Configuring an FTP system connection

You must have an FTP connection to use the views in the z/OS perspective. By default, the connection uses the secure forms of the protocols, FTP over TLS. If the secure connection is not successful, the connection is reattempted without security.

Before you begin

You must have at least one connection "credential" before you can configure a system connection. A credential is a repository for a user ID and password combination. See the topic Defining connection credentials for further information.

Note: For CICS Explorer to successfully obtain the required spool files, the FTP.DATA configuration file for the Server must specify JESINTERFACELEVEL 2. For more information, see Configuring the FTP server for CICS Explorer in the CICS Transaction Server for z/OS version 4.2 Information center.

Procedure

  1. Click Window > Preferences from the workbench menu bar. In the Preferences dialog expand CICS Explorer and click Connections. The Connections Preferences view is displayed. If it has been pre-configured, you see the connection details displayed as in the following example. If not, the fields are blank.
    Connections Preferences view showing a pre-configured FTP connection.
  2. Click New and complete the fields with the details provided by your system administrator. The following table provides a description of the fields:
    Option Description
    Type The type of the connection. For an FTP connection this is System z - FTP.
    Name The local name used to identify this connection. The name can be anything you choose and is used only to help you distinguish between different connections.
    Host Name The TCP/IP host name of your FTP server.
    Port number The port used to access the server. For FTP the port is always port 21
    Credentials Your credential for the system. If you do not yet have a credential defined for this connection you can click the Credentials hyperlink to open the Credentials page, and define a credential.
    Transfer mode Choose Active or Passive depending on the FTP used by your organization. The default mode is Passive.
    Attempt secure connection Select the check box to attempt to connect with secure FTP. If the attempt is unsuccessful, the connection is reattempted without security.
    Note: Secure FTP encrypts only the login credentials. You might want to ask your system administrator if the FTP server can be configured to support data encryption.
    Enable MCBS support Select the check box to enable Multibyte Character Support (MCBS). When the check box is selected, select the appropriate MCBS support for your host server from the list in the drop-down box.
  3. Click Apply to save the configuration or Cancel to cancel the process and close the Preferences view without saving the new connection.

Results

If you saved the connection you can now click Connect to connect to the FTP server. When Connect is clicked CICS Explorer attempts to connect to the FTP system you have configured. The Signon dialog is displayed and you must confirm or enter your password. If the connection fails an error message is displayed in the Connections Preferences dialog. With an active FTP connection you can now view data sets and logs.

Alternatively you can click OK to close the Preferences dialog and connect later.