Integration FTP and RA FTP agent coexistence and migration guidance

Products

• CA Automic Workload Automation - Automation Engine
• CA Automic One Automation

Issue/Introduction

Guidance for Automic Automation users planning a migration from the RA FTP solution to the Integration (IG) FTP agent. This article addresses common questions regarding object preservation, version compatibility, and parallel execution.  Some questions many users have are:

• Will existing RA JOBS and RA CONN objects be lost or require reconfiguration when installing the IG FTP agent?
• Can a v24 IG FTP agent connect to a v21 Automation Engine (AE)?
• Do all RA FTP agents in an environment (e.g., DMZ agents) need to be upgraded simultaneously?
• Is it possible to run RA FTP and IG FTP agents side-by-side on the same AE?

Environment

• Automic Automation v21, v24 and up
• RA FTP Agent
• Integration (IG) FTP Agent

Resolution

The transition from RA FTP to IG FTP is designed to be a binary-level upgrade that preserves existing database configurations.

• Object Preservation: Existing RA JOBS and RA CONN objects remain in the AE database. They are not deleted or modified during the installation of an IG FTP agent and are picked up seamlessly by the new agent.
• Version Compatibility: The version 21.x IG FTP agent is compatible with AE v21.x and can also be used with a version 24.x AE (but do note that 21.0 is out of support at this point).  The 24.x IG FTP can only be used on version 24.x or higher AE.
• Phased Migration: While different agents can remain on the RA solution while others are upgraded to IG FTP, it's important to note that this is not officially supported.  Jobs may be run, but might not be able to be edited.
• Parallel Execution: Both agent types can connect to the same AE simultaneously, but is not officially supported.  The IG FTP agent is meant to be a seamless upgrade/replacement for the RA FTP agent.

Note: While parallel execution could work, the RA FTP solution has run into End-of-Life (EOL). Issues encountered on EOL agents may not be eligible for technical support.

Additional Information

• For UI errors related to "IGFtpSheetProvider" after installation, see KB 280282.
• For enabling legacy SFTP ciphers in IG FTP, see KB 278025.