FTP login

Web Express Logon provides an automated way for users to log on to FTP hosts by providing a central repository for storing and retrieving user's credentials. Although this process is similar to configuring Web Express Logon in a vault-style environment , this type of automation is different because the user's credentials are retrieved from the CMS at the time the connection is established. In other words, it does not require a macro. Currently, Z and I Emulator for Web allows you to store a user's ID and password statically in the FTP configuration; however, Web Express Logon extends this approach by automating the user credential retrieval process.

Figure 1 illustrates the overall process of connection-based automation in an FTP login environment:

Figure 1. Web Express Logon in an FTP login environment

1. The user clicks a link to launch the Z and I Emulator for Web desktop, which sends an HTTPS request through the network security application to the Web server.
2. The Web server returns the HTTPS request, and the Z and I Emulator for Web desktop displays.
3. The user attempts to launch an FTP session.
4. The FTP session sends an HTTPS request to the CMS to obtain the FTP credentials.
5. The CMS retrieves the user's network ID from the Network Security plug-in.
6. The CMS passes the network ID to the Vault HCM plug-in.
7. Using the network ID, the Vault HCM plug-in calls upon a database, such as IBM DB2, to map the user's host ID and request the user's password.
8. The Vault HCM plug-in returns the FTP user ID and password to the CMS.
9. The CMS returns the FTP credentials to the client as an XML document.
10. The FTP login completes and displays the FTP server's file listings.