Overview
XML is the structured file format this connector handles. It remains the interchange format of older enterprise systems and of anything built on SOAP: mainframe and ERP extracts, licensing and entitlement files, network and telephony configuration dumps, and the output of tooling that predates the move to JSON. Its distinguishing feature is that data lives in two places, in element text and in element attributes, and a parser has to decide what to do with both.
The connector reads those files and writes them to staging tables. The xml_file.php driver walks the document and flattens elements into columns, with a job’s Data Node naming the element to descend to before building rows, so a document wrapped in a result envelope yields one row per record. Repeating child elements below that point become their own related tables. Files are read either from a directory on the ReadyWorks server, including files uploaded through the console, or pulled from an FTP server.
In a ReadyWorks context this is how legacy system extracts reach the data fabric. An asset register exported from a system with no modern API, or a licence entitlement file delivered by a vendor, lands here and then reconciles against live device and identity data from the API connectors.
The connector is inbound only. It reads files and writes staging tables, and it never writes XML back out.
NOTE: Attributes are included in the parsed output on this connector, and the switch that would suppress them is not exposed on the job form. Attribute-heavy documents therefore produce wide staging tables with a column for every attribute on every element.
Connector Properties
Authentication Methods
Two methods ship. Both use the same parsing driver and differ only in where the file comes from.
Method 1: XML File (XML_file)
No Authentication
XML File reads from a directory on the ReadyWorks server. Set Server File Path to that directory (the default is storage/etl5), and set Manual File Upload to Yes when operators will attach files through the console. Process Unchanged Files controls whether re-reading an unchanged file is treated as an error.
Connection Configuration Fields (3)
No authentication recipe is stored. The driver script authenticates natively using the fields above.
Method 2: FTP Server (XML_ftp)
Download XML files from an FTP server
FTP Server downloads files from an FTP host before parsing them. Supply the server name and port (the default is 21), and a temporary working path on the ReadyWorks server where downloaded files are held during processing. Username and Password are optional, which allows anonymous FTP.
Connection Configuration Fields (5)
No authentication recipe is stored. The driver script authenticates natively using the fields above.
NOTE: The form has no option for FTPS or SFTP, and no certificate settings. Plain FTP carries credentials and file contents without encryption, so keep the transfer inside a trusted network segment.
NOTE: The Password field’s help text reads “Enter username of the FTP connection”. Enter the password.
Inbound Job Fields Enabled (11)
These are the job-level settings exposed for an XML import. Data Node is the XML-specific one.
Inbound Job Templates (1)
One inbound template ships as a worked example. It arrives disabled and points at a placeholder file name, so it is a starting point to copy rather than a job to enable.
Job Template Configuration
Settings
Job Parameters and Enumeration
XML File
XML File or Path: your_xml_file.xml
Outbound Job Templates (0)
This connector ships no outbound templates and does not support outbound jobs.