Connect to SFTP Data in RapidMiner

This article shows how you can easily integrate the CData JDBC driver for SFTP into your processes in RapidMiner. This article uses the CData JDBC Driver for SFTP to transfer SFTP data to a process in RapidMiner.

Connect to SFTP in RapidMiner as a JDBC Data Source

You can follow the procedure below to establish a JDBC connection to SFTP:

1. Add a new database driver for SFTP: Click Connections -> Manage Database Drivers.
2. In the resulting wizard, click the Add button and enter a name for the connection.
3. Enter the prefix for the JDBC URL: jdbc:sftp:
4. Enter the path to the cdata.jdbc.sftp.jar file, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
5. Enter the driver class: cdata.jdbc.sftp.SFTPDriver
6. Create a new SFTP connection: Click Connections -> Manage Database Connections.
7. Enter a name for your connection.
8. For Database System, select the SFTP driver you configured previously.
9. Enter your connection string in the Host box.

   SFTP can be used to transfer files to and from SFTP servers using the SFTP Protocol. To connect, specify the RemoteHost;. service uses the User and Password and public key authentication (SSHClientCert). Choose an SSHAuthMode and specify connection values based on your selection.

   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 subfolders to report as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve files recursively and list them in the Root table.
   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See gdatamodel for more on using SQL to interact with the server.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

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

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.sftp.jar

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

   A typical connection string is below:

   RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;
10. Enter your username and password if necessary.

You can now use your SFTP connection with the various RapidMiner operators in your process. To retrieve SFTP data, drag the Retrieve operator from the Operators view. With the Retrieve operator selected, you can then define which table to retrieve in the Parameters view by clicking the folder icon next to the "repository entry." In the resulting Repository Browser, you can expand your connection node to select the desired example set.

Finally, wire the output to the Retrieve process to a result, and run the process to see the SFTP data.