localhost
	database: DatabaseName
	user: UserId
	password: UserPassword
	table: "MyDirectory"
	mode: insert

More Information & Free Trial

By using CData JDBC Driver for FTP as a connector, Embulk can integrate FTP data into your data load jobs. And with drivers for more than 200+ other enterprise sources, you can integrate any enterprise SaaS, big data, or NoSQL source as well. Download a 30-day free trial and get started today.