RMS FTP PUBLIC. FTP Recommendations for Meter Data Retrieval. Issue 4.0 IMP_GDE_0085. Provides the three approaches to FTP as recommended by IESO.

Transcription

1 PUBLIC IMP_GDE_0085 RMS FTP FTP Recommendations for Meter Data Retrieval Issue 4.0 Provides the three approaches to FTP as recommended by IESO. Public

2 Disclaimer The posting of documents on this Web site is done for the convenience of market participants and other interested visitors to the IESO Web site. Please be advised that, while the IESO attempts to have all posted documents conform to the original, changes can result from the original, including changes resulting from the programs used to format the documents for posting on the Web site as well as from the programs used by the viewer to download and read the documents. The IESO makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, that the documents on this Web site are exact reproductions of the original documents listed. In addition, the documents and information posted on this Web site are subject to change. The IESO may revise, withdraw or make final these materials at any time at its sole discretion without further notice. It is solely your responsibility to ensure that you are using up-to-date documents and information. This document may contain a summary of a particular market rule. Where provided, the summary has been used because of the length of the market rule itself. The reader should be aware, however, that where a market rule is applicable, the obligation that needs to be met is as stated in the Market Rules. To the extent of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the provisions of a particular market rule and the summary, the provision of the market rule shall govern. Document ID IMP_GDE_0085 Document Name RMS FTP Issue Issue 4.0 Reason for Issue Change of VPN Client Effective Date December 1, 2007

3 RMS FTP Document Change History Document Change History Issue Reason for Issue Date 1.0 Initial release December 20, Provide more Technical details January 18, Name and logo changed to IESO June 1, Change of VPN Client December 1, 2007 Related Documents Document ID Document Title Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007 Public

4 Document Control IMP_GDE_0085 Public Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007

5 RMS FTP Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents...i Table of Changes...ii 1. Introduction Purpose Scope Who Should Use This Document Recommendations Level Level Level Connectivity Description Connectivity Procedures VPN Digital Certificate VPN Client Configure Firewalls FTP Connection Download File Information...5 Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007 Public i

6 Table of Changes IMP_GDE_0085 Table of Changes Reference (Section and Paragraph) Section 1 Section 2 Sections 3 and 4 Throughout Sections 3 Sections 4 Description of Change Added Purpose, Scope and Who Should Use This Document Removed the steps on bypassing Participant's firewall complexities New sections added Name and logo changed to IESO Change of VPN Client Removed ii Public Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007

7 RMS FTP 1. Introduction 1. Introduction The IESO has provided FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for access to RMS (Revenue Metering System) meter data. Many alternate methods of providing FTP were considered. Based on cost and risk considerations, the following three are the approaches selected: Frame Relay VPN (Virtual Private Network) MVWeb For market participants (Participants) who are prepared to bear the cost of FTP over Frame Relay, this is the option that is the most easily implemented. Participants opting for FTP over the public Internet must use the VPN (Virtual Private Network) for security reasons. VPN, however, may be difficult to implement for certain Participants. This is because specific firewall expertise is needed to implement the protocol - IPSEC - that is required at the Participant s firewall. The use of the three alternative approaches is further discussed in the following recommendations. Note: The IESO is not liable for any consequence resulting from the adoption by a Participant of any of these recommendations. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this document is to describe the FTP file upload and download using the public internet. The document describes the security features of the VPN (Virtual Private Network) and the installation and configuration of the client software. 1.2 Scope The document scope is limited to the description of the installation and configuration of the client software. A high level description of the two most common files uploaded and downloaded using FTP and a brief description of the technical networking issues associated with VPN. 1.3 Who Should Use This Document This document is intended for Participants and IT support staff in Revenue Metering. End of Section Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007 Public 1

8 2. Recommendations IMP_GDE_ Recommendations Three levels of usage have been identified. The recommended approach for each level is described below. 2.1 Level 1 Level 1 consists of those Participants with a large number of delivery points and meters and/or requirements for regular automated downloads of large amounts of meter data. They are suggested to opt for the Shared (Frame Relay) or Private (T1) connection. The Participants would not be subject to the volatility of the Public Internet, and have a guaranteed network connection to the IESO. They are often the Participants with the IT expertise to script automated data requests and retrieval, and would use the MV-WEB only for occasional viewing of meter data. Level 1 Participants are not precluded from also using the VPN implementation, possibly as back up. 2.2 Level 2 Level 2 consists of Participants with less voluminous meter data, but with requirements to automate data retrieval, validate the data versions requested, and request data with different study options. They will benefit from using VPN. FTP over VPN will require that the Participant has available the networking expertise to implement the firewall rules necessary for VPN. 2.3 Level 3 This Level of usage consists of Participants who do not have the requirements of the above two levels. The MV-WEB GUI is the best choice for Level 3 users. EDI 867 files can be requested and downloaded using the MV-WEB GUI. Level 3 Participants may also be without the facilities to parse an EDI file and convert the data to a table. These Participants may be most comfortable at the spreadsheet level and may further benefit from the tabular data download, which can be immediately imported to a spreadsheet. End of Section 2 Public Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007

9 RMS FTP 3. Connectivity Description 3. Connectivity Description Participants do not connect directly to the metering databases. Participants access is limited to the metering webservers that request data from the meter database servers. Each request for data is sent to the database servers, processed, and output files are placed in the Participant s directory on the webserver. The webserver hostnames are provided to Participants. Each Participant has one directory available on login. That directory is for the sole purpose of uploading and downloading data. Participants cannot change directories or execute programs in that directory. The system application interrogates the webserver for new request files for meter data (*.req, *.REQ) and PAD files (*.pad, *.PAD ) once every five minutes. The files are moved to the metering database server processed and output files are returned to the Participant directory. EDI-867 requests will return an ACK file and/or an EDI data file. PAD submissions return an ACK file only. ACK files describe the status of the request whether there were errors or the request was processed correctly. The descriptions of file formats of the output files are available on the IESO public Web site. The IESO does not restrict the type of files uploaded to the Participant directory. Unprocessed files or output files not deleted by the Participant will be removed from the directories periodically. Participants with Frame Relay or private connections to the IESO can skip the sections that describe the Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity and resume at FTP Connections in section Connectivity Procedures To successfully download data using FTP over VPN a Participant must accomplish the following: Obtain a VPN digital certificate and password for each of their users from the IESO IESO Download the software client Install the Software client Configure firewalls Test connectivity to IESO Participant Participant Participant Participant Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007 Public 3

10 3. Connectivity Description IMP_GDE_ VPN Digital Certificate The VPN digital certificate in P12 format is available from the IESO to authorized users of registered Participants that require access to meter data. Please send Market Entry a completed IESO FORM 1276 to obtain individual VPN access VPN Client The Checkpoint SecuRemote R60 is available for download at Checkpoint site ( The Participant is supported on a number of platforms including Windows Server 2000, Server 2003, XP home & Profession, Vista and Redhat EL 3.0. However, only Windows XP has been verified by IESO Configure Firewalls The Participant is solely responsible for the setup of its firewalls to support the VPN. UDP port 2746 will be used by the Participant in establishing the connection to IESO over Internet FTP Connection Open the FTP connection with the appropriate host name or IP address supplied by the IESO. Participants that are connected using a private connection or Frame Relay connection can use the RMS FTP hostname to connect. The hostname is mv.theimo.com. The IP address is: Prompt> ftp mv.theimo.com Users will authenticate to the FTP site with their Participant s assigned userid & password. If necessary, change the directory to the location of the request files or the directory to contain the downloaded files. ftp> lcd /your/directory/data Sample FTP commands: ftp> prompt ftp> put file.name ftp> mput file.name* ftp> get file-name.edi ftp> bye to turn off the prompt when sending multiple files to send file to IESO server to send multiple files to download file from IESO server to close ftp session 4 Public Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007

11 RMS FTP 3. Connectivity Description Download File Information Request files for EDI data must end with the file extension req or REQ. PAD submissions must end with the extension pad or PAD. Each successful request for EDI download will result in two files produced; the EDI 867 file and the ACK file. The format of the EDI file is jobnumber_reference.edi: 15234_ParticipantReference.edi The job number is produced by the application. The reference is input in the request file by the Participant. The format of the corresponding ACK file is: jobnumber_datetimestamp.ack The job number is the same number as the corresponding EDI file, the date time stamp is the date and time the output files were produced _ ACK. PAD submissions return only an ACK file. The format of the corresponding ACK file is: jobnumber_datetimestamp.ack. Each ACK file should be downloaded and inspected. The contents will state the success or failure for each submission. The format for the request files, EDI and ACK files are described at the IESO Web site. End of Document Issue 4.0 December 1, 2007 Public 5