Connect:Direct
IBM software for moving files reliably and securely between the mainframe and other systems, widely used by banks.
Also written NDM, Network Data Mover, Sterling Connect:Direct, C:D, managed file transfer
Connect:Direct is file transfer software from IBM, part of the Sterling family. It was originally called NDM, Network Data Mover, and many people still use that name. Banks and other large organisations use it to send files between their own systems and to partners, such as payment networks.
What sets it apart from simpler transfer methods is reliability and control. A transfer that fails part of the way through can restart from where it stopped. Every transfer is logged. Transfers can be secured with encryption and certificates. Character conversion between EBCDIC and ASCII can be done as part of the transfer.
Transfers are written as processes in a simple language, and on the mainframe they are usually started from batch jobs, often by the batch scheduler, so a file is sent as soon as the job that creates it finishes.
In a bank's overnight batch, many important files, such as payments, statements and reports for regulators, leave the mainframe by Connect:Direct. If a transfer fails, it is treated as seriously as a failed job.
Where can I learn this hands-on?
Right here, at ZedBank. You take a junior job at a simulated bank and learn each part of the work by doing it, with Zed beside you. There's nothing to install.
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- File transferMoving data between the mainframe and other systems, where character encoding and record structure both need attention.
- Batch schedulerSoftware that submits production jobs automatically in the right order, at the right time, based on what has already succeeded.
- DatasetWhat a mainframe calls a file: a named collection of records with a defined structure, rather than a loose stream of bytes.
- Batch processingRunning work in bulk, without anyone watching, usually on a schedule. The overnight run that settles a day of transactions.
- EBCDICThe character encoding mainframes use, where letters and numbers are stored as different byte values than on a laptop.
- CCSIDCoded character set identifier: a number that names which character encoding some data uses, so it can be converted correctly.