Gateway folders

A gateway folder is a directory on a different server to the current CompleteFTP server instance. It is basically a remotely mounted directory (analogous to a network share). This feature is only available in CompleteFTP Enterprise MFT.

Unlike normal network shares, gateway folders are specified by protocol - either FTP, FTPS or SFTP. This means that a remote folder from an SFTP or FTPS server can be accessed by logged in users as if it were a local folder on the CompleteFTP server.

So a user who logs into CompleteFTP via FTP is able to access the files on a different SFTP server if those folders are made accessible as a gateway folder. In effect, CompleteFTP does protocol translation. Some scenarios that are possible are listed here.

Gateway folders are created in the same way as other folders in the filesystem - via the Folders tab, and by choosing New root folder or new sub-folder - in CompleteFTP Enterprise MFT, there is a Gateway folder menu item.

Add Gateway Folder

This brings up the Configure Gateway Folder dialog box.

Add Gateway Folder

Two options are available when configuring the new gateway folder:

  1. Use the gateway connection. When a user logs into CompleteFTP via a gateway authenticator, they are authenticated by the remote server, and a connection to that remote server is stored in their session. This is the current gateway connection. By default, it uses the connection's working directory, although a specific directory on the remote server can be provided (as long as it exists and is accessible). This means the gateway folder is only accessible by users who are authenticated by the gateway authenticator.
  2. Use a specified connection, i.e. specify the credentials to be used to access the gateway folder as part of the folder configuration. Of course, the protocol and remote server name must be also be specified. This means any user can access this gateway folder.

To use the gateway folder, users must change directory into it, or have the gateway folder set as their home directory. Gateway users require the defaultExtension user's home directory to be set to a gateway folder that uses the current connection (you can find defaultExtension user in Users panel by selecting "Show system users/folders/sites" in the Options menu at the bottom left of the window).