OOCL Standard EDI: SFTP and SSH Information
SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) combined with SSH (Secure Shell) is OOCL's preferred file transfer method for standard EDI. SFTP and SSH are secure and easy to set up. Please find background information about SFTP and SSH below.
What are SFTP and SSH?
Using SFTP and SSH over the Internet is a simple method to provide secure data transfer. SSH provides a secure login session to a remote host while SFTP provides a secure file transfer session. Authentication is provided by the use of passwords, public keys, or both. SSH prevents a would-be intruder from being able to read an intercepted communication or from hacking the system. SSH is packaged as a new set of utilities that replace its insecure counterparts, login and telnet. SFTP replaces FTP.
Is data transmission secured through SFTP and SSH?
Data transmission over the network is protected from interception by the standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) embedded in SSH. Strong authentication is made possible by using X.509 digital certificates to challenge the identities on both ends of the session. SFTP provides almost the same syntax and functionality as FTP.
How do I set up SFTP connectivity with OOCL?
OOCL acts as the SFTP server and customers act as the SFTP clients to initiate the SFTP sessions. To set up an EDI exchange through SFTP, there is an initial setup procedure. Afterwards, the system is able to transmit or receive data with minimal configuration. The initial setup steps include:
- Configure firewall to allow traffic through TCP port 22 with a designated internal host.
- Install SSH client software (if not bundled).
- Use SSH-provided utility to generate the RSA private-public key pair (with or without a pass phrase) and share the public key with OOCL.
What vendors support SFTP and SSH?
Most vendors provide software to support SFTP and SSH. The software is also available as open source.
Following is a list of vendors and supporting software:
- HPUX 11.x and 11.i - available as add-on software
- Sun Solaris 7/8 - available as freeware
- Sun Solaris 9 - bundled with the operating system
- AIX 5.2 - bundled with the operating system
- RedHat Linux 7.1 and above - bundled with the operating system
- Microsoft Windows - 3rd-party vendor support
For the most up-to-date software information, please contact the vendors.
Where can I find more information about SFTP and SSH?
Please visit www.openssh.org to find more information about SFTP and SSH.