Data transfer

OFTP stands for Odette File Transfer Protocol (Odette = Organization for data exchange by tele transmission in Europe) is a protocol for data transmission that was originally developed for use in the automotive industry but has since become much more widespread. Originally, it was mainly used via X.25 and ISDN connections, but also in closed networks, such as ENX, via TCP/IP connections. Since 2007, OFTP2 has enabled encrypted connections via the Internet using TLS.

OFTP uses so-called Odette identifiers (also called OFTP-ID or SSID or SFID) to identify the partners. These are theoretically freely selectable, but in practice it is often required that officially assigned Odette IDs be used to prevent duplicate use. Odette identifiers are assigned by the Odette organization or its affiliated national associations (in Germany, the VDA). !MC5 only allows the use of a single Odette identifier for SSID (used when establishing a connection) and SFID (used when transferring single files over an existing connection) for all licensed OFTP modules. The use of multiple custom identifiers is possible via add-ons. You can enter your own Odette identifier in the navigation tree under Settings/OFTP/OFTP2.

Other special features of OFTP:

•Direct point-to-point connection between two partners possible

•Data exchange (sending and receiving data) via a single existing connection

•Special receipt confirmations (EERP = End to End Response) acknowledge the (correct) receipt of data

•Resumption of aborted transmissions

Additional security introduced with OFTP2:

•Encrypted connections over the Internet via TLS using Perfect Forward Security (PFS).

•Optional extended authentication on OFTP2 level via certificate

•Optional additional encryption and signing of the transmitted files as well as signing of the acknowledgement of receipt

The data exchange via OFTP is realized in !MC5 by the modules OFTP/ISDN, OFTP/TCP and OFTP2. All three modules support protocol versions 1.2 to 2.0. If the OFTP2 module is licensed, the additional security features of OFTP2 (e.g. secure authentication via certificate and file encryption) are also available in the OFTP/ISDN and OFTP/TCP modules. All OFTP modules always contain both an OFTP server and an OFTP client. This means that you can dial up partners to send and/or fetch data, and vice versa your partner can also dial up to you and fetch ready data and transmit data to you.