> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.itconductor.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/monitoring/infrastructure/file-server/file-watcher.md). # File Watcher Monitoring IT-Conductor File Watcher facilitates application integrations by tracking file exchanges between business partners, clients, providers, etc. This monitoring mechanism enables seamless communication through file sharing, where entities post files into designated directories for application consumption. File Watcher monitoring in IT-Conductor relies on retrievers that periodically collect files from external systems such as SAP, SMB file servers, and SFTP hosts, enabling users to monitor shares, directories, and files - their existence, size, and modification time. By setting up alerts, users can ensure that specific conditions regarding the files, such as timely arrival, are met. Users can trigger automated processing and enable event-driven integrations by setting up recovery actions. This proactive monitoring and automation approach enhances operational efficiency and helps maintain compliance and data integrity across integrated systems. ### Prerequisites Before proceeding, configure file retrieval from your source system (e.g., SAP system, SMB server, or SFTP host) by following the appropriate setup instructions for your environment. #### SMB Server * Set up a file server for file management and a watcher in IT-Conductor. See [File Server Monitoring ](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/monitoring/infrastructure/file-server)for instructions. #### SFTP host * Set up SSH2 host monitoring. See [Linux Monitoring](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/monitoring/infrastructure/os/unix-linux-system) for instructions #### SAP System * Set up SAP System monitoring. See [SAP Netweaver monitoring](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/monitoring/sap/netweaver) for instructions. * Download the SAP NW File Watcher Role and the SAP NW Monitoring Role file in [**Support → Downloads → SAP Security Download**](https://service.itconductor.com/objectSavedSearch?OBJECT_Id=5930548857087850)**.**

* Assign both roles to the designated IT-Conductor user ### Configure File Watcher Monitoring in IT-Conductor To configure the file watcher monitoring in IT-Conductor, follow the instructions below. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Before proceeding, note that configuration methods may vary depending on your system and environment; ensure you select the appropriate approach for your setup ([SMB Server](#smb-server-1), [SFTP/SSH2 Host](#sftp-host), or [SAP System](#sap-system-1)). {% endhint %} #### **Add New File Monitors** #### **SMB Server** Follow these instructions to add a new file monitor for files located on an SMB/CIFS network share. 1. Navigate to the File Server and click **File Monitors**.

Figure 2: Add new file monitor - SMB Server

2. Click

to add a new retriever.

3. Fill out all the necessary information in the **Create Get Directory Files** wizard. Some of these may already be filled out. 1. **Name** - refers to the name given to the retriever. 2. **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the directory being added. 3. **Application** - refers to the file server from which the files are being pulled. 4. **Repeat** - when enabled, IT-Conductor retrieves files from the SAP system periodically at the configured interval (in minutes). 5. **Repeat interval** - refers to the frequency with which each retriever pulls files into IT-Conductor. By default, this is set to every 15 minutes. However, depending on the sensitivity of the information, this can be adjusted as needed. 6. **Share** - the share that will be pulled into IT-Conductor. 7. **Folder** - the folder's name inside the share that will be pulled into IT-Conductor. 8. **File Name/Mask** - refers to the file names that will be pulled into IT-Conductor. You can use regex in this field. (Optional)

Figure 4a: Create new CIFS file retriever wizard

4. Fill in the optional **insertion** and **exclusion criteria.** This will enable additional filtering of files retrieved from the SMB server. To add a criteria, click

to add a new row, then fill in the following fields: 1. **Attribute**- the exact criteria that you can monitor. You can choose one of the available criteria from the drop-down menu. 2. **Operator** - refers to the operator validation (=, !=, >, <, in, regex, NULL, etc.) 3. **Value** - refers to the exact value that will be monitored. This is an open field where you can specify file names or formats for monitoring.

Figure 4b: Create new CIFS file retriever wizard - Insertion & Exclusion criteria

5. Click

to save and finish #### **SAP System** Follow these instructions to add a new file monitor for files accessible within an SAP system. 1. Navigate to the SAP System and click **File Monitors**.

Figure 5: Add file monitors option - SAP System

2. Click

to add a new file monitor

3. Fill out all the necessary information in the **Create SAP Get Directory Files** wizard. Some of these may already be filled out. 1. **Name** - refers to the name given to the retriever. 2. **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the directory being added. 3. **SAP System** - refers to the SAP system from which the files are being pulled. 4. **Repeat** - when enabled, IT-Conductor retrieves files from the SAP system periodically at the configured interval (in minutes). 5. **Repeat interval** - refers to the frequency with which each retriever pulls files into IT-Conductor. By default, this is set to every 15 minutes. However, depending on the sensitivity of the information, this can be adjusted as needed.

Figure 7a: Create new SAP file retriever wizard

4. Fill in the optional **insertion** and **exclusion criteria.** This will enable additional filtering of files retrieved from the SAP system. To add a criteria, click

to add a new row, then fill in the following fields: 1. **Attribute**- the exact criteria that you can monitor. You can choose one of the available criteria from the drop-down menu. 2. **Operator** - refers to the operator validation (=, !=, >, <, in, regex, NULL, etc). 3. **Value** - refers to the exact value that will be monitored. This is an open field where you can specify file names or formats for monitoring. 5. Input parameters 1. **Directory** - the file system path on the SAP server where IT-Conductor retrieves files for monitoring.

Figure 7b: Create new SAP file retriever wizard - Insertion & Exclusion criteria

6. Click

to save and finish. #### **SFTP/SSH2 Hosts** Follow these instructions to add a new file monitor for files located on a Linux host via SSH access. 1. Navigate to the Linux Host and click **File Monitors**.

Figure 8: Add file monitors option - SAP System

2. Click

to add a new file monitor

3. Fill out all the necessary information in the **Create SFTP Directory** wizard. Some of these may already be filled out. 1. **Name** - refers to the name given to the retriever. 2. **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the directory being added. 3. Application 4. **Repeat** - when enabled, IT-Conductor retrieves files from the SFTP host periodically at the configured interval (in minutes). 5. **Repeat interval** - refers to the frequency with which each retriever pulls files into IT-Conductor. By default, this is set to every 15 minutes. However, depending on the sensitivity of the information, this can be adjusted as needed. 6. **Directory** - the remote folder path on the SSH2 host where files are retrieved from for monitoring. 7. **File** - the specific file name or pattern to be retrieved and monitored from the SSH2 directory.

Figure 10a: Create new SFTP file retriever wizard

4. Fill in the optional **insertion** and **exclusion criteria.** This will enable additional filtering of files retrieved from the host. To add a criteria, click on the

button, then fill in the following fields: 1. **Attribute**- the exact criteria that you can monitor. You can choose one of the available criteria from the drop-down menu. 2. **Operator** - refers to the operator validation (=, !=, >, <, in, regex, NULL, etc). 3. **Value** - refers to the exact value that will be monitored. This is an open field where you can specify file names or formats for monitoring.

Figure 10b: Create new SFTP file retriever wizard - Insertion & Exclusion criteria

6. Click

to save and finish. After saving, it’ll take a few minutes for IT-Conductor to pull the files in that share and folder. Retrievers execute at a defined interval (typically every few minutes, depending on the configuration) to pull files from the source system. For each file retrieved, a corresponding object is created in IT-Conductor. These objects serve as the basis for monitoring and contain metadata such as: * Directory path * File name * Size * Last modification timestamp

#### **Add New File Watcher** File watchers are typically created per target group to monitor a specific set of files. Each watcher selects relevant file objects based on high-level criteria such as directory path (using regular expressions/regex) and the source system. This initial filtering defines the pool of file objects that the watcher will evaluate. By setting up the file watcher, you specify how folders and files that are periodically pulled from the file server are monitored. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** After configuring file retrieval and creating the file monitor for your SAP system, SFTP host, or SMB file server, the next step is to create a file watcher to define how the retrieved files will be monitored. Regardless of the source type, the process for creating a file watcher remains the same, and the File Watcher container is automatically created under the corresponding site. {% endhint %} 1. On the file server node, click **File Watchers.**

2. Click **Create New Object**

to create a new file watcher.

3. On the following screen, fill out the following details * **Name** - refers to the name assigned to this file watcher. * **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the file watcher being added. * **Application** - refers to the file server. * **File Mask** -This is an optional file selector - a regular expression (Regex) instruction where you specify what files will match the criteria. In the simplest form, specify the full path of the file, but make sure you escape special characters such as \[]$).:\\^$ with '\\' as: \\\[, \\], \\(, \$ etc. For more advanced options, please refer to online regex tutorials and testers such as [Free Online Regular Expression Tester - FreeFormatter.com](https://www.freeformatter.com/regex-tester.html) 4. Click

to save.

5. Click the recently created file watcher. Then click **Threshold Overrides**

to create an override to specify what the file watcher will monitor.

{% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The overrides in the selected file watcher will apply only to the files pre-selected by the monitor based on the corresponding file mask. {% endhint %} 6. On this page, you may see the previously created overrides for monitoring. Click

to create a new override, or click

to [create an override from an existing template](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/notifications/creating-threshold-overrides). In this example, we’re creating a new override.

**Overrides** define the specific monitoring logic applied to the file objects selected by the file watcher. While the watcher performs a broad selection (e.g., by directory), it further refines the scope by applying additional criteria such as file name patterns (using regex). Overrides also define: * The time window during which monitoring is active * The look-back interval, which determines how far back in time file modification timestamps are considered This allows monitoring to focus only on relevant files within a specific timeframe and context. 7. Fill out all the necessary information in the **Create New Override** wizard. Once completed, click

to add the new override.

* **Name** - refers to the assigned name for the override being added. * **Description** - any relevant information about the override being added. * **Object Criteria** - refers to the specific attributes that will be monitored. If you add the folder path in step 3, it will appear here. Under Object Criteria, you may specify what you want to monitor in this path. To add more criteria, click on the **Add New Row**

, then fill in the following fields: * **Name** - refers to the exact criteria that you can monitor. You can choose one of the available criteria from the drop-down menu. * **Oper** - refers to the operator validation (=, !=, >, <, in, regex, NULL, etc). * **Value** - refers to the exact value that will be monitored. This is an open field where you can specify file names or formats for monitoring. In the example above, we add the object criteria **Path**, and the operator '=', which means that the override will search for files within the folder path that we add.

* **Scheduling** - refers to the section where you can specify when the override will perform validation. You may choose to run the override on a specific day and time. If you don't specify a day, it will run daily at the indicated time. Alternatively, you can assign [a pre-existing schedule ](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/reporting/scheduling-reports#reportscheduling-definingandoperatingschedules)from the dropdown menu. * **Start** - refers to the time when the override will start monitoring. * **End** - refers to the time when the override will stop monitoring. * **Aggregation -** refers to the metrics used to define the aggregation values. * **Aggregation interval** - defines the period within which the files are collected and added to the file server. * **Consecutive interval** - refers to the regularity or frequency of occurrences within a defined number of minutes. * **Aggregation** - refers to the function that will be applied, such as sum, average, count, minimum, or maximum. The **Scheduling** and **Aggregation** sections tell the override when to look for files. The example above specifies a time window between 6:30 am and 7:00 am. During that time, the override will search for files added to the server in the previous 360 min, as specified in the **Consecutive Interval** field below.

* **Thresholds** - refers to the metrics used to define the threshold values. * **Warning Value** - refers to the value determining if the threshold was reached. If this field is blank or zero, it means that there’s no data. * **Warning Operator** - refers to the operator validation (=, !=, >, <, in, regex, NULL, etc). * **Warning Severity** - refers to the severity status that will be triggered if the validation reaches the Warning Value. * **Alerting** - refers to the section where you can indicate when the users will receive the alerts. * **Alert On** - refers to the status that will trigger the alert and notify the users. This is usually set to “Warning”. * **Alert Message** - refers to the message that the users will see. This message is customizable by the user. **Threshold** and **Alerting** sections tell the override when to send a message to the user. This example specifies that if there have been 0 posted files in the server, the status of the override will turn to **Warning**, and if the status is Warning, an alert will be sent to the user. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The more criteria you add, the more specific the override is and the higher the precedence. {% endhint %} 8. Click

to save.

{% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The status will remain on **Ready** for a few minutes. Refresh the panel if needed. If there are configuration issues, such as incorrect connection parameters or an invalid account, the status will remain **Ready**. Click ![](/files/2qtU9AtMdnPWDwPiJl6M) to display the logs and troubleshoot. If everything is configured correctly, the status will change to **In Progress.** {% endhint %} ### Monitor Files in IT-Conductor Locate the previously configured file server under the File Servers node in the service grid to monitor the files pulled from the file server. Click **Files** to view all the files added to that share.

Figure 18: Pulling Files from the File Server

By clicking on any of the files, you can see the following information from each file: * **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the file. * **File name** - refers to the name of the file and its extension. * **Path** - refers to the path’s full size, including the share and folders before it. * **Size** - refers to the file size. * **Last modified** - refers to the time and date when the file was last modified or added to the server.

To validate file monitoring, you can cross-check the files displayed in IT-Conductor against those in the SAP transaction AL11 by ensuring the same directory path, file names, and timestamps align; note that IT-Conductor reflects files from the last retriever cycle, so recent files may not appear immediately. If the directory is not visible in AL11, it must first be defined as a logical directory using the FILE transaction, as required by the function module used by IT-Conductor. #### **File Watchers** To monitor the existing file watchers, locate the **File Watchers** node in the service grid. The number displayed next to the file watcher indicates the number of alerts generated by the override. Click ![](/files/bV0rhbwxMsUtp9ET9rnc)to inspect the activities.

Figure 20: File Watcher View in Service Grid

By enlarging the chart, you can see the activity of the override. By clicking on the green bars, you can see which files have arrived recently and at what time. The image below is an example of 3 files arriving in the folder path at 8:30pm.

Alternatively, the following image represents an alert sent to the user’s email because the override didn’t detect any files during the consecutive interval period.

### SAP System Use Case: Monitoring File Delivery and Configuring Alerts In this scenario, we demonstrate how to configure an alert when retrieving files from a **SAP system**, specifically when a file with a defined name is not received in a directory by a specified time of day. The alert is then linked to a subscription so that designated users are notified and can take appropriate action. This approach is commonly used to ensure that expected files are delivered on time for downstream processing. First, we’re going to create the override 1. Locate the **File Watch** node in the main service grid and select the file watcher for which you wish to create an alert by clicking the

icon.

Figure 23: Access File Watch in Service Grid

2. Click on **Threshold Overrides** ![](/files/RT3mGxIBZHHnoQqWOsrq) and click on **Create Override button**

or **Create override from template**.

Figure 24: Threshold Overrides in File Watch

3. On the **Create Override** screen, some fields such as name, description, and target object type may be pre-populated. These can be updated if required. Then complete the following fields: 1. Application Role -> Production (if the override applies to the production environment) 2. Object criteria → This section defines the conditions used to identify the files to monitor. Click on the

icon to add a new criteria. 1. Name → OBJECT\_Name 2. Oper → regex 3. Value → ^TEST (This configuration matches files whose names start with “TEST”. By using the regex operator and the ^ symbol, IT-Conductor evaluates file names accordingly and includes matching files in the monitoring logic.) 3. Click on

to add a row {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Since this scenario involves monitoring files retrieved from a SAP system, the object name criteria include the corresponding SAP prefix. {% endhint %}

Figure 25a: Create Override for SAP File Watch - Add object criteria

This scenario is only one example. You can adapt the alert criteria to match different file naming patterns depending on your requirements. For example: | Match files that start with TEST | regex ^TEST | | -------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | | Match files that contain TEST anywhere in the name | regex TEST | | Exclude files that contain TEST | !regex TEST | | Match files that start with TEST | !regex ^(?:TEST) | 4. In this case, specifying the file directory is not required because the override is created within the selected directory. If you wish to modify it, select the existing row, click the

icon, and update the **Value** field accordingly.

Figure 25b: Create Override for SAP File Watch - Specify directory

5. In the **Scheduling** section, define when the override should evaluate the files. You can either select a pre-defined schedule (See [Create a Schedule](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/reporting/scheduling-reports/hana#create-a-schedule) documentation) or configure specific days and times. In this example, the evaluation window is set between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM.

Figure 25c: Create Override for SAP File Watch - Set override schedule

6. In the **Thresholds** section, specify the following details: 1. Alarm value → 0 2. Alarm operator → = 3. Alarm severity → Warning (This configuration ensures that if no matching files are found during the evaluation window, the override status is set to **Warning**.) 7. In the **Alerting** section, specify the following details: 1. Alert on → Warning 2. Alert Message → *File \Guidewire\Activity\In\TEST\* has not been posted by 8:00 PM.* (This message will be sent if no files meeting the defined criteria are detected.)

Figure 25d: Create Override for SAP File Watch - Set alarm threshold values

8. Click save. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** For a detailed explanation of how Overrides work in IT-Conductor, please refer to our [Threshold overrides](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/notifications/threshold-overrides) documentation. {% endhint %} The same scenario can be applied to files retrieved from an SMB file server, with criteria adjusted to use the CIFS prefix.

Figure 26: Create Override for SMB Server File Watch - Add object criteria

Second, let’s create the subscription. This is what will notify us of the change in the override’s status 1. On the main menu, click on **Management → Notifications → Subscriptions**, and click on **Create new subscription** 2. Fill the following fields 1. Target → Select the File Watcher node 2. Subscriber → Select the IT-Conductor user, [distribution list](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/notifications/distribution-lists), or [notification target](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/notifications/notification-targets) that will receive the alert 3. Minimum severity → Warning (to align with the override configuration) 3. Click on

to save.

Figure 27: Create subscription for file watcher

{% hint style="info" %} **Note:** You may add extra layers of triggers to make the subscription even more specific by adding those in the **Alert criteria** box. For more information on how to better utilize this tool and other use cases, please refer to the [Subscriptions ](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/notifications/subscriptions)documentation {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/monitoring/infrastructure/file-server/file-watcher.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.