How to load data from SFTP Bulk to TiDB

Learn how to use Airbyte to synchronize your SFTP Bulk data into TiDB within minutes.

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Start syncing with Airbyte in 3 easy steps within 10 minutes

Set up a SFTP Bulk connector in Airbyte

Connect to or one of 400+ pre-built or 10,000+ custom connectors through simple account authentication.

Set up TiDB for your extracted SFTP Bulk data

Select where you want to import data from your source to. You can also choose other cloud data warehouses, databases, data lakes, vector databases, or any other supported Airbyte destinations.

Configure the SFTP Bulk to TiDB in Airbyte

This includes selecting the data you want to extract - streams and columns -, the sync frequency, where in the destination you want that data to be loaded.
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How to Sync to Manually

Step 1: Prepare Your Environment

Ensure that you have access to both the SFTP server and the TiDB database. Install necessary tools such as `sftp` for secure file transfer and `mysql` client for interacting with TiDB. Verify network connectivity to both the SFTP server and the TiDB instance.

Use the `sftp` command-line tool to connect to the SFTP server and download the required data files to your local machine or a server that can access TiDB. Use a command like `sftp user@hostname:/path/to/file` to transfer files.

Inspect the downloaded data files to ensure they are in a format that TiDB can accept, such as CSV or TSV. If necessary, clean or transform the data to match the schema of your TiDB tables. Ensure that any delimiters, encodings, and escape characters are consistent.

Before importing data, ensure that your TiDB database has the appropriate schema in place. Use the `mysql` client to connect to TiDB and run `CREATE TABLE` statements to define the structure of your tables. Ensure that the data types and columns match those of the imported data.

Use the `mysql` client’s `LOAD DATA INFILE` command to import data files into TiDB. First, ensure that the files are accessible from the TiDB server or upload them to the TiDB server's accessible directory. Then, execute a command such as:
```sql
LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/path/to/file.csv' INTO TABLE your_table FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';
```
Adjust delimiters based on your file format.

After loading the data, verify that it has been imported correctly by executing SQL queries on TiDB to check for accuracy and completeness. Compare the number of records and some sample entries in TiDB with the original data files to ensure consistency.

Remove any temporary files from your local or intermediate servers to save space. If this data transfer is a recurring task, consider writing a script that automates the entire process, including downloading, transforming, and loading data. Use shell scripting to automate these steps and schedule them using a tool like `cron` for periodic execution.

Following these steps will help you efficiently move data from an SFTP server to TiDB without relying on third-party connectors or integrations.