Browsing the Project Repository

You can browse and edit files in the project repository using an FTP client. Most standard FTP clients that support UTF-8 character encoding are compatible. The following clients are verified:

Filezilla
Total Commander Built-in FTP client
FlashFXP

You can configure the FTP service for a secure connection. For details, see Enable Secure FTP Connections.

Caution: Making changes to the folders, files, or file content directly in the ProjRep directory, not via an FTP client, will cause irreversible damage to the project repository.

When making changes to repository files via an FTP client, consider the following:

It is safe to edit repository files via an FTP client. This will not damage the integrity of the optimized repository.
Deleting a file will result in missing content in ALM entities.
Renaming folders and files may result in missing content in ALM entities.

Browse the project repository

Start the FTP service. Add and configure the FTP_PORT and FTP_CREDENTIALS parameters in the Site Configuration tab. For details, see Setting ALM Configuration Parameters.

Connect to the FTP server. In an FTP client, use the following connection values:

Field	Value
Host	The name or IP of the ALM server to which you want to connect.
Port	The FTP port. This should be the same value that you used for the FTP_PORT site parameter.
User	The username of an ALM site administrator.
Password	The password of the ALM site administrator.

Browse and edit repository files. After you connect to the FTP service, a list of the site domains is displayed. Select a domain, and then select a project. The FTP client displays the project repository directories.

Enable Secure FTP Connections

You can connect to the FTP server using a secure connection.

To enable a secure FTP connection:

On the ALM server machine, generate a keystore a key file. Using the command line, go to <ALM installation path>\java\bin.

To generate a keystore file, type:

keytool -genkey -keyalg RSA -alias client -keystore client.keystore -storepass changeit -storetype jks

To generate a key file, type:

keytool -certreq -alias client -keyalg RSA -file client.csr -keystore client.keystore

Note that client and changeit are used as examples.

Create an XML file, using the following format:

                                <ssl>

                                <keystore file="<keystore file path>" password="<keystore password>"/>

                                </ssl>

where <keystore file path> is the directory and file name of the keystore file, and <keystore password> is the password you defined for the keystore.

Save the XML file as sslkeystore.xml.

Place the sslkeystore.xml file in the following directory: C:\ProgramData\HP\ALM\webapps\qcbin.
Reconfigure the FTP_PORT site parameter.
Restart the FTP server by restarting the ALM service.
In the FTP client, select the FTPS or SSL option. If you are using FileZilla, go to File > Site Manager and click New Site. For Protocol, select FTP-File Transfer Protocol, and for Encryption, select Require implicit FTP over TLs, and click connect.