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SFTP Storage Provider

SFTP Storage Provider​

The SFTP storage provider enables NPipeline applications to read from and write to SFTP servers using a unified storage abstraction. This provider implements the IStorageProvider interface and supports the sftp:// URI scheme.

Overview​

The SFTP provider offers:

  • Stream-based I/O for efficient handling of large files
  • Async-first API for scalable, non-blocking operations
  • Flexible authentication via password or private key (with optional passphrase)
  • Connection pooling with configurable pool size for high performance
  • Keep-alive support to reduce latency and maintain connection health
  • Comprehensive error handling with proper exception translation
  • Metadata support for retrieving file metadata
  • Listing operations with recursive and non-recursive modes
  • Server fingerprint validation for enhanced security

When to Use This Provider​

Use the SFTP provider when your application needs to:

  • Store and retrieve data from SFTP servers
  • Integrate SFTP storage into NPipeline data pipelines
  • Work with on-premises or managed SFTP storage systems
  • Handle large files through streaming and connection pooling
  • Support both password and key-based SSH authentication

Dependencies​

The SFTP provider depends on the following packages:

  • SSH.NET - SSH and SFTP client library
  • NPipeline.StorageProviders - Core storage abstractions (IStorageProvider, StorageUri, StorageItem, StorageMetadata, StorageProviderMetadata, StorageResolverOptions, StorageProviderFactory)
  • NPipeline.Connectors - Core connectors for using storage providers with connectors

Key Storage Types​

Note: Shared storage types (IStorageProvider, StorageUri, StorageItem, StorageMetadata, etc.) are common across all NPipeline storage providers. Refer to the Storage Provider Interface documentation for details.

SFTP-specific configuration type:

  • SftpStorageProviderOptions - Configuration options for the SFTP provider (host, port, username, password, key path, connection pooling, keep-alive settings)

Installation​

Prerequisites​

  • .NET 8.0 or later
  • Access to an SFTP server
  • Appropriate permissions for read/write operations

Package Installation​

Add the project reference to your solution:

dotnet add src/NPipeline.StorageProviders.Sftp/NPipeline.StorageProviders.Sftp.csproj

Quick Start​

Basic Usage with Connectors​

The SFTP provider works seamlessly with all NPipeline connectors. Here's a quick example using the CSV connector:

using NPipeline;
using NPipeline.Connectors;
using NPipeline.Connectors.Csv;
using NPipeline.StorageProviders.Sftp;

// Create a resolver with SFTP support
var sftpOptions = new SftpStorageProviderOptions
{
    DefaultHost = "sftp.example.com",
    DefaultUsername = "user",
    DefaultPassword = "password",
};

var resolver = StorageProviderFactory.CreateResolver(
    new StorageResolverOptions
    {
        IncludeFileSystem = true,
        AdditionalProviders = new[] { new SftpStorageProvider(
            new SftpClientFactory(sftpOptions),
            sftpOptions) }
    }
);

public sealed record User(int Id, string Name, string Email);

public sealed class SftpCsvPipeline : IPipelineDefinition
{
    public void Define(PipelineBuilder builder, PipelineContext context)
    {
        // Read CSV from SFTP
        var sourceNode = new CsvSourceNode<User>(
            StorageUri.Parse("sftp://server.example.com:22/data/users.csv"),
            row => new User(
                row.Get<int>("Id") ?? 0,
                row.Get<string>("Name") ?? string.Empty,
                row.Get<string>("Email") ?? string.Empty),
            resolver: resolver);
        var source = builder.AddSource(sourceNode, "sftp_csv_source");
        
        // ... add transforms ...
        
        // Write CSV to SFTP
        var sinkNode = new CsvSinkNode<UserSummary>(
            StorageUri.Parse("sftp://server.example.com:22/output/summaries.csv"),
            resolver: resolver);
        var sink = builder.AddSink(sinkNode, "sftp_csv_sink");
        
        builder.Connect(source, sink);
    }
}

Configuration​

Using Dependency Injection​

The recommended way to configure the SFTP provider is through dependency injection:

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using NPipeline.StorageProviders.Sftp;

var services = new ServiceCollection();

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.DefaultHost = "sftp.example.com";
    options.DefaultPort = 22;
    options.DefaultUsername = "username";
    options.DefaultPassword = "password"; // or use DefaultKeyPath
    options.MaxPoolSize = 10;
    options.KeepAliveInterval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
    options.ConnectionTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
});

URI Format​

SFTP URIs follow the standard format:

sftp://[host]:[port]/path/to/file

Examples:

sftp://server.example.com:22/data/users.csv
sftp://192.168.1.100/home/user/documents/report.csv

If port is omitted, the default port 22 is used.

Authentication​

The SFTP provider supports two authentication methods:

Password Authentication​

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.DefaultHost = "sftp.example.com";
    options.DefaultUsername = "username";
    options.DefaultPassword = "password";
});

Private Key Authentication​

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.DefaultHost = "sftp.example.com";
    options.DefaultUsername = "username";
    options.DefaultKeyPath = "/path/to/private/key"; // e.g., ~/.ssh/id_rsa
    options.DefaultKeyPassphrase = "passphrase"; // if key is encrypted
});

Connection Pooling​

The SFTP provider maintains a connection pool to improve performance. Configure pool settings:

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.MaxPoolSize = 10;                                // Maximum connections in pool
    options.ConnectionIdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5); // Timeout before returning to pool
    options.KeepAliveInterval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);    // Keep-alive ping interval
    options.ConnectionTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);    // Connection timeout
});

Security​

Server Fingerprint Validation​

By default, the SFTP provider validates the server's SSH fingerprint:

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.ValidateServerFingerprint = true;
    // options.ExpectedFingerprint = "expected-fingerprint-here"; // Optional: set known fingerprint
});

On first connection without a known fingerprint, the server's fingerprint is accepted. For production, specify the expected fingerprint to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.

Connection Health Validation​

The provider validates connection health before returning connections from the pool:

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options =>
{
    options.ValidateOnAcquire = true; // Validate connection is still alive when acquiring from pool
});

Advanced Topics​

Pre-configured Options​

You can create an options object and pass it directly:

var options = new SftpStorageProviderOptions
{
    DefaultHost = "sftp.example.com",
    DefaultUsername = "user",
    DefaultPassword = "pass",
    MaxPoolSize = 20
};

services.AddSftpStorageProvider(options);

Using Different SFTP Servers​

If your pipeline needs to access multiple SFTP servers, you can create multiple resolver instances or handle different hosts through connection pooling based on the URI:

// The URI determines which host is used
var uri1 = StorageUri.Parse("sftp://server1.example.com/path/file1.csv");
var uri2 = StorageUri.Parse("sftp://server2.example.com/path/file2.csv");

// Both use the same authentication configured in options
var stream1 = await provider.OpenReadAsync(uri1);
var stream2 = await provider.OpenReadAsync(uri2);

Error Handling​

The SFTP provider translates common SFTP exceptions into SftpStorageException:

try
{
    var stream = await provider.OpenReadAsync(uri);
}
catch (SftpStorageException ex)
{
    // Handle SFTP-specific errors
    Console.WriteLine($"SFTP error: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (IOException ex)
{
    // Handle general I/O errors
    Console.WriteLine($"I/O error: {ex.Message}");
}

Common error scenarios and their causes:

  • File not found - The specified file does not exist on the server
  • Permission denied - Insufficient permissions for the requested operation
  • Connection refused - Unable to connect to the SFTP server
  • Authentication failed - Invalid credentials or authentication method
  • Timeout - Connection or transfer timed out