My FTP connections are failing

Question

Good morning everyone.

Since October 1st, my FTP connections have been failing in Azure Data Factory. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This is causing a lot of trouble. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Answer 1

Hi Wellington Luis Silva Dourado,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Below are the overall steps to troubleshoot a FTP Connection Failure in ADF. If nothing of this worked to narrow down the issue, I would suggest you raise a case with support for faster resolution.

1. Network Connectivity Issues:
   • Intermittent failures could be caused by network fluctuations between Azure and your FTP server. To verify this:
   • Test the FTP connection outside of ADF (e.g., from a virtual machine or your local machine) to see if the issue persists.
   • Check if there are any ongoing network or routing issues at your FTP server provider.
2. Firewall and IP Restrictions:
   • Ensure that your FTP server allows connections from the IP ranges of Azure Data Factory’s Integration Runtime (IR). Sometimes, an update in IP ranges or changes in firewall rules can cause connectivity issues.
   • Refer to the Azure Data Factory documentation for the list of IP ranges that need to be whitelisted for the region where your ADF instance is deployed.
3. Timeout Settings:
   • Timeouts can often cause intermittent failures. Check the timeout settings for your FTP connection within ADF.
   • Increase the timeout duration to see if that reduces the occurrence of disconnections.
4. Check Azure Service Health:
   • Azure services occasionally face region-specific issues. Check the Azure Service Health Dashboard for any ongoing issues or recent incidents impacting ADF or related services in your region.
5. Review Logs and Monitoring:
   • Review the run history and logs of the ADF pipeline that connects to the FTP server. Look for patterns, error codes, or specific timestamps when the issue occurs to pinpoint whether this is a service or configuration issue.
   • Use Azure Monitor or Log Analytics to capture any trends in FTP connection failures.
6. FTP Server Settings:
   • Ensure that there have been no recent changes on the FTP server, such as security patches, protocol updates, or software upgrades, that could impact compatibility with Azure Data Factory.
   • If you are using FTPS (FTP over SSL), verify that there are no certificate issues that may cause failures.
7. Retry Mechanism in Pipelines:

• If intermittent issues persist, implement a retry mechanism in your ADF pipeline to automatically retry failed connections after a brief delay. This can mitigate temporary network or service disruptions.

Note: Some of the above maybe you have tried them already, if so you can ignore them. Keep in mind that this is an overall troubleshooting steps.

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