Working with Growing Files

Growing files are "in progress" files that continue to grow in size. For example, videos generated at live events continue to grow in size and duration. Watchfolders can detect these growing files and start transferring them to a target directory using Aspera faspstream technology.
Important: Both the source host and remote host must be running IBM Aspera Enterprise Server 3.6.0+ to support the faspstream technology used to transfer growing files. Also, the remote host transfer user for the watchfolder must not have a docroot.
To configure a watchfolder to work with growing files, first add the source host to Console as a managed node. Then, follow the instructions below to a new watchfolder and configure the Growing Files options.
Important: The source host must be properly configured for watchfolders. For more information, see Configuring a Watchfolder-enabled Transfer Node.
  1. Go to Activity > Watchfolders and click Create New Watchfolder.
  2. Name your watchfolder. For example, name your watchfolder "Camera Feed Transfers".
  3. In the Local section, select the source node and path.
    Click the Local Node drop-down menu and select a managed node. Only nodes configured to run watch folders appear on the drop-down list. If you do not see any nodes, make sure your nodes are properly configured in Console.



  1. In the Remote section, enter the credentials to authenticate to the destination node and authorize transfers.
    • Address: The hostname or IP address.
    • Login: The username of the administrator account (for the SSH connection).
    • Select Password or SSH Key and provide the credentials. To use public key authentication, you must have your SSH private key configured in Console. For instructions, on how to configure SSH keys in Console, see Configuring SSH Keys.
    • Token: Optional. Enter a token string to use to authenticate the transfer, with the syntax "Basic token_string". To use token authorization, create an access key on the remote node and generate a token from it. For instructions, see "Access Key Authentication" in the IBM Aspera Enterprise Server Admin Guide.
  2. Set the TCP and UDP ports. By default, TCP uses port 22 and UDP uses port 33001.
  3. Click Browse to test the connection and choose the target directory.



  1. Configure the Growing Files section to configure the session bandwidth policy and the growing files detection policy.
    Note: Sessions with growing files are not affected by settings in the Transfer section.
    Expand the Growing Files section. Configure the following options.
    Option Description Example
    Target rate Specify the target transfer rate. 10000
    Transport encryption Select aes-128 to transfer with this encryption method. aes128
    TCP port Enter the TCP port to use for this watch folder. 22
    fasp™ port (UDP) Enter the UDP port to use for this watch folder. 33001
    Completion timeout Specify the amount of time to wait for the file to no longer change for the session to finish. 10
    Growing file filters The growing file filter allows watchfolders to define which files are considered growing files. Click the button to add a new filter to identify the growing file. You can set a filter to include or exclude files by globbing or by regular expression. *.m2p
    For more information on watchfolder settings, see Watchfolder Options.

  2. Click Create.