File Upload Using SFTP

Automate the data transfer process using SFTP.

Uploading data files using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) allows you to automate the file upload process by scheduling a data load frequency. This is a great option to use after you've onboarded your initial dataset into Visier.

Upload files using SFTP workflow

1. Download and install a SFTP application.
2. Generate public and private SSH keys, enable the SFTP account in the solution, and connect your SFTP application to our servers. For more information, see Set up SFTP.

3. Prepare your data files for upload by ensuring they are in the expected format and follow the recommended file structure and naming conventions.

   Note: File specifications:

   • Supported archive formats: zip, 7zip, bzip, and tar.
   • We do not support password protected archive files.

   • Filenames can contain letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), periods (.), and underscores (_).

   For more information on how to structure your data files for upload, see Data File Guidelines and Visier Data Dictionaries.

4. Optional: If you want an additional layer of protection, you can encrypt your data files. For more information, see Encrypt files.
5. Upload data files using your SFTP application. For more information, see Upload data file.
6. Run a job to process the new data. Jobs define the tasks needed to load your data into Visier, for more information, see Run a job.

Set up SFTP

You must use a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to connect to Visier's servers. SSH uses public-key cryptography for authentication. You create a pair of keys: a private key that is saved on the computer that you use to upload data and a public key that our server uses. Both keys have to be in place for your computer to connect to our servers.

You will need to generate public and private SSH keys before you enable the SFTP account in the solution.

Step One: Generate public and private SSH keys

Windows

1. Download PuTTYgen Key Generator (puttygen.exe) to generate a public and private key using a minimum of 2048 bits.
2. Open PuTTYgen Key Generator.
3. On the Key menu, click SSH-2 RSA key.
4. Under Parameters choose the following settings:
   • Type of keys to generate: RSA
   • Number of bits in a generated key: 2048
5. Click Generate.
6. Move your mouse over the blank area to generate some randomness.
7. Type a description in the Key comment box. For example, Visier People.
8. After the keys have been generated, save the private key without a passphrase to your computer:
   1. Click Save private key > Yes.
   2. Name the file id_rsa.ppk.
   3. Click Save.

   Note:  

   • Do not enter a passphrase as this would require your script to enter the passphrase each time you logon to the SFTP server.
   • The private key file must be kept private since it is not protected with a passphrase. We recommend that you apply appropriate NTFS permissions so that this file is only readable by authorized persons.
9. Save the public key as id_rsa.pub.
10. Copy the public key:
    1. In the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file box, right-click and then click Select All.
    2. Right-click the selected text and then click Copy.

Linux

1. Type the command line, ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa.
2. Press Enter to keep the default values for all the prompts this generates.

   Result: A directory called .ssh is created with the following files: id_rsa (private key) and id_rsa.pub (public key).

Step Two: Enable the SFTP account in the solution

1. On the global navigation bar, click Settings > Configure SFTP.
2. Click the SFTP Access toggle button.
3. Add public key:
   1. Click Add Key.
   2. In the Add Key dialog, paste the public key that you generated.
   3. Click Save.
4. When finished click Save.
5. In Reset password, assign a password to the SFTP account. You can reset the SFTP user's password at any time. To enable this feature, contact Visier Technical Support.

Supported Secure Shell (SSH) algorithms

To keep your data secure, we follow industry best practices and support the following Secure Shell (SSH) algorithms:

Type	Algorithm
SSH Ciphers	chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com aes128-ctr aes192-ctr aes256-ctr aes128-gcm@openssh.com aes256-gcm@openssh.com
Key Exchanges	ecdh-sha2-nistp256 ecdh-sha2-nistp384 ecdh-sha2-nistp521 diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256 diffie-hellman-group16-sha512 diffie-hellman-group18-sha512 diffie-hellman-group14-sha256
MACs	umac-128-etm@openssh.com hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com umac-128@openssh.com hmac-sha2-256 hmac-sha2-512

Step Three: Connect SFTP application to Visier's servers

After your SFTP account has been activated, use the following tables as guidance to connect your SFTP application to Visier's server:

Settings	Use this
Username	The SFTP username name that appears in the Configure SFTP room.
Key File	Select the private key file (id_rsa.ppk) that you generated and saved onto your computer.
Host	{vanity-name}.sftp.visier.com. Replace {vanity_name} with the tenant name that appears in your Visier URL. If you do not know your tenant name, you can find the SFTP server in the Configure SFTP room.
Port	22

Allowlist information

If your organization uses a protective firewall to control connections, you may have to add the following configurations to your organization's allowlist so end users can access the solution, upload data, and receive emails from Visier. An allowlist is a cybersecurity strategy which provides access to selected domains, IP addresses, email addresses, and applications that your network server policy typically blocks. For a full list of items to add to your allowlist, see Allow Visier Connections.

Add the following information to your allowlist so users can upload data to Visier using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

FQDN dynamic address

• <vanityname>.sftp.visier.com

IP addresses

United States

• 34.194.171.193
• 3.234.180.140
• 52.22.110.218
• 18.204.165.196

Canada

• 3.97.248.90
• 3.96.86.99
• 35.183.254.134
• 3.97.58.7

Europe

• 3.121.253.247
• 3.71.227.199
• 3.70.146.62
• 3.69.0.189

Asia Pacific

• 3.0.188.54
• 18.139.213.183
• 13.228.87.114
• 52.77.167.170

Port

• 22

Encrypt files

If you want an additional layer of protection against data disclosure, you can use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) to encrypt your files.

Upload data file

Windows

1. Open your SFTP program.
2. Connect to Visier's server using the following settings:
   • Host: vanityname.sftp.visier.com (For example, bluesphere.sftp.visier.com)
   • Port: 22
3. After you are connected, upload your data files into the Visier server.

Linux

1. Create an sftp batch file to be called by sftp that contains all the commands to upload the file.

   Example: Batch file uploads a file named data.file.
   put data.file
   bye

Type the command line sftp - b [batchfile] -i [path/to/private/key] "[username]"@[server] to connect to the remote host and upload the batch file.