This chapter describes how to use Oracle Managed File Transfer (MFT) in application integrations.
This chapter includes the following sections:
Compatible Technologies and Integration Strategies summarizes the technologies compatible with Oracle Managed File Transfer and the basic strategies for integration.
Table 4-1 Compatible Technologies and Integration Strategies for Oracle Managed File Transfer
| Technology | Source and Target Types | Integration Strategy |
|---|---|---|
|
File system |
File, FTP Remote, sFTP Remote, FTP Embedded, sFTP Embedded |
Use standard file management and FTP or sFTP commands. |
|
Web services |
SOAP, SOA, Service Bus, ODI |
Configure the integrating application to recognize the source or target as a web service. |
|
B2B |
B2B, Healthcare |
Configure the integrating application to recognize the source or target as a trading partner channel or endpoint. |
Within each technology, each integrating application recognizes Oracle Managed File Transfer differently. Here are some examples:
A SOA source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an MFT reference binding component in SOA.
A SOA target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an MFT service binding component in SOA.
A Service Bus source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to a business service in Oracle Service Bus.
A Service Bus target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to a proxy service in Oracle Service Bus.
Some integrating applications, such as SOA, recognize Oracle Managed File Transfer with a specific component or setting. Others, such as Oracle Service Bus, recognize Oracle Managed File Transfer generically according to the technology.
You must configure domains for SOA, Service Bus, B2B, Healthcare, and ODI sources and targets if these integrating applications are not collocated on the same Oracle WebLogic Server instance or cluster with Oracle Managed File Transfer.
The steps for this process are:
Open the Domains tab on the Administration page.
Click the Add icon.
An empty row is added to the domain table.
Enter the following information in the table cells:
Domain Alias: The host name for connecting to the domain.
The Domain Alias setting for a source or target maps to this alias.
Connection URL: The service endpoint URL for connecting to B2B and Healthcare applications running on remote servers. These servers can be in the same Oracle WebLogic Server domain as Oracle Managed File Transfer or in a different domain. It is used to send messages to B2B and Healthcare targets.
User: The user as whom to access the domain.
Password: The user password.
Confirm Password: The user password confirmation.
Tracking URL: The URL for the source or target location from or to which files are transferred, if different from the Connection URL. See Specifying the Tracking URL for more information.
Type: The domain type, B2B, Healthcare, SOA, Service Bus, or ODI.
This is only an optional label. It does not determine which domains are available for which source and target types.
Description: A text description of the domain.
Example: t3://host:port (host and port details of the WLS Server where B2B is running).
Click Show Domain Details to display a list of referring sources and targets for the selected domain.
By default, all source and target types are listed. You can uncheck B2B, Healthcare, SOA, Service Bus, or ODI to hide sources and targets of that type.
Click Save.
To delete a domain, select the table row and click the Delete icon. To cancel all changes since you last saved, click Revert.
After you create sources and targets that reference the domain aliases, you can select a domain and click Show Domain Details to see the referring sources and targets.
The Tracking URL is the URL for the source or target location from or to which files are transferred, if different from the Connection URL.
For all domain types, the tracking URL is the console URL used to access the respective reporting module for the product being integrated. This URL can be the load balancer IP or server address. It is used in generating the dynamic URL to open the respective reporting page from the Oracle Managed File Transfer monitoring module. For examples, see Interlinked SOA and MFT Reports, Interlinked B2B and MFT Reports, and Interlinked Healthcare and MFT Reports
When you select a Domain Alias for a source or target, all configured domains are available for B2B and Healthcare targets, but only domains with a tracking URL are available for B2B and Healthcare sources and for SOA, Service Bus, and ODI sources and targets.
The connection URL for B2B remote integration points to the B2B managed server. However, remote B2B report integration may use the HTTP URL of a load balancer instead, in which case you must specify a tracking URL.
The connection URL for Oracle SOA Suite points to the SOA managed server. However, because Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control runs on the administration server, the URL for flow trace navigation is different. Therefore, to ensure that report interlinking works as described in Interlinked SOA and MFT Reports, you must specify a tracking URL.
Tracking URL syntax is as follows:
http://host:port#domain_name#domain_type
The default for the optional domain_type is weblogic_domain.
For example, if the MFT console URL is mft.example.com:8001 and both MFT and Fusion Middleware Control for SOA are in the same mft_domain, use this as the tracking URL:
http://mft.example.com:8001#mft_domain
If the Fusion Middleware Control console URL is soa.example.com:21374 and Fusion Middleware Control is in the WLS_SOA domain, use this as the tracking URL:
http://soa.example.com:21374#WLS_SOA
Oracle JDeveloper provides a specialized MFT component under BPEL Services to represent an Oracle Managed File Transfer source or target in a BPEL process. After you create a source or target of type SOA in Oracle Managed File Transfer, you create a corresponding MFT component in your SOA application.
Integration between SOA and MFT uses several WSDL files. See MFT WSDL Files for more information.
You must configure a SOA domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer if Oracle SOA Suite is not collocated with MFT. To ensure that report interlinking works as described in Interlinked SOA and MFT Reports, you must specify a tracking URL. For more information, see Specifying the Tracking URL.
A SOA source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an MFT reference binding component in SOA. The SOA application sends the file.
The steps for this process are:
Create a new SOA Application and project in Oracle JDeveloper.
With the project open, display the Technology section of the Component Palette.
Drag and drop the MFT component icon into the right Partner Link swimlane. The MFT Configuration Wizard opens.
On the MFT Adapter Reference page, specify a name or accept the default name of mftReferencenumber. Reference is selected as the binding. Click Next.
On the Adapter Interface page, select Define using a new MFT Reference. Click Next.
On the Service Connection page, select the connection to the Oracle WebLogic Server on which Oracle Managed File Transfer is installed from the AppServer Connection drop-down list. Select the managed server on which Oracle Managed File Transfer runs from the SOA Server drop-down list if it does not autofill. Click Test MFT to test the communication with Oracle Managed File Transfer. Click Next.
On the Reference Configuration page, select the MFT source name from the Source drop-down list. The endpoint location autofills in the Endpoint field. Click Finish.
The MFT component appears in the BPEL process. Work with it as you would any external reference.
A SOA target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an MFT service binding component in SOA. The SOA application receives the file.
The steps for this process are:
mftServicenumber. Service is selected as the binding. Click Finish.An Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report for a SOA source or target has a Correlation Flow ID link. Clicking this link opens the corresponding Flow Trace page in Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control for the SOA instance.
Likewise, a Fusion Middleware Control Flow Trace for Oracle Managed File Transfer has a Managed File Transfer link in the Trace section. Clicking this link opens the corresponding Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report.
To ensure that report interlinking works when Oracle SOA Suite is not collocated with MFT, you must specify a tracking URL. For more information, see Specifying the Tracking URL.
See Interpreting Source_ Transfer_ and Target Reports for more information about Oracle Managed File Transfer instance reports.
Oracle Service Bus uses a business service for outgoing data and a proxy service for incoming data. The corresponding endpoints in Oracle Managed File Transfer are a Service Bus source and a Service Bus target, respectively.
You must configure a Service Bus domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer if Oracle Service Bus is not collocated with MFT. For more information, see Managing Domains.
A Service Bus source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to a business service in Oracle Service Bus. Oracle Service Bus calls Oracle Managed File Transfer and Oracle Service Bus sends the file. You can create a business service from either Oracle JDeveloper or the Oracle Service Bus console.
For more information, see Creating and Configuring Business Services in Developing Services with Oracle Service Bus.
A Service Bus target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to a proxy service in Oracle Service Bus. Oracle Managed File Transfer calls Oracle Service Bus and Oracle Service Bus receives the file. You can create a proxy service from either Oracle JDeveloper or the Oracle Service Bus console.
For more information, see Creating and Configuring Proxy Services in Developing Services with Oracle Service Bus.
The steps for this process are:
Open or create the application and project to which you want to add the proxy service.
In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New > Proxy Service to display the Create Proxy Service wizard. On wizard pages not mentioned, you can accept the default values and click Next.
On the Proxy Service Create Service Page, type a name, and set the Definition to WSDL.
Click Browse. Navigate to the WLS_Home/mft/integration/wsdl directory and select the MFTAnyTypeService.wsdl file. Click OK.
See MFT WSDL Files for more information about this file.
The WSDL settings appear on the Create Service Page. Click Next.
On the Proxy Service Transport Configuration Page, set the Protocol to ws. Set the Endpoint URI to match the URL setting in the Service Bus target. Click Create.
The Proxy Service Definition Editor appears with the general configuration of the new proxy service displayed.
B2B recognizes Oracle Managed File Transfer as a Remote Trading Partner. B2B uses an external delivery channel to send files to Oracle Managed File Transfer. B2B requires no special configuration to receive files. Instead, you configure a B2B domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer.
A B2B source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an external delivery channel for a Remote Trading Partner in B2B. You can either configure a B2B domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer (see Managing Domains) or configure a channel in B2B.
The steps for this process are:
Go to the Partners page in B2B.
Select the remote trading partner in the Partner pane, or create a new remote trading partner.
Select the Channels tab.
Type a Name for the new channel.
Select Generic MFT-1.0 from the Protocol drop-down list.
On the Transport Control Parameters tab, set the following parameters:
URL: The URL for connecting to Oracle Managed File Transfer.
User name: The username for connecting to Oracle Managed File Transfer.
Password, Confirm Password: The password for connecting to Oracle Managed File Transfer.
Source: The name of the B2B source in Oracle Managed File Transfer.
Transfer: The name of the transfer associated with the B2B source. This is optional.
Target: The name of the target associated with the B2B source. This is optional.
Source is always required. URL, User name, and Password are required if B2B must connect to Oracle Managed File Transfer on a different server.
Click Save.
The external delivery channel is ready to send files to Oracle Managed File Transfer.
For more information, see Configuring Channels in User's Guide for Oracle B2B.
A B2B target in Oracle Managed File Transfer calls the EJB for the Host Trading Partner in B2B. No B2B configuration is needed. However, you must configure a B2B domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer if B2B is not collocated. For more information, see Managing Domains.
An Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report for a B2B source or target has a Correlation Flow ID link. Clicking this link opens the corresponding Business Message report for the B2B instance.
Likewise, a B2B Business Message report for Oracle Managed File Transfer has an MFT Flow link in the Flow Trace column of the Result table. Clicking this link opens the corresponding Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report.
See Interpreting Source_ Transfer_ and Target Reports for more information about Oracle Managed File Transfer instance reports.
Oracle SOA Suite for healthcare integration (Healthcare) recognizes Oracle Managed File Transfer as a Remote Endpoint. Healthcare uses an outbound endpoint to send files to Oracle Managed File Transfer and an inbound endpoint to receive files. You must also configure a Healthcare domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer.
You must configure a Healthcare domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer if Healthcare is not collocated with MFT. For more information, see Managing Domains.
A Healthcare source in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an outbound endpoint for a Remote Endpoint in Healthcare.
The steps for this process are:
In Healthcare, in the Configuration tab under the Design tab, click the Endpoint folder and then click the Create icon.
In the Create window, enter the following and click OK:
Name: Type a name for the new endpoint.
Transport Protocol: Select MFT.
Direction: Select Outbound.
Source: Type the MFT source name.
The endpoint is displayed in the right panel of the Healthcare user interface.
Find the document to be transferred under the Document Protocol folder.
Drag and drop the document to be transferred into the Document to Send table.
Save the endpoint.
For more information, see Working with Endpoints in Healthcare Integration User's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.
A Healthcare target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to an inbound endpoint for a Remote Trading Partner in Healthcare.
The steps for this process are:
For more information, see Working with Endpoints in Healthcare Integration User's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.
An Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report for a Healthcare source or target has a Correlation Flow ID link. Clicking this link opens the corresponding report for the Healthcare endpoint.
Likewise, a Healthcare endpoint instance report for Oracle Managed File Transfer has an MFT source or target icon. Clicking this icon opens the corresponding Oracle Managed File Transfer instance report.
See Interpreting Source_ Transfer_ and Target Reports for more information about Oracle Managed File Transfer instance reports.
Oracle Managed File Transfer can integrate with Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) in one of two ways:
Through the file FTP or sFTP.
Using the file system is the simplest and most common integration method.
Through web services, using the OdiInvokeWebService tool for ODI sources or configuring data services for ODI targets.
For the web service integration method, you must configure an ODI domain in Oracle Managed File Transfer if Oracle Data Integrator is not collocated with MFT. For more information, see Managing Domains.
Using the file system is best for large files and batch processing, while using web services is more suited to smaller payloads for updates or trickle feeds.
When you use the file FTP and SFTP for ODI integration, you use ODI source or target types by selecting the binding type as File, FTP Remote and SFTP Remote. The use cases are as follows:
ODI to MFT: A trigger event service is exposed as part of the trigger-based content delivery feature. ODI invokes that service by providing the ODI/JCA source name and other required parameters and in response a unique MFT id "EventSessionId" is returned. The source is validated and verified for Event invocation and then file transfer is initiated. ODI can query the status of MFT instances by invoking another operation "getInstanceDetails" in the same trigger service providing the EventSessionId returned earlier.
MFT to ODI: The odiInvoke service acts in a post processing function. This post processing function is used to configure the odiInvoke service and is invoked after delivering the payload to the JCA bindings configured at the ODI target. The odiInvoke service retrieves the payload from the JCA binding target type configured at ODI target which and this retrieving is outside the scope of MFT. The MFT message is marked as complete when payload delivery is complete and the odiInvoke service is invoked.
These ODI transfers can use MFT features such as:
Preprocessing, including encryption, decryption, and custom callouts that modify the payload
Scheduling
Resubmission
An ODI source in Oracle Managed File Transfer is exposed as a web service that ODI can invoke using the OdiInvokeWebService tool.
Using an ODI source has the following limitations:
MFT doesn't support synchronous invocation.
The response MFT sends to ODI includes only the MFT message ID.
MFT doesn't notify ODI of whether the transfer was successful.
However, you can create a custom callout to send a notification. See Processing Transfers with Custom Callouts for more information.
The steps for this process are:
In MFT, create an ODI source and enter a URL for the location.
In ODI, in the Projects tree in the Designer Navigator, select the project and package that will send a file to MFT.
Create an OdiInvokeWebService tool step in the package and select it.
Click the General tab under Properties.
Specify values for the following parameters:
WSDL URL — Specify the URL of the MFT ODI source WSDL file. This is the ODI source URL with a ?WSDL suffix. For example:
http://www.example.com:7001/mftapp/services/transfer/odi-src-name?WSDL
See MFT WSDL Files for more information.
Port Type — Specify MFTServicePortType.
Operation — Specify submit.
XML Request — Enter the web service payload, which includes SOAP headers and the file to be transferred.
Select File > Save to save the package.
See Using the OdiInvokeWebService Tool in Developing Data Integrations with Oracle Data Integrator for more information.
An ODI target in Oracle Managed File Transfer corresponds to a data service in ODI. ODI data services are specialized web services that provide access to data in datastores. ODI generates these data services and deploys them to the web services container in Oracle WebLogic Server.
Using an ODI target has the following limitations:
Input from the MFT source must adhere to the ODI data service schema.
The message type must be XML and must match the ODI WSDL format. MFT cannot perform this validation.
MFT doesn't support synchronous messaging.
MFT cannot access data exposed by the ODI data services.
The Attachment Payload Type and the By Reference Delivery Method are not supported.
Small payloads, not large files, are recommended.
The steps for this process are:
In ODI, in the Models tree in the Designer Navigator, select the model that contains the datastore.
Click the model to edit it.
Select Services.
Specify values for the following properties:
Application server — Specify the Oracle WebLogic Server host and port. For example:
localhost:7003
Namespace — Specify the MFT namespace:
http://xmlns.oracle.com/fmw/mft/soap
Package name — Specify the package name:
com.oracle.mft
Name of Data Source — Enter a data source name.
Name of Data Service — Enter a data service name.
Active — Check the Active box next to the datastore to be exposed as a web service.
Note the Web Service name and the Published entity. You need these to configure the MFT target.
Select File > Save to save the model.
See Generating and Deploying Data Services in Administering Oracle Data Integrator for more information.
After the data service is deployed in Oracle WebLogic Server, an MFT ODI target can invoke the change operations exposed by the data service.
The steps for this process are:
In MFT, create a target of type ODI.
Specify the data service URL as the MFT target URL. For example:
http://www.example.com:15101/model-name/web-svc-name
Click the arrow to the left of Advanced Properties to display the properties.
Specify values for the following properties:
Service — Specify the Web Service name from the ODI model.
Port — Specify the port. By default, this is the Web Service name with a SoapPort suffix.
Action — Specify the web service method used to retrieve the transferred file. By default, this is the Published entity from the ODI model with an add prefix and a List suffix.
You can display web service information in Oracle WebLogic Server or Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control. See Developing JAX-WS Web Services in Developing JAX-WS Web Services for Oracle WebLogic Server for more information.
Payload Type — Select Inline.
Message Type — Select XML.
Save the target.
Add the target to a transfer.
In the transfer configuration, click the arrow to the left of Delivery Preferences to display the options.
Specify Inline as the Delivery Method.
Save and Deploy the transfer.
Any application that can integrate with web services can integrate with Oracle Managed File Transfer. Sources and targets of type SOAP are exposed as standard web service endpoints. The source and target settings you specify in Oracle Managed File Transfer are also the settings you specify in the integrating application to allow it to recognize the source or target.
The file MFTAnyTypeService.wsdl is for any type of application that integrates with web services. See MFT WSDL Files for more information.
For more information about web services, see Overview of Web Services in Oracle Fusion Middleware 12c in Understanding Web Services.
Using Oracle MFT you can download and upload data from an Oracle content server using the Remote Intradoc Client (RIDC) client jar provided by Oracle WebCenter Content to connect and perform various actions. RIDC provides a thin communication API for communication with Oracle WebCenter Content Server. This API removes data abstractions to the Oracle WebCenter Content Server while still providing a wrapper to handle connection pooling, security, and protocol specifics. RIDC supports Intradoc socket-based communication and the HTTP protocol.
Using the HTTP protocol to connect to WebCenter Content via the RIDC client, MFT supports the following properties for the HTTP protocol:
ConnectionUrl
Username
Password
Proxy server name
Proxy user name
isSecure
socketTimeout
connectionWaitTime
contentType
useSystemProxy
MFT exposes three content server services:
GET_FILE: Service that returns a specific rendition of a content item revision. A copy of the file is retrieved without performing a checkout.
CHECKIN_UNIVERSAL: Service that performs a Oracle Content Server-controlled check in.
GET_SEARCH_RESULTS: Service that returns a list of content items that match specific search criteria.
For complete information on Oracle WebCenter Content, see Developing with Oracle WebCenter Content.
Oracle Storage Cloud Service is part of the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings. It is an enterprise-grade, large-scale object storage solution for files and unstructured data. Stored customer data is automatically redundantly stored to prevent data loss. You can use the service to back up content to an offsite location, programmatically store content, and share content with peers.
In Oracle Storage Cloud Service, data is stored in the form of objects. An object is most commonly created by uploading a file, although it can also be created from ephemeral unstructured data. Objects must be created within a container. A container is a user-created resource, which can hold an unlimited number of objects. Containers however, cannot store other containers. Both objects and containers can have custom metadata associated with them.
For more information about Oracle Storage Cloud Service, see About Oracle Storage Cloud Service in Oracle Storage Cloud Service.
Using MFT you can upload and download data between cloud and on-premise locations. MFT can be used to automate those transfers.
Oracle Managed File Transfer provides WSDL files, which integrating applications can use to create web service interfaces to Oracle Managed File Transfer. These files are located in WLS_Home/mft/integration/wsdl. Table 4-2 describes these files.
Table 4-2 MFT WSDL Files
| WSDL File Name | Purpose | Operations | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Used in MFT SOAP sources and targets. Accepts SOAP messages, including generic messages. |
Both operations respond with the MFT Message ID and other tracking parameters. |
For For |
|
|
Used in MFT SOA sources and targets. Accepts SOA messages. |
Responds with the Message ID and other tracking parameters. |
An FTP or FILE reference or an inline or binary payload is required in the |
|
|
An abstract WSDL for Oracle JDeveloper integration. Used for creating the MFT reference WSDL. |
Responds with the Message ID and other tracking parameters. |
Same as |
|
|
Used by Oracle JDeveloper to query all MFT SOA sources. Used during MFT SOA source selection, MFT SOA reference design, and SOA composite application building. |
Responds with the list of sources matching the type. |
A single string parameter representing the source type is required in the ODI can have a subtype of FILE. FTP, or SFTP. ODI can invoke this operation to list all ODI sources with JCA sources in the definition. |
|
|
Used to support resubmission of MFT source, transfer, and target instance messages. |
Responds with |
Required input parameters are |
Headers of these WSDL files appear in the Source Report and Target Report for a transfer, which are accessible from the Monitoring page. For more information about these reports, see Interpreting Source_ Transfer_ and Target Reports. For more information about the WSDL file headers, see "Source Protocol Headers" and "Target Protocol Headers" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware MFT Composer Help Online Help.
The MFT WSIL URL is as follows:
http://host:port/inspection.wsil/?appname=mft-app
The MFT Discovery Service URL is as follows:
http://host:port/mftapp/services/MFTDiscoveryService?WSDL
Note:
Some SOAP clients automatically generate an input tag in the WSDL file, which MFT interprets as a payload and appends to the transferred file. If this tag is not needed, you can delete it.
Note:
Make sure the WSDL file has a valid value for MFTServicePort or you might see this error message:
oracle.jdeveloper.webservices.model.WebServiceException: Service MFTService_soap contains no SOAP ports and cannot be used.