I have a question regarding the SFTP connector in Flow Classic. I have a solution where we generate an XML file, store it locally, send the local file to the SFTP server, and then delete the local file. However, for some reason the file send out occasionally fails. It’s unclear why, but the exact details don’t matter; the end result is that we end up with a locally saved file which didn’t reach the SFTP server.
I’m wondering if there’s any way to “pick up” or otherwise handle issues that occur in the connector, so that we can trigger some alternate path in the flow if the file send out fails. Currently, if the SFTP step fails, the flow crashes midway through an operation and nothing else happens.
As it stands, we have to monitor the local folder for files. If there are files in it, it means that the SFTP step failed. We have automated this monitoring process to some degree, but it would be nice to not have to do it in the first place, or to pick up the issue as it occurs rather than looking for issues after the fact.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas,
Sincerely,
Daniel
The easy-for-me-to-say answer is to check if you can move the file using HTTP calls instead (REST). It’s more modern, and then you would get a response error and be able to handle it entirely differently.
But, assuming we are stuck with sftp, I do not think its much to do if the connector times out or similar, as flow does not capture that to let you take different paths.
So dirty workaround perhaps use the list options to run a little bit after the “upload flow” to check that all went fine, and if not, take the path to again upload the file?
Just wanted to mention that we have an extension to Flow Classic called the Flow Integration Engine which would solve your issue. The Integration Engine adds capabilities like monitoring, advanced transformation, support for XML, message queuing, long running executions, scheduling and much more. With the Integration Engine extension, you can utilize your existing Flow server as an Integration Platform.
For your specific use case the Integration Engine would monitor the Flow execution and fire an event if it fails. From that event you could for example trigger a new Flow that sends an email alerting you of the failed execution.
If this sounds interesting, we are happy to tell you more and give you a demo.
