Software Version - Document Version: v1.8.0-1.4

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© 2020 TIXEL GmbH

The information in this document is property of TIXEL GmbH. It may not be used, reproduced or disclosed without written approval of TIXEL GmbH.

Notice of non-liability:

TIXEL GmbH is providing the information in this document to you AS-IS with all faults. TIXEL GmbH makes no warranties of any kind (whether express, implied or statutory) with respect to the information contained herein. TIXEL GmbH assumes no liability for damages (whether direct or indirect), caused by errors or omissions, or resulting from the use of this document or the information contained in this document or resulting from the application or use of the product or service described herein. TIXEL GmbH reserves the right to make changes to any information herein without further notice.

Used formatting:

Tip
 Additional hint
Note
 Remark, further information
Important
 Crucial note, please obey
Caution
 Neglecting may cause malfunction
Warning
 Neglecting may cause severe malfunction or data loss

1. TIXwatch for Automatic Transfer Job Creation

Since v1.5.0 TIXstream MFT comes with an optional watch folder module TIXwatch that allows to monitor configured folders. All files that appear in these folders during a configurable interval are added to a Transfer Job and automatically transferred to a pre-configured destination.

1.1. Configuring TIXwatch module

The core logic for TIXwatch is part of the Transfer Job Manager service. You can enable it in ${TIXEL_HOME}/config/transfer-job-manager.properties with

custom.transfer-job-manager.watchfolder-enabled=true

To make TIXEL Control Center show the corresponding configuration tab, in ${TIXEL_HOME}/config/tixel-control-center.properties please set

custom.tcc.watchfolder-configuration-enabled=true

TIXwatch is actually only part of the sending instance of a TIXstream MFT host. Transfer Jobs – once created by TIXwatch – are handled inside TIXstream MFT as any other Transfer Job.

Depending on the workflow you would like to apply to integrate with you might also want to change the behavior of the receiving instance. E.g. to keep a folder at the destination side "in-sync" with a folder at the source side you should make sure the following properties are set in ${TIXEL_HOME}/config/transfer-job-manager.properties

custom.transfer-job-manager.create-job-folder=false
custom.transfer-job-manager.overwrite-allowed=true

Thus the job manager at the receiving side does not create a unique destination folder for each job. Updated files at the source side will overwrite existing (outdated) files at the destination.

Important
 Remember to restart the services if you have made changes to their properties files.

1.2. Creating and Configuring Watch Folder with TIXEL Control Center

If TCC is configured with the above mentioned watch folder option you can see a new tab Watch Folder next to the Nodes tab.

Note
 It is advised to create separate source and destination shares that are dedicated exclusively to TIXwatch to avoid conflicting transfers done by users using the TCC.
Important
 If you just created the shares within the current web session please click the Refresh button next to the search bar. Otherwise the shares don’t appear in the pull down menu and cannot be selected for TIXwatch use.
Tip
 Before configuring a watch folder create a job via TCC’s Transfer tab to see if all source and destination shares and nodes are setup correctly.

To create a watch folder click the + button and fill out the fields on the right side (mandatory fields are marked with a *).

  • Name: A name that you would like to use to identify the watch folder

  • Description: Meaningful text that, e.g. describes the purpose of the watch folder

  • Interval: Watch interval in seconds. Time between the end of a directory scan and the start of the next scan

  • Job Description: Text that is used as Description field for each Transfer Job created by this watch folder instance.

  • Source: A share, i.e. the corresponding folder, used as watch folder

  • Destination Node: Node name of the destination system

  • Destination Path: Share provided by the destination system, where all files of the Source will be transferred to

  • enabled: If a tick is set, the watch folder is active and Transfer Jobs are created if new files are copied to the source folder

Important
 Remember to click the Save button if you have filled out all required fields.

1.3. Testing a Configured Watch Folder

We assume you have configured a source share with the name TIXwatch-1 that points to a local directory /mnt/data1/tixwatch_1 on the TIXstream MFT host. Now copy a file to the folder /mnt/data1/tixwatch_1 and monitor TCC’s Dashboard tab. After the duration of two watch folder intervals a Transfer Job should appear in the Most Recent tab that has the watch folder’s Job Description in the Description column.

2. Troubleshooting

2.1. Deletion of Watch Folder does not Kill Job

It can happen, that a transfer job still is running after a watch folder is deleted. Simply go to Dashboard tab in TCC and cancel the job manually.

2.2. Watch Folder still Exists after Deletion

As a known issue a watch folder might still exist after deletion, especially when scanning a folder with a lot files files. Simply delete the watch folder again in the Watch Folder tab in TCC.

2.3. Transfer Job Remains in Queued State for no Obvious Reasons

This could happen if the peer job failed. Go to Dashboard tab and cancel the queued job. The watch folder will setup a new job with the same files again.

2.4. Transfer Job repeatedly Fails due to Misconfiguration

If there are problems with Node, Share settings, fix them and the job should be scheduled correctly. If this is not the case, cancel the job and wait until watch folder sets up a new job.

2.5. Interrupting Scans and Transfers

Go to Watch Folder tab, select the watch folder, uncheck enabled. Then go to Dashboard tab and cancel the transfer job.

To resume scanning and job generation go to Watch Folder tab and check enabled again. Now a new transfer job with the last files is started first and then other content of watchfolder is transmitted.

2.6. Resetting Watch Folder

In Watch Folder tab there is a button to reset the selected watch folder. This reset causes watch folder to retransmit all files. If a job is still running it should be paused before resetting and then cancelled.