Connecting to an FTP Server from EDC Tools

Each vault in your domain has its own FTP server, which supports various features including Vault Loader, Data Export, and the Veeva Vault CTMS integration. The FTP server is a temporary storage area for files you’re uploading to or extracting from Vault. For example, when exporting data using a Data Export job, you can choose to export the resulting CSV to your FTP server. From Tools > EDC Tools > FTPS, you can create Connections between your vault’s FTP server and the FTP server of other vaults or external FTP destinations. Please note that your firewall must have TCP ports that are supported by Veeva in order to connect to the Veeva FTPS. To learn more about FTP access, see Veeva IP Addresses.

Note that if you refresh your vault, all files will be removed from the FTP server.

Prerequisites

Required Permissions

Users with the standard CDMS Lead Data Manager study role. If your vault uses custom Study Roles, your role must have the following permissions:

Type	Permission Label	Controls
Standard Tab	EDC Tools Tab	Ability to access the EDC Tools tab
Functional Permission	Manage FTP	Ability to create and edit FTP Connections in EDC Tools

If your Study contains restricted data, you must have the Restricted Data Access permission to view it.

Learn more about Study Roles.

To download files from the staging server, you must have the standard Vault Owner or System Admin security profile or have a custom security profile that includes the FTP Staging: Access and API: Access API permissions.

The staging server does not support SAML SSO authentication.

Uses for FTP Connections

Sending subject milestone data to Vault CTMS
Exporting study data for extraction & analysis in an external tool
Destination for study data exported in SAS format

Server URL

The URL for each staging server is the same as the corresponding vault, for example, veepharm.veevavault.com.

Accessing EDC Tools

To access the EDC Tools administration area, click the Tools tab in the primary navigation bar, and then click EDC Tools.

Creating an FTP Connection in EDC Tools

You can create a Connection between your vault’s FTP server and another vault’s FTP server or an external FTPS server in Tools > EDC Tools > FTPs.

To create a new Connection:

Navigate to Tools > EDC Tools > FTPs.
Click + New FTP.
Enter an FTP Name.
Choose the External FTPS, Veeva Vault, or CDB FTP Type to connect to an external FTPS server, the Vault FTPS server, or an FTP or FTPS server through CDB or EDC Clinical Reporting.
Fill the required fields. See field details below.
Click Save.

Vault creates the FTP Connection. You can now reference this FTP Connection when scheduling jobs.

FTP Connection Types

External FTPS

External FTPS allows users to send files to an external FTPS server that supports Passive FTPS with Explicit SSL (FTPES). You must open TCP port 21 and the data port range of 56000-56100 in order for the connection to work. See Veeva IP Addresses for more information about Veeva security.

If you have an external FTPS server whose data ports are not configurable to the range of 56000-56100, you must submit a support ticket to request a custom outbound firewall rule to allow files to be sent to your FTPS server. Note that this request will require a review by the Veeva security team.

Test Connection: You must fill out the User Name, Password, Host, and Port fields to use the Test Connection button shown in the screenshots below.

Vault will send a test file when testing the connection when the Send Test Data File option is checked.

Veeva Vault

The following screenshot shows the New FTP connection dialog for Veeva Vault FTPS server connections.

Vault will send a test file when testing the connection when the Send Test Data File option is checked.

CDB Workbench

To learn about how to configure a connection for CDB Workbench, see CDB Exports.

Connection Field Details

Field	Description
Username	Enter the Username associated with your account on that server. For Veeva Vault type connections, this is the username that you use to log in to Vault, including the domain, with the host in front. For example, “verteopharma.veevavault.com+cordelia.hunter@verteopharma.com”.
Password	Enter the Password associated with your account on that server. For Veeva Vault type connections, this is your login password, or the password of a configured, generic user account within your vault.
Host	Enter {DNS}.veevavault.com for Veeva Vault type connections, or the host name for FTPS type Connections. For example: “veepharm” is the DNS in veepharm.veevavault.com.
Port	For Veeva Vault type connections, this field is defaulted to 21. For External FTPS type connections, this field is defaulted to 21 using Explicit FTPS (FTPES). For CDB Workbench connections, this field is defaulted to 21 but supports ports between 1-65535.
Destination Path	Enter the destination path. Note that certain characters are not allowed in the path. The characters not allowed at the beginning or end are: blank space, dot (.). The characters not allowed in any place in the folder name are: asterisk (*), backslash (), colon (:), double quote (“), forward slash (/), greater than (>), less than (<), question mark (?), vertical bar or pipe. If you leave the destination path blank, the file will be sent to wherever your FTPS server places it, which is often in the /root directory.

How to Edit an FTP Connection

To edit an existing FTP Connection:

Navigate to the FTP Connection you want to edit in EDC Tools > FTPs.
Hover over the FTP Connection to display the Actions menu.
From the Actions menu, select Edit. Vault opens the Edit FTP dialog.
Note: If you have an existing scheduled job running that is using the FTP Connection that you’re editing, you’ll be prompted to confirm whether you want to make changes to that connection.
Make your changes.
Click Save.

Testing your Connection

You can test your FTP Connection from EDC Tools > FTPS.

From EDC Tools > FTPS, scroll to the FTP Connection that you want to test.
Hover over the FTP Connection to display the Actions menu.
From the Actions menu, select Test FTP.
Vault tests your connection. If unsuccessful, Vault displays an Error dialog. If successful, Vault displays a Success dialog. Click OK to close.

How to Access FTP Servers

You can access your vault’s staging server using your favorite FTP client or through the command line.

Use the following settings with an FTP client:

Protocol: FTPS (File Transfer Protocol over TLS)
Mode: Passive FTPS
Encryption: Require Explicit FTP over TLS (FTEPS). This is a security requirement. Your network infrastructure must support FTPES traffic. (Please submit a support ticket if you cannot meet this requirement)
Port: This does not typically need to be added and will default to Port 21.
Host: {DNS}.veevavault.com. For example: “veepharm” is the DNS in veepharm.veevavault.com. If using an external FTPS server, use the hostname of your server.
User: {DNS}.veevavault.com+{USERNAME} for Veeva Vault connections. This setting uses the same User Name that you log in with. For example: veepharm.veevavault.com+tchung@veepharm.com. You can also use the User Name of a configured, generic user account within your vault.
Password: Your login password for this vault (this is the same password used for your standard login), or the password of a configured, generic user account within your vault.
Login Type: Normal
Transfer File Type: Transfer files as binary

To learn more about how to access FTPS, see Accessing Your Vault’s File Staging Server.

How to Delete an FTP Connection

To delete an FTP Connection:

Navigate to the FTP Connection you want to delete in EDC Tools > FTPs.
Hover over the FTP Connection to display the Actions menu.
From the Actions menu, select Delete.
In the Delete FTP confirmation dialog, click Continue.
Vault deletes the FTP Connection.

If you have an existing scheduled job running that is using the connection you are attempting to delete, the delete action will be disabled.