Method and system for transferring files using file transfer protocol

• US 20030191811A1
• Filed: 04/05/2002
• Published: 10/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genworth Holdings, Inc. (Genworth Financial Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genworth Financial Incorporated
• Inventors: Hashem, Tony, Parmar, Ashwin, Quinn, Keri
• Granted Patent: US 7,155,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The method and system of the invention provides a technique for transferring files from a first location to a second location using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). That is, the invention provides a method of transferring files using FTP from a first memory associated with a first processing portion to a second processing portion, the method comprising placing a file in the first memory; determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory, the destination of the file being the second processing portion; and attempting to establish a connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion in order to transfer the file from the first memory to the second processing portion.

Claims

1. A method of transferring files using file transfer protocol (FTP) from a first memory associated with a first processing portion to a second processing portion, the method comprising:

placing a file in the first memory;

determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory, the destination of the file being the second processing portion; and

attempting to establish a connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion in order to transfer the file from the first memory to the second processing portion.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of:

determining that the connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion is successful;

retrieving the file from the first memory; and

transferring the file to the second processing portion.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

determining that a file transfer from the first processing portion to the second processing portion is not successful;

determining if a threshold number of attempts for file transfer has been exceeded;

if a threshold number of attempts for file transfer has not been exceeded, then attempting again to transfer the file from the first processing portion to the second processing portion; and

if a threshold number of attempts for file transfer has been exceeded, then terminating the attempts and providing notification that the file transfer attempts were unsuccessful.

4. The method of claim 3, further including recording the status of the unsuccessful file transfer to a log file.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

determining that the file transfer from the first processing portion and the second processing portion is successful; and

providing notification that the file transfer attempts were successful.

6. The method of claim 5, further including recording the status of the successful file transfer to a log file.

7. The method of claim 5, further including the step of removing the file from the first memory and placing the file into a backup directory.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the process further includes sending a notification e-mail that the file transfer was successful.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second processing portion includes a second memory.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first memory is an internal outbasket disposed in a home FTP processing portion and the second memory is an external inbasket disposed in a remote entity FTP processing portion.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first memory is an external outbasket disposed in a remote FTP processing portion and the second memory is an internal inbasket disposed in a home FTP processing portion.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory is performed by retrieving information from a configuration parameters file.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration parameters file is an INI file.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of the name of an external inbasket, timeout-period between attempts, local-source-directory, remote-destination-directory, and polling-interval.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining that the connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion is not successful;

determining if a threshold number of attempts for connection has been exceeded;

if a threshold number of attempts for connection has not been exceeded, then attempting again to establish a connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion; and

if a threshold number of attempts for connection has been exceeded, then providing notification that the connection attempts failed.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the notification that the connection attempts failed is in the form of an e-mail.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first memory is an internal outbasket;

and

the process further includes checking another internal outbasket between to attempts to establish a connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory includes the second processing portion determining the destination of the file upon receipt of the file from the first processing portion.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration parameters are stored in the first processing portion.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration parameters are stored in the second processing portion, the configuration parameters associating the first memory in the first processing portion with a second memory in the second processing portion.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory includes determining at least two destinations of the file based on placement of the file in the first memory.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the first processing portion includes a second memory into which a second file is placed for transferring using FTP, the method further including:

implementing a first set of instructions as a result of placing the file in the first memory; and

implementing a second set of instructions as a result of placing the second file in the second memory, the first set of instructions being different than the second set of instructions.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration parameters result in the file being transferred to a designated inbasket in the second processing portion.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration parameters result in the file being transferred to at least one of a first designated inbasket in the second processing portion and a second designated inbasket in the second processing portion;

and

the second processing portion implementing a first set of instructions if the file is placed in the first designated inbasket; and

the second processing portion implementing a second set of instructions if the file is placed in the second designated inbasket, the first set of instructions being different than the second set of instructions.

22. A processing portion for transferring files to a destination using file transfer protocol (FTP), the processing portion comprising:

a network interface portion for controlling transfer of files in the processing portion;

an internal outbasket portion containing a plurality of internal outbaskets, at least one of the plurality of internal outbaskets containing a file;

a memory portion, the memory portion including a configuration parameters file containing configuration parameters; and

wherein the network interface portion identifies the file in the at least one of the plurality of internal outbaskets, the network interface portion determining the destination of the file based on the configuration parameters and the internal outbasket in which the file was found.

23. The processing portion of claim 22, further including an internal inbasket portion containing a plurality of internal inbaskets, each internal inbasket being associated with a corresponding remote external outbasket, the association between each internal inbasket and the corresponding remote external outbasket being obtained from the configuration parameters file by the network interface portion.

24. The processing portion of claim 22, further including an event log, the event log storing status information of files transferred by the processing portion.

25. The processing portion of claim 22, wherein the network interface portion attempts to establish a connection between the processing portion and the destination, the network interface portion monitoring success of the connection, the network interface portion outputting a message to a user, the message regarding at least one of the success of the connection and transfer of the file.

26. A method of transferring files using file transfer protocol (FTP) from a first memory associated with a first processing portion to a second memory in a second processing portion, the method comprising:

placing a file in the first memory;

determining the destination of the file based on configuration parameters associated with the first memory, the destination of the file being the second memory, the configuration parameters being retrieved from a configuration parameters file in the first processing portion; and

attempting to establish a connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion in order to transfer the file from the first memory to the second memory;

wherein the first memory being an internal outbasket disposed in a home FTP processing portion and the second memory being an external inbasket disposed in a remote entity FTP processing portion;

the method further including the steps of;

determining that the connection between the first processing portion and the second processing portion is successful;

retrieving the file from the first memory; and

transferring the file to the second memory in the second processing portion.

27. A processing portion for transferring files to a destination using file transfer protocol (FTP), the processing portion comprising:

a network interface portion for controlling transfer of files in the processing portion;

an internal outbasket portion containing a plurality of internal outbaskets, at least one of the plurality of internal outbaskets containing a file;

a memory portion, the memory portion including a configuration parameters file containing configuration parameters;

an internal inbasket portion containing a plurality of internal inbaskets, each internal inbasket being associated with a corresponding remote external outbasket, the association between each internal inbasket and the corresponding remote external outbasket being obtained from the configuration parameters file by the network interface portion; and

an event log, the event log storing status information of files transferred by the processing portion;

wherein the network interface portion identifies the file in the at least one of the plurality of internal outbaskets, the network interface portion determining the destination of the file based on the configuration parameters and the internal outbasket in which the file was found; and

wherein the network interface portion attempts to establish a connection between the processing portion and the destination, the network interface portion monitoring success of the connection, the network interface portion outputting a message to a user, the message regarding at least one of the success of the connection and transfer of the file.