PowerShell Scripting to Replicate SFTP Data to MySQL

The CData Cmdlets for SFTP offer live access to SFTP data from within PowerShell. Using PowerShell scripts, you can easily automate regular tasks like data replication. This article will walk through using the CData Cmdlets for SFTP and the CData Cmdlets for MySQL in PowerShell to replicate SFTP data to a MySQL database.

After obtaining the needed connection properties, accessing SFTP data in PowerShell and preparing for replication consists of four basic steps.

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.

Collecting SFTP Data

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module SFTPCmdlets

2. Connect to SFTP:

   $sftp = Connect-SFTP -RemoteHost $RemoteHost

3. Retrieve the data from a specific resource:

   $data = Select-SFTP -Connection $sftp -Table "MyDirectory"

   You can also use the Invoke-SFTP cmdlet to execute pure SQL-92 statements:

   $data = Invoke-SFTP -Connection $sftp -Query 'SELECT * FROM MyDirectory WHERE FilePath = @FilePath' -Params @{'@FilePath'='/documents/doc.txt'}

4. Save a list of the column names from the returned data.

   $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name

Inserting SFTP Data into the MySQL Database

With the data and column names collected, you are ready to replicate the data into a MySQL database.

1. Install the module:

   Install-Module MySQLCmdlets

2. Connect to MySQL, using the server address and port of the MySQL server, valid user credentials, and a specific database with the table in which the data will be replicated:

   $mysql = Connect-MySQL -User $User -Password $Password -Database $Database -Server $Server -Port $Port

3. Loop through the SFTP data, store the values, and use the Add-MySQL cmdlet to insert the data into the MySQL database, one row at a time. In this example, the table will need to have the same name as the SFTP resource (MyDirectory) and to exist in the database.

   $data | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "MyDirectory" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

You have now replicated your SFTP data to a MySQL database. This gives you freedom to work with SFTP data in the same way that you work with other MySQL tables, whether that is performing analytics, building reports, or other business functions.

Notes

• Once you have connected to SFTP and MySQL in PowerShell, you can pipe command results to perform the replication in a single line:

  Select-SFTP -Connection $sftp -Table "MyDirectory" | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "MyDirectory" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

• If you wish to replicate the SFTP data to another database using another PowerShell module, you will want to exclude the Columns, Connection, and Table columns from the data returned by the Select-SFTP cmdlet since those columns are used to help pipe data from one CData cmdlet to another:

  $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name | ? {$_ -NotIn @('Columns','Connection','Table')}