Set up an SFTP relay

In this article

When to use a relay

Before you begin

Step 1: Activate the application

Step 2: Configure the source server

Step 3: Configure the target server

Step 4: Map the files to forward

Step 5: Set the schedule

Step 6: Save the configuration

Verify the configuration

Troubleshooting

Next steps

An SFTP relay forwards files from one SFTP server to another. SchoolDay moves the files as-is and never reads their contents, so the file format doesn't matter — including formats SchoolDay can't read, such as encrypted files.

When to use a relay

Use a relay when files need to move between two servers and SchoolDay doesn't need to understand them. Use an import or export instead when SchoolDay needs to read the file and turn it into roster data.

A relay has no Data Schema, Schools Mapping, or Entity Mapping step. Nothing is being interpreted, so there is nothing to map. Relayed files never enter your roster data and never appear in data quality reports.

Before you begin

• Primary District Admin permissions.
• Two SFTP servers: a source to read files from, and a target to write them to. Unlike an import or export, both sides are servers you or your vendor control.
• Credentials for each server. Each side can use a password or an SSH key, independently of the other.
• The exact file names to forward, and the names they should have on the target.

Activate your SchoolDay admin account first if you haven't. The activation link emailed to you is valid for 24 hours. Contact support@schoolday.com for a new one if it expires.

Step 1: Activate the application

1. Go to Connect > Application Gallery.
2. Find SFTP Relay and click Activate.

To rename the integration, click the pencil next to SFTP Relay in the page header.

Step 2: Configure the source server

The source is the server SchoolDay reads files from.

1. On the Source Server step, enter the connection details:

1. To authenticate with a key instead of a password, click Use SSH key instead. See Authenticate SFTP exports with a password or SSH key for the key setup steps.
2. To read from the root folder, click Use home folder.
3. Click Test Connection.

Test Connection stays unavailable until every required field is filled. Fix any error before moving on.

Step 3: Configure the target server

The target is the server SchoolDay writes files to. It uses the same fields as the source, with two differences: there is no Server list — a target is always your own server — and there is an extra option.

1. On the Target Server step, enter the connection details.
2. Select Create district folder to deliver files into a separate folder per district, named as the district's GUID. Leave it blank to deliver files directly to the path.
3. Click Test Connection.

The source and target must be different servers.

Step 4: Map the files to forward

Only files you list here are forwarded. A file on the source server that isn't mapped is ignored.

1. On the Files Mapping step, click New File Mapping.
2. Under File on source server, enter the file's name on the source.
3. Under Delivered as, enter the name it should have on the target. To keep the same name, enter it again.
4. Repeat for each file.
5. To stop forwarding a file, click the trash icon on its row.

Files are delivered under the name in Delivered as, overwriting any existing file with that name on the target.

Step 5: Set the schedule

The Schedule step controls how often the relay runs and how much it sends each time.

Select either option, or both:

• Full Sync Schedule: every mapped file is sent on every run, whether it changed or not.
• Incremental Sync Schedule: only files that changed since the last successful delivery are sent.

Running both is the usual setup: an incremental schedule that runs often to move changes quickly, and a less frequent full schedule that re-sends everything as a safety net.

A file counts as changed when its contents differ from the last copy SchoolDay delivered successfully. A file SchoolDay has never delivered always counts as changed, so the first run sends everything either way.

Incremental sync compares whole files, not the records inside them. A single changed byte sends the whole file; an identical file is skipped entirely.

If a delivery fails, SchoolDay does not record it as delivered, so the file is retried on the next run.

Step 6: Save the configuration

Click Finish Configuration.

You can reopen the integration and edit any step afterward, except while it is locked or a run is in progress. Wait for the run to finish, then edit.

To remove the integration entirely, click Delete.

Verify the configuration

1. Confirm Test Connection succeeded on both the Source Server and Target Server steps.
2. Place a test file on the source server under one of your mapped source names.
3. After the next scheduled run, confirm the file arrives on the target under its Delivered as name.

Troubleshooting

Next steps

• Authenticate SFTP exports with a password or SSH key
• Troubleshoot roster data sync issues