Introduction

What is FileCatalyst?

The FileCatalyst fast file transfer protocol offers incredible speed gains vs. traditional methods. UDP-based technology allows for file transfers that are hundreds of times faster than traditional FTPs with a file sharing speed that exceeds 10 Gbps.

For example, using standard file transfer protocols, a 1 TB file transfer from London to Vancouver might take upwards of 27 days. With a fast file transfer solution, the same transfer only takes a single day. Fast file transfer addresses a few major issues that regular file transfer solutions can’t, including using bandwidth more efficiently and executing file transfer processes more accurately. Fast file transfer solutions deal with large file transfer and long-distance file transfers much more effectively as well.

FTP Comparison

In addition to incredible speed, the FileCatalyst protocol brings a number of security, reliability, and management features.

FileCatalyst TransferAgent

FileCatalyst TransferAgent offers a new way for organizations and end-users to leverage the robust feature set of the FileCatalyst protocol from within a web browser allowing files to be sent 5 to 10 times faster than the traditional HTTP based file transfer tools built into the web browser.

TransferAgent should be thought of as two components: an application installed to the desktop computer, and a web application (one or more webpages) provided by an organization on their website.

  1. The desktop application includes a native menu-driven interface as well as “local” webpages which appear in the browser but which are not a part of an organization's website.

  2. The web application is an HTML5 user interface which is provided and configured by an organization to meet their particular file transfer needs. This web interface may vary in “look and feel”, but in all cases the pages simply offer a way to initiate a transfer using the TransferAgent desktop component.

Once a transfer is under way, progress updates may be viewed in the original webpage or on a “local” status page. Since the TransferAgent itself is responsible for the files, the browser window or tab may be closed at any time and the transfer will continue in the background.

System Requirements

On the end user side, FileCatalyst TransferAgent was designed to run on a multitude of operating systems and hardware configurations. Below are the minimum requirements:

  • Dual Core processor, 2GB RAM, 80MB of free disk space
  • Windows 10, macOS 10.14 or higher, Linux (any modern distribution)
  • Recent web browser: Safari (macOS only), Chrome, Firefox, Edge
  • Broadband Internet connection
  • Network connectivity to FileCatalyst Direct Server.

Installing / Uninstalling TransferAgent

Installation / Uninstallation guides for the TransferAgent application can be found at the following locations.

The Silent Installation guide for the TransferAgent application can be found here locations.

TransferAgent Desktop Application

The Desktop application is responsible for the actual file transfers between the user's machine and the remote FileCatalyst Server. Even after a browser window is closed, the TransferAgent will complete any ongoing transfers. Certain functions access through the menu will spawn new browser windows; however, these are “local” webpages and not a part of an organization's web application. To access TransferAgent functionality, you will need to use the menu found in the tray icon (or on Linux, in the desktop widget).

Finding the TransferAgent Menu

If you are reading this document, you have already learned how to find TransferAgent's application menu for the operating system you are currently using. If you use other systems, you may wish to familiarize yourself with locating the menu:

Windows

By default, the system tray is found in the bottom right of your main screen from the “Desktop” view. Open the tray, and then right-click the TransferAgent icon to open the menu.

Mac OSX

On Mac OSX, you should be able to find the icon in your menu bar where you can left-click on it to reveal the menu.

Linux

On Linux there is no tray icon TransferAgent. Instead, there is a small user interface that provides the same set of menu options.



Once the TransferAgent menu has been opened, a number of items are available to view or click:

TransferAgent Express

The first menu item gives you easy access to the FileCatalyst TransferAgent Express web application. This web application is a two-way transfer application that allows you to connect and upload / download files to or from a given server.

Listening on port

The second menu item gives you the listening port. You may be asked to provide this information during initial configuration for each TransferAgent enabled site.

Number of active transfers

This line is informational only (clicking does nothing) and gives an at-a-glance count of how many transfers are currently active. If the user wishes to inspect them, they must click “Transfer Status”.

Central Status

This menu item contains the TransferAgent's current connection status to a configured FileCatalyst Central instance.

Open Configuration

This opens a configuration page in your default browser.

Test Connections

This opens a page where you can test connections via credentials or sites against a FileCatalyst Server.

Transfer Status

This shows the status of all current transfers in your default browser.

Open Help

This opens the document you are currently reading in your default browser.

Exit FileCatalyst TransferAgent

This will shut down the TransferAgent. If you visit a FileCatalyst enabled web page, your application will start again if you are running on either Windows or Mac OS. TransferAgent installations on Linux will not automatically restart.

Once you open one of the web-pages served locally by TransferAgent, you will notice a top menu bar that contains navigation links. This bar allows you quickly move from one page to another.

Each link is already explained on the previous subsection, but About FileCatalyst because it is a pop-up menu that will display itself in the current rendered page, see image below.

The About FileCatalyst pop-up contains information about installation environment and version, as well as two buttons:

Diagnostic Report

The Diagnostic Report button collects state, logs, and configuration information about your application that will be useful to FileCatalyst engineers for analysis and troubleshooting. The information is assembled into a zip archive under the diagnostics subfolder of your application installation directory, from where it can be forwarded to the FileCatalyst support team if desired.

Generating diagnostics is a background activity, there will be limited visual feedback to the user when the Diagnostic Report button is pressed, and regular product usage can be resumed immediately. The diagnostics archive can take a few minutes to generate, depending on how busy the product is with other operations. In order to keep times short and the resulting zip file small, the logs are filtered based on time and size. Some temporary files may appear in the diagnostics folder during this time. When the archive is complete and ready to send, it will appear in the diagnostics folder with a name similar to “FileCatalyst<product>_<date&timestamp>_diagnostics.zip”.

Please login to the Support Portal (https://support.filecatalyst.com/) to submit a ticket and upload diagnostics and other relevant ticket files. If you already have a Ticket ID, you can also use Support2U (https://support2u.filecatalyst.com/) to send this diagnostics file directly.

Configuration

From the menu, you may launch a configuration page. Although this page appears in the browser, it is still considered part of the desktop application. It does not come from an organization's website, but is instead “local” on your machine.

General Configuration

The configuration page is divided into tabs. The first tab relates to “General Configuration” parameters:

Timeout (minutes)

This value determines how many minutes will pass before an inactive TransferAgent is automatically closed. Any actions will refresh the timer and the application will not close until the specified interval has been met. The default for this value is 30 minutes, which provides the TransferAgent with a 30 minute inactivity timer. If this value is set to 0, the TransferAgent will not use an inactivity timer (the application stays running perpetually).

Note: While loaded, TransferAgent may be performing actions in the background while appearing inactive.

Port

Port is the most important information required by the web page to communicate with the FileCatalyst TransferAgent. Port number is visible by inspecting the application menu. The default port is 12680. The port has to be specified before web page can start communicating with the TransferAgent. The acceptable Port range goes from 1024 to 65534, Port outside this range are often reserved and may cause conflicts.

Download Path

By default, the download location is the “Downloads” folder for the user. The default locations for the download path are as follows:

  • On Windows, this folder is located in C:\Users\{USERNAME}\Downloads.
  • On Mac OS, this folder is located in /Users/{USERNAME}/Downloads.
  • On Linux, this folder is located in {USERHOME}/Downloads.

“Browse” to set a new location or “Reveal” to open that location in your native file system explorer (The “Reveal” functionality is disabled when running as service).

Log Location

Activity logs are stored at the location shown. “Browse” to set a new location or “Reveal” to open that location in your native file system explorer. The “Reveal” functionality is disabled when running as service.

Run at Startup

A system service is an application which is working “behind the scenes” from the moment the operating system loads. By default, FileCatalyst TransferAgent is not installed as a service; however, there are benefits to running as a service. For example, there are fewer user prompts and the application is immediately available when needed. When connected to FileCatalyst Central, it is highly recommended that you run as a service. The only way Central can be expected to have persistent management of TransferAgent is if TransferAgent is running. The text field simply shows the current status (also visible on the page footer); enabling or disabling requires tapping the button.

When the “Run at Startup” checkbox is disabled, this means that TransferAgent requires elevated privileges to continue. Please see “Installing TransferAgent as a Service” for more information.

Central Management

FileCatalyst TransferAgent may be connected to an instance of FileCatalyst Central, a monitoring application which your organization may have deployed. If you are not aware of such an instance or have not been directed to make changes to these settings, you may simply ignore this tab.

Enable remote monitoring

Allow TransferAgent to share statistics with and be controlled by FileCatalyst Central. Enabling this option will also recommended installing FileCatalyst TransferAgent as a system service.

Address

The address (IP or hostname) of FileCatalyst Central.

Port

The port at which FileCatalyst Central is found.

User

The username needed to log into FileCatalyst Central and register TransferAgent for monitoring.

Password

The password needed to log into FileCatalyst Central and register TransferAgent for monitoring.

Alias

A name of your (or your administrator's) choosing, which will allow FileCatalyst Central administrators to easily identify your TransferAgent.

TransferAgent hostname

The hostname of this instance of the FileCatalyst TransferAgent. Will often be the same as its IP.

TransferAgent IP

The IP or domain name of this instance of the FileCatalyst TransferAgent. Use of domain name names is recommended.

Notify on transfer success

Send a notification to FileCatalyst Central upon each transfer success.

Notify on transfer failure

Send a notification to FileCatalyst Central upon each transfer failure.

Notify on transfer cancellation

Send a notification to FileCatalyst Central upon each cancelled transfer.

The current status of the connection to FileCatalyst Central is found under the last configuration item on Central Mgt tab.

Security Model

By default, TransferAgent connected to Central will allow access to any path on the local system. This means that Central Administrator or any user assigned in Central to the node will be allowed to upload/download files to/from any arbitrary location on the system running TransferAgent connected to Central.

To limit access, at least one Virtual Path has to be created in TransferAgent.

Origin Policies

FileCatalyst TransferAgent operates with allowed and denied lists of IPs and hostnames, visible in the “Origin Policies” tab. Usually, the “allowed” origins are added via a system dialog, described below. Removing registered origins requires accessing this tab and clicking the associated trash icon.

Due to security, every time a new web site desires access to FileCatalyst TransferAgent, it needs to be registered as an allowed origin. When not running TransferAgent as service, an origin permission dialog appears automatically. Clicking “Always Allow” on this dialog will add the domain name of the new website to the Origin Policies list and the security prompt will not re-appear for this website.

However, if FileCatalyst TransferAgent is running as a service, this dialog does not automatically appear and it becomes necessary to specify the domain via a dialog that is invoked by clicking the Add new allowed origin button shown in the image at the beginning of this section.

Virtual Paths

Virtual paths are a TransferAgent-level way of restricting the paths that are viewed on the web UI. For added security, users can restrict access to their file system folders. Specifying a list of folder locations here will limit which locations will be accessible via the web and are an application convenience, not a system setting. For example, if you are always uploading files from the same local folder, you can add it here to quickly access it whenever you use TransferAgent.

Adding Virtual Paths

“Add New Virtual Paths” will launch an explorer from which to select a path. Once this path has been set (with the “Confirm” button in the dialog), the dialog disappears and a new virtual path is listed.

Editing Virtual Paths

You may change the Label to any arbitrary text in order to give it an easy-to-remember name. Note that some characters are not permitted. If forbidden characters are found in the configuration file either from an older install or from being edited, they will be corrected.

You may change the virtual path's path by either typing the new path into the path field, or by clicking the "Browse" button to the right of it. The "Browse" button will open the file system browser which will let you find the new path required.

Deleting Virtual Paths

In order to delete virtual paths, check the checkboxes next to the paths you would like to remove, then click on the “Delete Selected Paths” button. This will only delete the virtual path listing, and not the actual folder (or contents) on the file system.

Reporting

Report Location

A log of data usage reports tracking uploads and downloads is stored in this location. “Browse” to set a new location or “Reveal” to open that location in your native file system explorer. The “Reveal” functionality is disabled when running as service.

Export data as CSV

Select a range of dates and press "Export" in order to download a comma-separated values report of transfers ocurring within that time frame.

System Properties

Some features may be modified via custom system properties provided by a FileCatalyst representative. Use the tools on this tab to add or remove custom system properties.

Test Connections

To test the connection between FileCatalyst TransferAgent and a FileCatalyst Server, open “Test Connections” from the main menu. The Test Connections page provides a form allowing you to select a “Connection test against” target (choosing between Full Credentials and Sites), after which you will provide any required credentials or configuration options and run a test.

Testing Full Credentials

With “Full Credentials” selected, you must also provide Server or Hostname, Port, Username, Password, and Use SSL. The final field, Servlet, is optional. These fields are described here. Once all required fields are filled with valid values, press the “Test” button.

Testing By Site

With “Sites” set as the Connection test against target, you must choose an option from the Select a Site box. Then, press the “Test” button.

Test Connection Result

Once the “Test” button is pressed, TransferAgent will attempt a connection to the specified Server or Site. An invalid Server license, incorrect credentials, or other authentication issues will halt the test at this point; otherwise, TransferAgent will proceed to test the availability of particular protocols. A modal dialog appears, containing a table of results. The protocols tested are: HTTP (Control/Data), TCP (Control Channel, Data Multi-Stream, and Data Single-Stream), and UDP (Data Incoming and Data Outgoing).

Passing the tests does not guarantee the transfer will be successful, since there may be other issues; for example: read/write permissions denied, insufficient space at the destination, or a network interruption during the transfer. Successful tests establish which protocols are correctly configured for file transfer between the two endpoints.

Transfer Status

Available from the menu, the “Transfer Status” page provides a view of ongoing file transfers after the original webpage is closed or refreshed. It is meant as a secondary tool.

It is recommended to view the original page as the primary source for progress updates. The original page will provide a different custom set of statistics and may contain other tools vital to the organization providing the file transfer tool. Furthermore, some organizations use transfer pages which require further processing upon completion of the file transfer; in these cases you may be asked by the application to remain on the original page.

Regardless, the “Transfer Status” page provides an alternative view of your ongoing TransferAgent file transfers.

Running TransferAgent as a Service

Running TransferAgent at Startup (Installing TransferAgent Service)

FileCatalyst TransferAgent can be configured to run as an OS-level service. To enable this functionality, you must first execute the application as an administrator level application. Once the application is running with administrator credentials, navigate to the TransferAgent web page and click on the “Run at Startup” check box. By clicking on this box, the TransferAgent will install itself as a service.

Note: When “Enable remote monitoring is enabled”, TransferAgent will automatically try to install as a service if it can.

With the service now installed, it is not yet running as a service. This will not happen until you do one of the following:

  1. Exit TransferAgent once more and manually start the service
  2. Reboot the computer

Stop TransferAgent from Running at Startup

To stop FileCatalyst TransferAgent from running at startup (ie. to remove the service), the application requires elevated privileges. Since these privileges are already granted to the service, the best way forward is first to ensure that the service is running. Otherwise, you can run the application with elevated privileges as described in the previous section.

Once this prerequisite is met, you may continue:

  1. Use the tray icon (if available) to “Open Configuration”, or open it here: Config Page
  2. Update the appropriate option:
    • To also disconnect from FileCatalyst Central, switch to the “Central Mgt” tab and change “enable remote monitoring” to false.
    • To only remove the service, go to the “General Configuration” tab, locate the “Run at Startup” check box and disable it.
  3. Uninstalling the service stops the application. It will restart as a standard application from within the configuration page, or you can manually start it.

Restrictions When Running as a Service

When the TransferAgent application is running as a service, there is a small list of functionalities that become unavailable to the user. These features include the following:

  • TransferAgent desktop UI and system tray icon will not be available while running as a service. If you wish to access the TransferAgent web interface, please manually type the TransferAgent URL into the URL of your preferred browser.
  • Commonly used directory shortcuts (i.e.: My Documents, Downloads, User Home, Desktop) will no longer be present within TransferAgent local file listings.

Service notes for macOS 11

  • Mac service installation is only available on 64-bit macOS X and later. Installation on a 32-bit macOS X or later machine will provide you with a warning about not being able to run on an Intel-based MAC (the error is actually due to the OS trying to load a 64-bit native preference library in a 32-bit system).
  • When running as a service on macOS 11, the application will have different access permissions. It may be necessary to enable Full Disk Access for the application in the security settings if you are having issues.

To install the application as a service on macOS 11, you will need to open up the System Preference window.

Under the "Other" group, select the FileCatalyst TransferAgent icon.

Enabling the checkbox to run as a service will prompt for your login password to verify your actions. Afterwards, the service will startup when the machine boots up.

Configuration files for service are under:
/Library/Application Support/FileCatalyst/TransferAgent/

while running the TransferAgent standalone (not as a service) stores files in:
/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/TransferAgent/HotFolder/

Administrators should be aware that switching between running as a service and running stand-alone may result in different configuration files being accessed by the TransferAgent application.

Running TransferAgent as a User-Level Application

FileCatalyst TransferAgent supports both administrator level and user-level execution. When running as administrator, you will have full access to the TransferAgent, and its features. When running as a user-level application, however, some of these functionalities are no longer available. To compensate for this issue, a user-level TransferAgent will perform the following operations:

  • If either the report, log, or download locations become invalid due to no longer having the correct permissions, the TransferAgent will try to migrate the configuration, and its contents to your current user's APPDATA folder. During this process, all existing logs and reports will be copied, and a new location will be specified. For example, if your log path was “C:\Program Files\FileCatalyst TransferAgent\logs” when the TransferAgent was running as an administrator level application, the migrated path would become $APPDATA/FileCatalyst TransferAgent/logs

Express

Express is a simplified and familiar file transfer client application. Using Express, you are able to connect to FileCatalyst Servers in order to perform on-demand tasks on your local machine and also on the remote filesystem. Transfer, rename, delete, and otherwise work directly on your files from within a familiar two-pane interface.

Express Interface Overview

1 - Site Manager

The Site Manager allows Express to log into an account on the FileCatalyst Server. Two kinds of connection are available: Quick Connection and Saved Connection.

To use the Quick Connection, the user must provide a “Remote Server” and “Port” to connect to the FileCatalyst Server, as well as “Username” and “Password” to authenticate. Additionally, users select if this connection should use a secure certificate via the “SSL” toggle. Users then hit the “Quick Connect” button.

On the other hand, the Saved Connections button is a dropdown menu containing a “New Site” option and the list of saved sites. Selecting a site triggers a connection request. Beside each site there are two icons: and . They can be used to delete the site or edit it, respectively.

Pressing the button with the icon will display a dropdown menu with two options:

  • Disconnect: responsible for disconnecting the site from the Express view, which clears the remote filesystem panel. Disconnecting the view does not cancel any ongoing file transfers.
  • Test Current Connection: will performance a connection test against FileCatalyst Server using the current connection. You can click here to read more about the connection results.

2 - Local Filesystem

The left panel of FileCatalyst TransferAgent Express contains the local filesystem. The files are represented on a table with four columns: File Name, File Size, Last Modified and an action column.

  1. The File Name columns shows a combination of icon plus the filename. The icons are helpers to distinguish between files, folders or special folders like the Home directory.
  2. The File Size column contains the size of files.
  3. The last modified column contains the date of the latest modification on the file, using the following format: year-month-day hour:minute.
  4. The action column contains a button responsible to evoke the Popout Menu described below. Note: This menu can access by right-click either.

3 - Remote Filesystem

Once the user connects to a FileCatalyst Server, this panel is populated with the contents of the user's directory. The Remote Filesystem panel follows the column and icon conventions of the Local Filesystem.

4 - Transfer Status

When a transfer is in progress, this panel shows a table filled with statistics about the ongoing transfer and a also a button to cancel the current session, as shown in the image below:

Some progress information will also appear over the local and remote filesystem areas. This will contain overall transfer progress, data rate, as well as an estimate on how long the transfer will take to complete.

5 - Quick Logs View

This box is responsible for showing FileCatalyst TransferAgent Logs in real time without needing to go to the log location and open the log file directly. The Clear Logs button below the box clears the logs visible in this box, but does not affect the actual log file. The Scroll Lock when checked stops sending the scroll bar to the bottom of the log dialog when new entries are added. In addition, the Copy to Clipboard button sends to user's clipboard the same information visible on this log box.

This may be limited in browsers that don't support clipboard management. In those cases, the Copy to Clipboard button enables the user to select the log contents for copying and pasting these to another location. When the log window is unlocked, the log will not update. Only clicking the Done button in the popover will allow normal operation of the log window to resume.

Popout Menu

TransferAgent Express provides a convenient way to access various functions that are applicable to the files or folders that you have selected. To access these functions, simply select the file(s) and/or folder(s) you wish to work with, and click on the in the same row of the item or right click on them. You will be presented with a popup similar to the one or the two showed below. The popup you see will vary if you click remote or local files or directories. The items above the line refers to selected or clicked items while the lines below the line refers to action related with file system (local or remote) when the clicked or selected item is located.

Here is a description of the functions that support on this menu popup menu:

  • Download (if you click on a file or directory from remote file list) /Upload (if you click on a file or directory from local file list) upload or download the selected file(s).
  • Explore (directory only) is a shortcut for double click the directory. It navigates into the directory selected. .
  • Directory Info (directory only) When clicked open a dialog that shows the content of the directory and allows to copy it the clipboard.
  • Show in system explorer It will trigger the system explorer to open a new window showing the selected path.
  • Delete Delete all files selected on the file system of the clicked item
  • Rename open a dialog with a form requesting a new file/directory name
  • Select All will select all files in the current working directory.
  • Current Directory Info do the same of Directory info but for the directory that has been displayed at the moment.
  • Change Directory Will open a dialog where the user can type a path to navigate into.

NOTE: To access the popup on Mac systems with a single button mouse, hold down the CTRL key when the mouse is clicked.

Express Saved Connection

The drop-down menu under Saved Connections contains a New Site link (which presents a form to create a new site), along with previously saved site connections, plus the ability to delete or edit saved site connections.

The form to edit or create a new site is the same. It is divided on tabs with input fields which collect various required and optional information. To the right side of each input field is an icon which displays a description of the field when hovered. The tabs are: Site Settings, Connection Settings, Advanced Site Settings, Transfer Settings, and Post Transfer Actions.

Three buttons are presented on the create/edit site dialog:

  • Test Connection: On edition it will performance a connection test against FileCatalyst Server using the last connection valid for the current site. On a new site it will run the test using the information provided on Site Settings Tab. You can click here to read more about the connection results.
  • Create Site / Apply Changes: Will validate the information provided and if correct will create a site or save changes for a current site.
  • Cancel: Will close the dialog without save any information.

Site Settings

The Site Settings are the basic settings to allow communication between FileCatalyst TransferAgent and a FileCatalyst Server. Asterisks (*) denote required fields.

Site ID

An arbitrary name used to identify the connection and its advanced options.

Server

The IP or hostname of the FileCatalyst Server.

Port

The Port to be used when connecting to the FileCatalyst Server.

Username

The username of the FileCatalyst Server account which will be used for this connection.

Password

The password that will be used to authorize the provided Username.

Remote Directory

A directory within the user account which will be visible after the initial connection.

Use SSL

This field should be set to “ON” when using SSL for the communication between FileCatalyst Server and FileCatalyst TransferAgent. By default, it is “OFF”.

Servlet URL

If you wish to use HTTP transfers, this field must be populated with the servlet location from the FileCatalyst Server.

Connection Settings

The Connection Settings contain the basic options for governing file transfer connections between FileCatalyst TransferAgent and the FileCatalyst Server.

# of Clients

How many separate transfer clients should be used simultaneously during the session. Each client can handle one file at a time. This can create efficiencies when transferring multiple files, but be aware that there are diminished returns and higher resource consumption for using many clients.

Mode

Determines the underlying technology used for the transfer itself. Options are UDP (best acceleration), TCP (FTP-like, with minimal acceleration), HTTP (when available; no acceleration), or AUTO (will cascade through options to choose most efficient available mode)

Use Congestion Control

Enables/disables congestion control. When enabled, the client will automatically decrease its transmission or reception rate when congestion is detected. When disable the fields Congestion Control Aggression, Congestion Control Strategy, Start Rate, Target Rate become disabled.

Congestion Control Aggression

Determines how aggressively to respond to network changes. Ranges from 1 (low priority) to 10 (high priority). Only enabled if “Use Congestion Control” is set to “yes”. Default value is 7.

Congestion Control Strategy

Allow user to determine the approach to congestion control: RTT- , Loss- or Rate-based. Only enabled if “Use Congestion Control” is set to “yes”.

Start Rate

Auto-detection will start at this rate and ramp up until congestion is encountered. Starting with a higher “known-good” rate makes transfers more efficient, while keeping it at 0 covers every possible network condition. Only enabled if “Use Congestion Control” is set to “yes”.

Target Rate

Maximum achievable transfer rate. Only enabled if “Use Congestion Control” is set to “yes”. Default value is 1000000 (kbps).

Maximum Retries

Number of times a dropped transfer will try to reconnect and resume before it is considered to be a failed transfer.

Wait Retry

Time in milliseconds to wait before attempting to reconnect. Default value is 3000 (3 seconds).

Connect Timeout

The length of time the client will wait for a reply after sending a command to the FileCatalyst server in milliseconds. Minimum: 0.

Extended Read Timeout

This is the length of time the client will wait for a reply after sending a long running command in milliseconds, and the minimum value is 600000.

Advanced Site Settings

The Advanced Site Settings are a group of options to control the behavior of Write and Read operations during file transfers.

Block Size

The amount of data sent as a “payload” for housekeeping (integrity checks, etc.) operations. Increasing this uses more memory, but may increase file transfer performance.

# of Threads

For UDP transfers only, this value determines how many blocks will be sent into the pipe before redundant data will be sent. Minimum and maximum values are 1 and 75, respectively.

Packet Size

This is the encoded unit size, and determines the eventual UDP packet size. If the unit size is greater than the MTU of the network it will create fragmented UDP packets.

# of Receive Sockets

This should increase for every ~5Gbps on link. Default value 1 (download only).

# of Sender Sockets

This should increase for every ~2Gbps on link. Default value 1 (upload only).

# of FTP Streams

Number of concurrent FTP connections for FTP (TCP) mode only; be aware that multiple connections may be blocked by firewalls.

# of Block Readers

Number of threads reading from disk per transfer. Default and minimum value 1 (download only).

# of Block Writers

Number of threads writing to disk per transfer. Default and minimum value 1 (download only).

# of Packet Processors

Number of threads responsible for processing packets on receiving side (download only).

Read Buffer Size

Size in bytes of read operations when loading files from disk.

Write Buffer Size

Size in bytes of write operations when saving file to disk.

Transfer Settings

The Transfer Settings are a group of optional parameters related to file integrity, auto-resume, incremental mode and file compression for the transfer itself.

Auto Resume

Automatically resume partially transferred files.

Overwrite Option

The option that should be used when TransferAgent attempts to overwrite a file. If "Default", a dialog will be presented when the destination has one or more files with the same name as one or more files at the source. It is possible to ignore the dialog by choosing between "No to all" and "Yes to All". If "No to all" is chosen, when a file on destination matches the filename on the source, the source file will not be transferred; If "Yes to All", when a filename on the destination matches the filename on the source, the destination file will be overwritten.

Maintain Last Modified

Upon each successful transfer, the destination file's modification date will be set to match that of the source file.

Maintain Permissions

Upon each successful transfer, the destination file's permissions will be set to match those of the source file. This features only functions when both the source and destination have a Linux/Unix operating system.

Verify Integrity

During all UDP transfers, as blocks of data are transferred, they are verified using MD5 against the same block in the source file. This is done on-the-fly, and incurs no delay after a transfer completes. This provides a very high level of protection against corruption. Note that FTP/TCP mode transfers are verified on-the-fly as well, but it is built into the TCP protocol. FileCatalyst also provides additional options for further protection against corruption by performing a full MD5 checksum after each transfer.

By checking the "Verify Integrity" option, integrity of the transferred file will be verified byte by byte on storage using MD5 after the transfer is complete. Mode is selected with Verify Mode. If not enabled, the Verify Mode field becomes disabled.

Verify Mode

Sets the desired MD5 mode (verification during or after file transfer). This option is only enabled if “Verify Mode” is set to “yes”. Default: Verification after file transfer.

Use Incremental

Before each source file is auto resumed, it will be compared to the destination file. If it exists and has not changed, the file will not be transmitted. If “Use Incremental” is not enabled, the field Incremental Mode becomes disabled.

Incremental Mode

Defines the type of incremental transfer mode (including Transfer Entire File or Transfer File Deltas options). Only enabled if “Use Incremental” is set to “yes”.

Transfer Empty Directories

Transfer all folders, including empty ones.

Transfer With Temporary Name

If this option is enabled, FileCatalyst will always upload or download files using a temporary name, and rename it back to the original name when the transfer is complete and verified. FileCatalyst Server will not report these temporary files when a client request file lists. This prevents them from downloading partial files.

Transfer With Temporary Name Mode

Mode that will be used for the temporary file names. "PREFIX" will prepend the temp file name, whereas "SUFFIX" will append the temp file name.

Auto Zip

Files are zipped into a single archive before sending; the files are automatically unzipped on the other end. There's no option to leave the files zipped on the receiving end. The zip archive is not compressed.

Use Compression

Enables/disables on the fly compression. When enabled, each block of data will be compressed on the fly before it is sent over the network.

Compressed Files Filter

Add file types to exclude from compression (ie. they are already compressed and will not benefit from further compression) using an asterisk wildcard pattern (eg. “*.zip,*.gz,*.tgz”).

Progressive Transfers

Upon completion of an upload or download, compare the size of the source file to its own size when it began the transfer. If the file has grown, continue to transfer and append new data until the file is no longer growing. In this way, it is possible to begin transferring files that are currently being copied or encoded.

Progressive Timeout

The amount of time (in seconds) to check on file growth before continuing or ending the progressive transfer.

Progressive Timeout Filter

Perform progressive transfers only to files matching the provided wildcard pattern (eg: “*.mxf”).

Force File Ownership (Download Only)

Enables/disables force file ownership for download transfers. When this option is enabled, all files downloaded by the TransferAgent will have their operating system ownership set to the specified values.

Note: Force File Ownership is currently only supported with internal file systems. All external file system transfers will not have their file ownership changed to the configured value.

Force File Ownership User Name

The user name that is to be used when attempting to force file ownership during a download transfer.

Force File Ownership Group Name

The group name that is to be used when attempting to force file ownership during a download transfer.

Post Transfer Actions

Actions to be executed once a transfer is finished.

Delete After Transfer

With this option enabled, source files will be deleted after the transfer is complete. If the transfer is an upload, the local files will be deleted.

Post file names URL

Send file names to this URL via HTTP POST.

Send Email Notification

If enabled, send an email notification after any transfers finish on this connection.

Sent File List In Email

When enabled, a file list is sent within the notification email.

Email Address

The address for the recipient of email notification.

Email Body

The message sent within email notification.

Send Email Notification For Each File

If marked “yes”, an email will be sent for each transferred file (instead of after the transfer session).

Web Application

Although the FileCatalyst TransferAgent is ultimately the tool which performs and manages file transfers, the main interactions occur through an HTML5 Web UI. An organization is free to customize this UI to meet their needs, and therefore the screenshots in this guide are merely examples of what the UI may look like.

Upload or Download with Browse

1 - Browse Area

Either the local or remote filesystem may be made available for navigation. Standard browsing conventions are used, such as the ability to sort by Name, Last Modified, or Size. Clicking on a directory icon or directory name will navigate one level deeper. Clicking the “add” icon (a right-arrow in this example) adds an individual item directly to a queue. Checkboxes allow selection of multiple items, which are added to the queue with the button found above the queue area.

2 - Queue Area

Files are added to the queue to make them eligible for transfer. The queue may be modified before sending by clicking the delete icon (here, a trash can symbol) or by using the checkboxes and clicking a “Remove selected” button. The “Add selected” will move checked files from the Browse Area into the queue. Finally, the file transfer (upload or download) is triggered with the appropriate button.

It is also possible test the connection against FileCatalyst Server using the “Test Connection” button. That is the same test that can be executed on TransferAgent Test Connections page.

3 - Status Area

View the progress of ongoing transfers. This area does not typically appear until after the transfer has started. During the transfer, a “Cancel Transfer” button is available. After the transfer, it either disappears (for uploads) or is replaced by an “Open Download Location” button (for downloads) which will open the destination directory on your local machine. “Open Download Location” button is not available when FileCatalyst TransferAgent is running as service.

4 - Email Notification Options

This area is not made available by all organizations. When it is, you may click to expand this area and enter the email address and a message for email recipients. At the completion of a transfer (whether successful or not), an email is sent to your recipients with your message. The administrator may also choose the email to be sent to any other email addresses with additional body text which you as an end user may not change.

Download with Button

In some cases, an organization wishes to provide a simple and fast way to download one or more files. Standard “download” links on a webpage are not accelerated or managed in any way. FileCatalyst TransferAgent allows the creation of a button which will trigger a FileCatalyst-powered download.

During the download, a “status” area is available which is similar to the one shown in the above section. This area is usually set to disappear after the download is complete.

Email Link (Creation Of An Individual Link)

In an attempt to allow TransferAgent a simple and easy method to send files to others, FileCatalyst provides TransferAgent with the ability create an e-mail “link” that is sent out to a recipient list specified when the link is created. Keep in mind that an organization may customize this UI to meet their needs; therefore, the screen captures may differ slightly from organization to organization.

This section contains the mandatory fields that must be filled out during the creation of a link. These include a list of recipients in the “To” field, a subject for the link in the “Subject” field, and a message in the “Message” field. The message is your own note to the recipient, and is appended to auto-generated content.

When email links are single use, the “To” field can only accept a single email address.

It is also possible test the connection against FileCatalyst Server using the “Test Connection” button. That is the same test that can be executed on TransferAgent Connections page.

These fields allow the user to choose how and when the link will expire. The administrator will also have set an allowed range of dates that can be chosen as expiry dates for the link, if the default is not desirable. The available expiry types are as follows:

  1. Default Date: The link expires by the last date in the range of allowed expiry dates.
  2. Single Use: Any file included in the link will only be available to download once. This type may be the only selectable option if the administrator has limited the configurability of download links.

    Note: A link is considered to be downloaded when all files in the link have been downloaded. If one or more of the files in a link aren't downloaded and the “Single Use” option is selected, the link will delete/expire as normal.

  3. Custom Date: The link will expire by the selected date. Only dates within the range of allowed expiry dates will be selectable.

    Note: The expiry date set by the administrator includes a time component. If the user selects a time which goes beyond that of the administrator, it will be ignored and the time will be set to the last allowed minute.

Users can browse and select files from their local (their own machine) and remote (their FileCatalyst user account) file systems in order to select files to be sent in the link. Local files will be automatically uploaded upon selection, and remote files will simply be included within the link without any transfer needed. Users can toggle which file system they are currently browsing by clicking on the “Local File System” or “Remote Files On FileCatalyst Server” options that are available at the top of the browsing area.

Within this area, standard browsing conventions are used, such as the ability to sort by Name, Last Modified, or Size. Clicking on a directory icon or directory name will navigate one level deeper into the file system. Clicking the “add” icon (a right-arrow in this example) adds an individual item directly to the attachments area. Checkboxes allow selection of multiple items, which are added to the attachments list with the button found below the list area.

Note: Currently only files with unique names are supported when creating a link. If two files with the same name and extension are selected, one will overwrite the other on the recipient's download. To work around this, the sending user must rename one of the files. Also, the file name is limited to 2000 characters.

This area contains all of the selected files. When the “Send” button is pressed and all transfers have finished, an email containing a link will be sent out to each designated recipient. The recipients can then open the email and click on the link inside. Upon clicking this link they will be directed to a download page.

Email Link (Download Of A Received Link)

Similar to the other two browse areas defined above, this area allows users to select all or some files from the received link. Clicking the “add” icon (a right-arrow in this example) adds an individual item to the selected files area. Checkboxes allow selection of multiple items, which are added to the selected files with the button found at the bottom of the browse area.

It is also possible test the connection against FileCatalyst Server using the “Test Connection” button. That is the same test that can be executed on TransferAgent Connections page.

This area contains the files of the link that you have chosen to download. When download selected is pressed, all files within this list will be downloaded by the TransferAgent. During the download a “status” window showing important information such as the current file, items so far, the estimated time remaining, the average rate, and the percent of completion will be shown. In this status window you will also be given the option to cancel the transfer. If a cancellation request is received, the transfer will be aborted and you will return to the download page.

During the transfer, a “Cancel” button is available. After the transfer, it is replaced by an “Open Download Location” button (for downloads) which will open the destination directory on your local machine. “Open Download Location” button is not available when FileCatalyst TransferAgent is running as service.

Using HTTP Download

If TransferAgent is not installed, users are presented with the “HTTP Download” option. When possible, users should install TransferAgent, which provides file transfer acceleration.

In order to use this feature, the FileCatalyst Server administrator must “Enable HTTP Transfers” on the “HTTP Settings” tab. If the recipient chooses to use “HTTP Download” (instead of downloading TransferAgent), the files are presented as individual download links as shown below:

On the “Link Settings” panel is the option “Delete Links After First Successful Download”. A download is considered successful when all sent files have been downloaded at least once. When that occurs, the link will be deleted.

Troubleshooting

Default Log Locations

In case of any problems with the TransferAgent, please examine the TransferAgent logs, which can provide help in identifying issues:

Windows

C:\Program Files (x86)\FileCatalyst TransferAgent\logs

OR

C:\Program Files\FileCatalyst TransferAgent\logs

depending on whether you use a 32 or 64 bit operating system.

Mac OSX

/Users/{USERNAME}/Library/Application Support/FileCatalyst/TransferAgent/logs

which is only accessible via Terminal.

Linux

{INSTALLATION_ROOT}/logs

This default location is always the default log location for the TransferAgent when installed on Linux.

Transfer related issues

If you experience a file transfer related issue, such as connectivity or file transfers errors, please contact the administrator of the web application. In other words, the organization who owns the site which is providing the Web UI.

Installation issues

If there is an installation problem with the TransferAgent, open a trouble ticket directly with FileCatalyst at support.filecatalyst.com

Windows mapped network drive

Windows machines which have mapped network drives may not being visible to the TransferAgent due to Microsoft's implementation of User Access Control (UAC) starting with Windows Vista.

There are examples online on how to disable this or set the system to allow drives to be visible to services.

To implement a workaround:

  1. Unzip the file enablelinkedconnections.zip in the application directory (C:\Program Files\FileCatalyst TransferAgent\)
  2. Run the registry entry enablelinkedconnections.reg to enable the TransferAgent to see mapped network drives.
  3. A reboot will be required for this to take effect
  4. To uninstall, run the undo.reg the same way as enablelinkedconnections.reg, a restart is also required on uninstall

Deploying FileCatalyst on your own network

Interested in putting FileCatalyst to work for your own organization? We have a solution for almost any file transfer workflow. Please contact FileCatalyst at http://www.filecatalyst.com/trial

System Properties

Used for debugging purposes to set advanced system properties. System properties are case sensitive and must be set in the TransferAgent's config file. Please contact support before attempting to use these features.

TransferAgent will require a restart for these values to take effect.

System Property Product Default value Known values Description
filecatalyst.embedded.webserver.enable.cache All clients true true,false System property that determines whether or not browsers should be caching files that are supplied by the internal web server.

In networks with high amounts of latency, enabling this property will reduce the amount of time that it takes for web browsers to load the web-based resources after they have been successfully loaded for the first time.
java.io.tmpdir All blank File system path to a temp directory. The java.io.tmpdir system property indicates the temporary directory used by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to create and store temporary files. The default value is typically "/tmp", or "/var/tmp" on Unix-like platforms. On Microsoft Windows systems the java.io.tmpdir property is typically "C:\WINNT\TEMP". When creating zip archives, the FileCatalyst Server creates the archives in the java.io.tmpdir. If this is not desirable, the java.io.tmpdir can be set to a more suitable location.
unlimited.fc.allowRestrictedCharacters All clients false true,false System property that allows filenames/paths to use characters restricted on windows.

Due to the fact you can never really know what OS is managing mounted network storage, we skip (and log the skip) file paths that would fail in windows.
unlimited.fc.client.transferagent.includeDestinationFilesInEmail TransferAgent false true, false When this option has been set, all email notifications containing file lists will also append the destination file list into the email notification.
unlimited.fc.deployment.security.enforcement.strict All clients false true, false Strict SSL. This feature blocks SSL connections to the FileCatalyst server from being established if the server certificate is not trusted by your client. This feature is only applicable when SSL is enabled. When this is set to true on your client, the SSL certificate configured on the server must be trusted by your client. Your client must be stopped and restarted for this property to take effect.
unlimited.fc.deployment.security.enforcement.truststore All clients <not set> Path to truststore file Strict SSL - additional option. This setting is optional and only applicable when strict SSL is enabled. If you choose to provide a custom truststore file to assert the trust of the certificate you have configured in the server, you can specify the path to your truststore file with this property. If not set, the default truststore file provided by the your Java Runtime Environment is used. Your client must be stopped and restarted for this property to take effect.
unlimited.fc.diagnostics.captureHeapOnShutdown All false true, false This is an optional value that will generate a diagnostic when the application is shut down..
unlimited.fc.diagnostics.maxOptionalFileSize All clients 200 Max size of logs pulled into diagnostics file in MB This is an optional value that can change the default maximum size of files pulled into the diagnostics zip file.
unlimited.fc.diagnostics.maxOptionalFileAge All clients 86400000 Max age of the last modified stamp on the file This is an optional value that can change the default maximum age of files pulled into the diagnostics zip file.
unlimited.fc.direct_mem.disabled All false true, false Forces application to create regular byte buffers instead of direct memory byte buffers. Performance may degrade when this is used, but is helpful when constrained by platform or memory limitations.
Java8 API description:
A byte buffer is either direct or non-direct. Given a direct byte buffer, the Java virtual machine will make a best effort to perform native I/O operations directly upon it. That is, it will attempt to avoid copying the buffer's content to (or from) an intermediate buffer before (or after) each invocation of one of the underlying operating system's native I/O operations.
unlimited.fc.direct_speedDetectionCacheEnabled All clients true true, false The speed detection cache enables faster startup of client connections by allowing them to re-use previously detected values. This property allows the speed detection cache to be disabled. This property is enabled by default.
unlimited.fc.direct_speedDetectionCacheExpiryMinutes All clients 1 positive integer (minutes) When using the speed detection cache (enabled by default), this value allows the adjustment of the cache retention by expiring cached values after a period of time.
unlimited.fc.force.ownership_throw_on_error Server, HotFolder, TransferAgent, Command Line true true, false If this value is set to true, the force file ownership feature will cause all failed force file ownership operations to mark the transfer as a failure. If the value is set to false, then failed force file ownership operations will be logged, but the file will continue to transfer as normal. When the transfer completes, the destination file will have the same user ownership of the FileCatalyst application.
unlimited.fc.follow_symlinks HotFolder, TransferAgent, Command Line true true, false If this value is set to false, the client will not follow symbolic links. If this value is set to true, the client will follow symbolic links instead of ignoring them. This does not prevent access to files outside of the users home directory and files may end up being pulled from outside of the user's sandbox. This value defaults to true. This feature is not compatible with the "Move to Sent". This was previously called unlimited.fc.allow_symlink_download and this label is backwards compatible.
unlimited.fc.globalMD5RateLimit All 0 Integer value for rate in kbps, ie: 10000 When set, all MD5 checks will be limited in speed to the specified rate. Default is 0 (no limit).
unlimited.fc.log_client_when_testing_control All clients true true,false Causes the client to log client (version, OS and Java version) info when it logs server info.
unlimited.fc.maintain_uid_gid Server, HotFolder, CommandLine and TransferAgent false true, false When set, use UID/GID rather than user name/group name. This will require the property to be set on the client side for uploads, and the server side for downloads. It is recommended to set the property on both sides to make it work for both upload and download.
unlimited.fc.postURL.encodeAllPathsParameter HotFolder, TransferAgent, Server false true, false A system property that allows the FileCatalyst application to URL encode the "allFiles" parameter that is sent to web applications when performing HTTP based Post URL operations. If the value is set to false, the "allFiles" parameter will be non-encoded and will contain the raw text of all files that were transferred. If the value is set to true, each file in the "allFiles" parameter will be URL encoded in the same manner as the remote paths and local paths parameters.
unlimited.fc.use.fast.md5 Server, HotFolder, Central, TransferAgent true true, false When attempting to verify the integrity of a given transfer, an MD5 checksum is calculated for both the source and destination files. If this property is enabled when the MD5 is generated, the application will use an MD5 implementation that is usually much faster than standard Java-based implementations. If this property is disabled when the MD5 is created, then a slower MD5 generation algorithm will be used to generate the MD5 checksums.

SSL Cipher Restrictions

FileCatalyst TransferAgent allows the selection of specific SSL ciphers which are considered appropriate for encrypted communication. By default, the entire Java SSL/TLS set is utilized. To modify the default values (example: enforce a minimum 128-bit encryption cipher), manual configurations may be applied to fcta.conf.

The following steps illustrate how to configure so that only strong ciphers are utilized:

  1. Shutdown FileCatalyst TransferAgent: As this is a manual fcta.conf file modification, the TransferAgent must be shutdown before changes can be made to the server.
  2. Restrict the Cipher List: The following lines should be added onto the fcta.conf file to restrict ciphers:
      ## SSL Cipher restriction
      # By default, accepted SSL ciphers are specified as part of the standard Java JRE.
      # These can be modified to exclude less secure ciphers.
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.restrict.ciphers=true 
  3. Restart the TransferAgent & Verify Logs for Supported Ciphers: Because there is no specific cipher list defined yet in fcta.conf, the TransferAgent will recognize the lack of allowed encryption algorithm and immediately shut down. By examining the TransferAgent logs, the complete list of supported ciphers for the platform is listed. The following is an example captured using Amazon Corretto OpenJDK version 1.8.0_242 on Windows Server 2019 Standard.
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:03 EDT 2020 - System: Windows Server 2019 10.0 amd64 - Java(tm) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 1.8.0_242
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Waiting for SSL Context to initialize...
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - SSL Context initialized.
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - No ciphers listed are currently supported by the JVM.  Please revise the allowable ciphers in the configuration.
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (0) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (1) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (2) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (3) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (4) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (5) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (6) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (7) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (8) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (9) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (10) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (11) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (12) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (13) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (14) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (15) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (16) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (17) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (18) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (19) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (20) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (21) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (22) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (23) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (24) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (25) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (26) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (27) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (28) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (29) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (30) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (31) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (32) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (33) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (34) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (35) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (36) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (37) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (38) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (39) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (40) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (41) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (42) TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (43) TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (44) SSL_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (45) TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (46) TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (47) SSL_DHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (48) SSL_DHE_DSS_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (49) TLS_EMPTY_RENEGOTIATION_INFO_SCSV
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (50) TLS_KRB5_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - Available SSL cipher supported by JVM: (51) TLS_KRB5_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_MD5
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - null
    Thu Mar 26 14:34:04 EDT 2020 - TransferAgent shutting down
    
  4. Enable Cipher List on the TransferAgent: There are multiple on-line forums describing the exact makeup of each cipher. In the case where only strong ciphers are required (encryption levels >= 128 bit), the following lines are entered into fcta.conf. Only these specific ciphers will be used by the application server socket. If clients connecting does not have a match, the connection will be logged and dropped.
      # If the restrict.cipher == true, you must supply a list of acceptable ciphers
      # the application can utilize when opening up SSL server sockets.
      # Each cipher listed should have a unique number assigned (start with ".00"), with the preferred
      # cipher set to the lowest numerical value.
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.00=SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.01=SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.02=TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.03=TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.04=TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.05=SSL_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.06=SSL_DHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
      FC.TransferAgent.config.ssl.allowed.ciphers.07=SSL_DHE_DSS_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
  5. Restart the TransferAgent and Verify TransferAgent Logs If SSL ciphers are restricted, server logs provide a list of ciphers enabled.
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:44 EDT 2009 - Initializing SSL Administrative Socket on port 12680
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL ciphers restricted by configuration.
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (0) SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (1) SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (2) TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (3) TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (4) TLS_DHE_DSS_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (5) SSL_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (6) SSL_DHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA
      Mon Sep 21 15:23:45 EDT 2009 - SSL cipher enabled: (7) SSL_DHE_DSS_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA

SOCKS and HTTP proxy configurations

In some network environments, the TransferAgent may have to be configured to communicate through SOCKS and HTTP proxies that have been established.

To configure the proxy settings for the TransferAgent, follow the steps outlined by the following knowledgebase article.

Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

1) TransferAgent is unable to open web pages from the tray menu; what is going on?

It is possible that TransferAgent may not have the correct permissions to open a web page on the system. Try restarting TransferAgent under a higher permission setting and then attempt to open the page through the tray menu. If the problem persists, close all open web browsers and try again.

Support

Support System

Visit our support website at https://support.filecatalyst.com to view the knowledge base and to submit a ticket (Available 24/7).

If you have already submitted a Ticket and would like to send us your case files please go to https://support2u.filecatalyst.com to upload them. A valid Ticket ID will be required.

Support Information

For support contact information, support hours and live chat: Visit our website at https://support.filecatalyst.com