Note: You must have an account on an SFTP server prior to performing these steps. If your organization does not have an SFTP server, please contact your CSM to request an account on a Liaison hosted SFTP server.
- Navigate to the EMP Settings page by clicking the Account menu, then EMP Settings.
- Click the Transports tab along the left side.
- Click the New Transport button (or for an existing transport, click the Edit icon)
- A modal will pop up to enter the settings for your transport
- For the Name, enter a phrase that will indicate what this transport is intended to be used for.
- Generally, a transport can be used for both imports and exports, but this will sometimes be dictated by other factors such as automated workflows with other information systems.
- For example, if you would like to set up bi-directional transfers between EMP and your Student Information System, it may be preferable to segregate the files into folders/directories based on the destination system. e.g. Files transferred from the SIS to EMP be placed in a folder named “to_emp”. In this example you might use “SIS to EMP” as the Name for the transport.
- Select “sftp” as the Protocol.
- Enter the hostname or IP address of your SFTP server into Host.
- Port is generally 22 for SFTP transfers, but your SFTP server’s administrator may provide an alternate port number.
- Enter the folder or directory to be used for this transport. From the earlier example, this would be “/to_emp”.
- Note that SFTP uses UNIX-style folder structure, so you would enter “/home/user/my_sftp_folder” rather than “C:\Users\User\My SFTP Folder”. If you are unsure what to enter here, work with your SFTP server’s administrator.
- Enter the Username provided by your SFTP server’s administrator.
- If your SFTP account uses a password for authentication, enter it in the Password field. If the account uses SSH key files for authentication, upload the private key using the Keyfile field. If your private key has a passphrase, enter the passphrase in the Password field.
- Note that EMP requires the private key to be in RSA format. See below for additional information about SSH key formats.
- Click the Test button to test the connection. If the test is successful, you will be able to Save the transport for use in EMP imports and exports.
SSH keys
Determining the format of an SSH private key
EMP requires uploaded private keys to be in RSA/PEM format. If you are not sure what format your key is in, you can determine the format by viewing the key file in a text editor (Notepad on Windows, or Text Edit on MacOS). RSA/PEM keys will begin with one of the following text strings:
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
If your key file does not begin with one of the above text strings, it will need to be converted to RSA/PEM format. Your organization’s Information Technology team should be able to assist with this process.