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Status Not under consideration
Workspace IBM i
Categories Networking
Created by Guest
Created on Nov 20, 2020

RELATED IDEAS

Add Support for SIZE Subcommand in IBM i FTP Server

Third-Party software (https://sqlbackupandftp.com/) automates the backups of SQL Server Databases, and the remote storage site can be designated as an FTP server. When attempting to upload the file, the software validates the upload by using the SIZE subcommand. Since the SIZE subcommand is not supported on the IBM i FTP Server, the job fails. I am requesting that the SIZE subcommand be added to the list of supported subcommands.


Use Case:

We will be able to upload and verify database backups from SQL Server instances using the IBM i FTP Server as a backup location. The third-party software is extremely user friendly and helps minimize the overhead in configuring SQL Server database backups. While we use DB2 for i as our database of choice for in-house operations, we also support customers that use other database systems, including SQL Server. See following URL for support case opened on third-party website: http://community.sqlbackupandftp.com/t/ftp-connection-failing-to-ibm-i-as-400/2536


Idea priority Medium
  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Jun 1, 2023
    Thank you for taking the time to submit your Idea. After careful consideration, we know that we cannot deliver your requested enhancement soon, so it is being declined. However, your Idea does align with the future strategy of our product and we believe it may have future value, so we will add it to an internal list for us to keep in mind for the future.

    IBM Power Systems Development
  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Mar 15, 2022

    IBM is still considering this request as input to planning but no commitment is made or implied. This request will be updated in the future if IBM implements it. IBM will use RFE votes and comments from others in the community to help prioritize this request.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Mar 10, 2021

    Implementing the SIZE command for BINARY only transfers should be sufficient. I understand your explanation for size changes in ASCII files after being uploaded or downloaded due to the CCSID conversions, but would this really be an issue? IBM FTP Server could still return the size of the files, and it would be left up to the developer to determine when to use the result of the SIZE command based on the file type.

    MDTM (File Modification Time) and REST(Restart of Interrupted Transfer) are not currently used in the business environment.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Dec 13, 2020

    FTP SIZE command is an optional FTP subcommand which was defined in RFC 3659. IBM i FTP server does not support this command yet.

    To add this subcommand to IBM i FTP server, the size is same as the file on IBM i file system when the file is transferred as binary mode. This can be used as the verification of file uploading. The size would be definitely same as it's original size on FTP client side.
    It is a little complex when the file is transferred as ASCII mode. IBM i FTP server will do the code convension if the CCSID is different with client side. I do not want to detail how the CCSID is determined here. Let's assume the client side CCSID is Clt-CCSID and server side CCSID is Svr-CCSID. When the file is uploaded to IBM i FTP server, the file is converted to CCSID SvrC. If the file is downloaded to client side, the file is converted to CCSID Clt-CCSID. So, the file would be converted to CCSID Svr-CCSID first and then back to Clt-CCSID. The return of SIZE command would be the file size of after 2 times' conversion. Is the size same to the original file size on FTP client? We have no idea yet.

    So, is not acceptable to only support the SIZE for binary transfer type ?
    Except for this SIZE subcommand, 3659 also defined some other optional command which can be used to easy the file downloading and verification, such as MDTM (File Modification Time), REST(Restart of Interrupted Transfer) etc. Are these extension used in your business environment ?

  • Guest
    Reply
    |     Nov 24, 2020

    Due to processing by IBM, this request was reassigned to have the following updated attributes:
    Brand - Servers and Systems Software
    Product family - Power Systems
    Product - IBM i
    Component - Networking
    Operating system - IBM i
    Source - None

    For recording keeping, the previous attributes were:
    Brand - Servers and Systems Software
    Product family - Power Systems
    Product - IBM i
    Component - Web Serving
    Operating system - IBM i
    Source - None

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