File Transfer FAQs
On this page:
What tools are required to transfer files securely to Oracle Utilities?
Secure Shell (SSH) and a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) site are required. Oracle Utilities has adopted file transfers over SSH because it offers strong encryption, has free (OpenSSH) and commercial versions, and is supported across multiple desktop and server operating systems.
Can I transfer files using a secure copy (SCP)?
No, only SFTP is supported. An error message like the following will be displayed if you attempt to use SCP:
username@host tmp]$ scp -i id_rsa_opower hello.txt abc@abc.uploads. opower.com:/Uploads/
Unauthorized access prohibited. See http://opower.com/Warning.txt
unknown user 1632
lost connection
Can I log in to the SFTP server using a password instead of an SSH key?
No. For security reasons, Oracle Utilities only allows authentication through the use of SSH keys.
Are there any minimal encryption requirements for SSH Key generation?
Yes. As shown in the examples in this documentation, SSH keys should be 4096 bit, RSA, SSH2 format. See File Transfer Setup - Unix or Linux and File Transfer Setup - Windows for the examples.
Is there a limited number of SFTP connection attempts?
Yes. The Oracle Utilities Opower firewall imposes a limit of 20 connection attempts for every 60 second period. If the number of connection attempts exceeds this threshold, the file transfer process will fail.
Is there a file size restriction for transferred files?
Yes. Files can be up to 4 gigabytes uncompressed. Additionally, there are limits on the number of files that can be transferred in a day depending on how large they are.
Is there a file name length restriction for transferred files?
Yes. The name of a data file cannot exceed 183 characters.
What happens if there are any issues with the file transfer?
Oracle Utilities Opower uses an internal file transfer monitoring service that automatically sends alerts to internal team members if a file transfer fails. This allows issues to be quickly identified, and corrective action to be taken. Oracle Utilities Opower will contact you if there are any file transfer issues that require your attention.