Axway solution for Internal File Transfer

Summary

In this video, Jose Villanova, Solutions Architect at Axway, explains the importance of internal peer-to-peer file transfer as part of a comprehensive Managed File Transfer (MFT) strategy. He contrasts internal file transfer with external B2B and ad hoc transfers, highlighting the risks of overloading file gateways. Jose introduces Transfer CFT, Axway's secure, OS-agnostic peer-to-peer solution, which optimizes internal file exchanges while reducing gateway load and maintaining performance. The video also demonstrates deploying and managing Transfer CFT agents via Flow Manager, emphasizing enhanced efficiency, security, and centralized governance across diverse IT infrastructures.

Takeaways

• 😀 Axway’s MFT platform addresses three file transfer categories: external B2B, internal peer-to-peer, and ad hoc/human dynamics transfers.
• 😀 Internal peer-to-peer file transfer is essential to reduce the load on gateways and ensure efficient internal operations.
• 😀 Relying solely on a file transmission gateway can create bottlenecks, affecting SLA compliance and business processes.
• 😀 Large volumes of internal file transfers can strain gateway resources, especially when using resource-heavy protocols like SFTP or SSH.
• 😀 Transfer CFT is Axway's peer-to-peer solution designed for secure, efficient internal file transfers with minimal resource usage.
• 😀 Transfer CFT agents are lightweight, OS-agnostic yet OS-aware, supporting platforms like Unix, Windows, zOS, IBM iSeries, OpenVMS, and HP Non-Stop Mainframe.
• 😀 Transfer CFT supports cloud storage integration (e.g., AWS S3) and uses Axway’s PESIT protocol for guaranteed delivery and integrity with acceleration features.
• 😀 Pre- and post-processing capabilities allow automation of tasks such as triggering emails, copying files, or running scripts after transfers.
• 😀 Flow Manager provides centralized governance to manage multiple Transfer CFT agents and streamline internal file transfer operations.
• 😀 Using Transfer CFT ensures internal file transfers are secure, efficient, and optimized, preserving ROI and reducing SLA and performance risks.

Q & A

What are the three key perspectives of managed file transfer (MFT) according to Axway?

Axway defines managed file transfer from three perspectives: external B2B file transfer, internal peer-to-peer file transfer, and ad hoc or human-driven file transfer. Each serves a different business need, ranging from partner communication to internal automation and secure collaboration.

What is external B2B file transfer used for?

External B2B file transfer is used for secure file exchanges between an organization’s internal systems and external entities such as business partners, customers, banks, and regulatory agencies.

Why is internal peer-to-peer file transfer considered a critical part of an MFT strategy?

Internal peer-to-peer file transfer is critical because it allows files to move directly between internal users, servers, applications, and file shares without unnecessarily routing everything through the external file transmission gateway. This reduces congestion, improves performance, and lowers operational risk.

What problem occurs when companies use their file transmission gateway for both external and internal transfers?

Using the same gateway for both external and internal transfers creates additional processing load, storage usage, and network bandwidth consumption. Over time, this can lead to bottlenecks, slower transfer performance, increased SLA risks, and reduced cloud ROI.

How can a gateway outage impact business operations if no internal transfer solution exists?

If the gateway goes down, organizations may be unable to exchange files with external partners and may also see internal business processes come to a halt if internal transfers depend on that same gateway. This can lead to SLA breaches, operational paralysis, and financial losses.

Why are traditional transfer protocols like SFTP and HTTPS sometimes insufficient for internal enterprise transfers?

Traditional protocols like SFTP and HTTPS can be resource-intensive and may not efficiently handle growing volumes of large internal files across hybrid cloud environments. They often consume more CPU, bandwidth, and storage resources than specialized peer-to-peer solutions.

What is Transfer CFT, and what role does it play in Axway’s platform?

Transfer CFT is Axway’s peer-to-peer internal file transfer solution. It uses lightweight agents installed on servers, applications, and file shares to enable fast, secure, and low-overhead direct file transfers within the enterprise infrastructure.

How does Transfer CFT help protect the ROI of a company’s cloud or gateway investment?

Transfer CFT keeps large-scale internal transfers off the central gateway, which allows the gateway to remain agile and optimized for external business-critical exchanges. This reduces the need to over-scale gateway infrastructure and helps preserve expected return on cloud investments.

What operating systems and environments are supported by Transfer CFT?

Transfer CFT supports a wide variety of platforms, including Unix, Windows, zOS, IBM iSeries, OpenVMS, HP Non-Stop Mainframe, and cloud storage environments like AWS S3. This makes it highly suitable for heterogeneous enterprise infrastructures.

What protocol does Transfer CFT use to ensure reliable delivery and performance?

Transfer CFT uses Axway’s PESIT protocol, which guarantees file delivery and integrity. It also includes acceleration technologies such as UDP, parallel TCP, and checkpoint restart to improve speed and ensure transfers can resume after interruptions.

What is checkpoint restart, and why is it valuable in file transfer operations?

Checkpoint restart is a feature that allows a file transfer to resume from the point of interruption instead of restarting from the beginning if the network connection fails. This saves time, bandwidth, and operational effort, especially for large files.

Can Transfer CFT perform actions before or after a file transfer completes?

Yes. Transfer CFT supports pre-processing and post-processing through built-in features or custom scripts. Organizations can automate tasks such as sending notification emails, copying files, or launching business workflows after transfers are completed.

How does Transfer CFT improve security for internal file movement?

Transfer CFT operates within the organization’s firewall and uses secure, managed agent-to-agent communication. This reduces exposure compared to routing files through broader gateways while still maintaining delivery assurance and operational control.

What challenge arises when deploying many Transfer CFT agents across an enterprise?

As the number of Transfer CFT agents grows across many servers and applications, centralized oversight and lifecycle management become more complex. Organizations need a way to register, monitor, upgrade, and govern these distributed agents efficiently.

How does Axway solve the centralized management challenge for multiple CFT agents?

Axway solves this with Flow Manager, its central governance platform. Flow Manager allows MFT administrators to manage registered CFT agents, perform remote upgrades, deploy transfer jobs, and maintain centralized visibility and self-service control.

What demonstration steps are mentioned in the video to showcase Transfer CFT and Flow Manager?

The speaker mentions demonstrating the installation of a Transfer CFT agent in a Linux environment, remotely upgrading it using Flow Manager, and deploying a file transfer job between two Transfer CFT agents directly from the centralized governance console.