Bloomberg Enterprise Data

BLOOMBERG DATA LICENSE

Quickstart Guide
June 2019
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Table of Contents
Bloomberg Enterprise Data – CSC Registration ....................................................................3
For new users who do not have a CSC Login .................................................................3
For users who already have an existing CSC Login........................................................5
Data License (Master Data): Request and Response Mechanism .........................................6
SFTP and Web services .................................................................................................6
Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point (BEAP) ...................................................................6
Request File Format ..............................................................................................................7
Data License Request File (.req file) ...............................................................................7
Bloomberg Enterprise Data – FAQs.....................................................................................11
What are the differences among the various Request Operation Mode
(PROGRAMFLAG)? .....................................................................................................11
How to specify a pricing source for individual instruments or for an entire request file? 11
How to link a DL account to BLOOMBERG terminal in order to take advantage of
personal defaults? ........................................................................................................11
What do the return codes or return values (N.S. / N.D.) mean? ....................................11
How can I access ratings data on Data License? .........................................................12
Best Practices .....................................................................................................................12
Utilize headers TIME and RUNDATE to schedule files .................................................12
Utilize Program “scheduled” to return all files that are scheduled on account ............... 12
Editing Scheduled Requests.........................................................................................13
Customer Service Center – Support resources....................................................................13
Access to Request Builder Training Videos ..................................................................13
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ............................................................................14
Submitting an Inquiry to Bloomberg Enterprise Data CSC Web Portal..........................14
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Bloomberg Enterprise Data – CSC Registration

The customer service portal is where you can log in to manage your contracts, exchanges,
billing and enterprise products. Access to our 24/7 help desk is also accessible through the
portal.

For new users who do not have a CSC Login

Follow the steps below to create a Login:
1) Go to https://service.bloomberg.com/ and click “Register here”

2) Select “Enterprise Solutions” as account type

Bloomberg Enterprise Data

3) Click “Sign in Here” if you are already a Bloomberg Anywhere user.

Otherwise, enter your personal information in the Login Information and Contact section of
the registration page.

4) Under Product Information, choose Data License Account # as Account Type, and enter
the Data License account number (numbers only; Omit “DL”). Click “Submit” to complete the
registration. If you do not know your Data License Account Number, please contact your
Account Manager.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

For users who already have an existing CSC Login

Follow the steps below to add the DL Account to your existing CSC Profile:
1) Go to https://service.bloomberg.com/ and Login to CSC website.

2) Click and Select “My Profile” on the top-right hand corner of the screen

3) Click on tab “ENTERPRISE ACCOUNTS”, select Account Type as “Data License

Account #” and enter the Account number (without “DL”). Click “Add Account” to add the
new data license account to your existing CSC login.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Data License (Master Data): Request and Response

Mechanism
Bloomberg Data License (DL) allows a customer to form a request to access financial
information by selecting a range of securities, and a range of information fields for each of
these securities.

Customers can form a request to meet their information needs, and submit it to Bloomberg
through a variety of methods, including Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point (BEAP website),
SFTP and Web Services. Bloomberg processes these requests and sends a response
containing the requested data values.

SFTP and Web services

Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point (BEAP)

The Bloomberg Enterprise Access Point, or BEAP, is a web-based platform for clients to
easily discover and act on Bloomberg data products. If you have access to the “Requests”
page, you will also be able to upload new Request files as an alternative approach to SFTP.
Please see DL Guide Section - Enterprise Access Point Scheduled datasets
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Enterprise-Access-Point---BEAP-Quick-
Start-Guide-Website-Users-Accessing-Data-Scheduled-datasets for more details.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Request File Format

For any DL related topics, refer to the “Data License Guide” that is available on the
Documentation tab on the CSC Portal.

Data License Request File (.req file)

REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Request Composition
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Composition

• All data requests are to be submitted to Bloomberg with a header, security and fields
format. Files will not run if the format is inaccurate.

• Request file can be edited by applications such as Notepad, Notepad++, Wordpad

etc. and it ends with file extension .req

• Only files with .req extension will be processed.

Requests must follow this format:

Section Definition

START-OF-FILE Explained below

Request Header See Request Header section

List of Fields See Data Fields section

List of Securities See Securities section

END-OF-FILE Explained below

Bloomberg Enterprise Data

(1) Bloomberg Enterprise Data – File Headers

File Headers - START-OF-FILE and START-OF-FIELDS
REFERENCE: DL Guide section - Request Headers
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Headers

• This section contains pertinent information that identifies the customer, the type of
request to run, the time to run the request, and other options that are detailed in the
referenced DL Guide. The order of the headers do not matter.

• Header options must be entered into the request as UPPER case.

• The full list of file headers available and explanation for each header option can be
found in the corresponding sub-sections within the referenced section in the DL
Guide.

Example File Header:

FIRMNAME=dl<account number> ------------------- DL account E.g. dl123456

PROGRAMFLAG=oneshot --- How often to process the request. E.g. oneshot, or daily etc. The default is oneshot
PROGRAMNAME=getdata ---------------- Program Name: getdata / gethistory / getactions etc.
REPLYFILENAME=Reply.out ---------- Reply filename, a string with a max of 25 characters. No blanks/special
characters allowed. The default is in .out format
SECID=TICKER ----- Specifies the default security identifier type
HEADER=no ---------------------- Specifies if the header should be returned in the response
DELIMITER=| ---- Any single ASCII character may be used except for “ (double quote) and a blank. Default is |
COLUMNHEADER=yes ------ If set to yes, the response will return the field corresponding to each column of data
PRICING=yes
SECMASTER=yes
DERIVED=yes
FUNDAMENTALS=yes
Data Categories; Setting the options to “yes” allow customers to request data via
CREDITRISK=yes
fields from these categories. Otherwise, the data fields will return N.S. (Not
CAPSTRUCT=yes
CORPSTRUCT=yes Subscribed). Please refer to Column AD of the Data Dictionary (fields.csv) for
CREDITRISK=yes identifying the corresponding data category of each data field mnemonic.
DEFAULTRISK=yes
ESTIMATES=yes
HISTORICAL=yes

(2) Bloomberg Enterprise Data – List of Fields

List of Fields - START-OF-FIELDS and END-OF-FIELDS
REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - List of Fields
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Composition-List-of-
Fields

• The Fields section may or may not be needed in a request, depending upon the
program being run by the client. Fields section is mandatory for getdata or gethistory
requests.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

• List of fields is used to specify the fields that will be retrieved in response to this Per
Security request.

• The list of fields must be after the header and before the list of securities. A
maximum of 500 fields can be specified in any request.

• The fields are inserted between START-OF-FIELDS and END-OF-FIELDS section

tags.

• The Data Dictionary (fields.csv) contains the universe of fields available to Per
Security Users. This file can be found on the CSC Portal under “Documentation” ->
“Data License Documentation” -> Data Dictionary (Fields.csv). Refer to Column AD
in the Data Dictionary (fields.csv) for identifying the corresponding data category of
each data field mnemonic.

Example Field Section:

START-OF-FIELDS
NAME
ID_BB_GLOBAL Example: The data license category of field EQY_BETA is
ID_BB_UNIQUE “Derived - End of Day”. In order to obtain the EQY_BETA data on
COUNTRY response file, the request file should include the header line
EQY_SH_OUT DERIVED=yes. Otherwise, the data field will return N.S. (Not
EQY_SH_OUT_DT Subscribed).
CRNCY
PX_LAST
VOLUME_AVG_30D
EQY_BETA
EPS_GROWTH
SALES_REV_TURN
END-OF-FIELDS

3) Bloomberg Enterprise Data – List of Securities

List of Securities - START-OF-DATA and END-OF-DATA
REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Securities
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Composition-
Securities

• This section will be where you list the securities to be requested. The identifiers are
inserted between section tags START-OF-DATA and END-OF-DATA .

• The list of securities must be after the list of fields. There may only be one security
identifier per line.

• Limit of Securities per Request file is as follows:

Bloomberg Enterprise Data

PROGRAMFLAG PROGRAMNAME MAX SECURITIES

Adhoc Getdata 20,000
Scheduled Getdata 200,000
Scheduled All other programs 20,000

• Yellow Key is case sensitive and it should be in mixed Case, such as “Equity”,
“Corp”, “Index” etc. “equity” or “EQUITY” will not be recognized.
WRONG CORRECT
IBM US equity IBM US Equity
AUD curncy AUD Curncy
AV9074619 corp AV9074619 Corp

Format Example:

START-OF-DATA
INTC US Equity
EQ0010172900001000|BB_UNIQUE| --------------- Specifying this as a ID_BB_UNIQUE identifier
44932HAK9|CUSIP|--------------------------------------- Specifying this as a CUSIP identifier
US44932HAK95|ISIN|------------------------------------ Specifying this as an ISIN identifier
BBG00MNY1DJ1|BB_GLOBAL|----------------------- Specifying this as an ID_BB_GLOBAL identifier
END-OF-DATA

• Security Identifier must be one of the identifiers described in the

REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - SECID
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Headers-
SECID

• Some security identifiers apply to multiple securities from multiple exchanges. It is

possible to specify the security desired by adding exchange code. E.g.
“US4581401001 US Equity”, “US4581401001 UN|ISIN|”
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Bloomberg Enterprise Data – FAQs

What are the differences among the various Request Operation Mode
(PROGRAMFLAG)?
There are several modes available within the PROGRAMFLAG header. Currently they
include: Ad Hoc, Scheduled, and One-shot. If a specific mode is not selected via the
PROGRAMFLAG header, the program will default to One-shot.

Clients can refer to below section for the Program flag values description:
REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Request Operation Mode
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Operation-Mode

Kindly also refer to REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Operation Mode Consequences

https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Request-Operation-Mode-
Operation-Mode-consequences
for the scheduling features, content availability, program availability, and rate card pricing.

How to specify a pricing source for individual instruments or for an entire

request file?

Users may specify a PRICING_SOURCE override either on a Request Level or on Individual

Instrument Level. Kindly refer to the below FAQ on Enterprise Data Customer Service
Center for the illustration.
REFERENCE: How do I specify a pricing source on individual instruments or for an entire request file?
https://service.bloomberg.com/portal/product/tickets/faqs?section=DL&subsection=43&questionid=4174

How to link a DL account to BLOOMBERG terminal in order to take

advantage of personal defaults?

Clients whose firms subscribe to the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service have the
option of linking their data license account to their BLOOMBERG terminal to take advantage
of personal defaults. This can be hard-coded for a permanent link by contacting our technical
support desk, or this can be done on a case-by-case basis by amending the request file
header. Please refer to REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Links to a Bloomberg Terminal
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Links-to-a-Bloomberg-Terminal
for the details.

What do the return codes or return values (N.S. / N.D.) mean?

Client may check out the explanations from the FAQs section of Customer Service Center
https://service.bloomberg.com/portal/product/tickets/faqs . FAQs on return codes or values can be
located under the Return Codes/Error Codes sub-category.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Please also refer to the below sections for the list of return codes supported for getdata and
their respective meanings:
REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Return Codes
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-getdata-
Return-Codes

It is possible to get a good return code, but data for one or more fields did not been returned.
Reason Codes and Reasons for fields not being populated can be found below:
REFERENCE: DL Guide Section - Data not returned
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-getdata-Data-
not-returned

How can I access ratings data on Data License?

Clients may be required to have a license with the ratings data providers in order to
download the ratings data via Data License. Please refer to FAQs section of the Customer
Service Center https://service.bloomberg.com/portal/product/tickets/faqs for more details. FAQs related
to ratings data access are located under the Entitlements sub-category.

Best Practices
Utilize headers TIME and RUNDATE to schedule files
REFERENCE: Best Practices - Time and Date
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Best-Practices-Time-and-Date

When scheduling files, the TIME and RUNDATE headers should be utilized to set a specific
time and date. Scheduled files without the TIME header will default to run at midnight; heavy
load at this time may cause response delays. Time is set according to the timezone of the
account’s sales region: TO/LO/NY .

Utilize Program “scheduled” to return all files that are scheduled on

account
REFERENCE: Scheduled
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-scheduled

The program “scheduled” ( PROGRAMNAME=scheduled ) returns a report containing all

recurrent requests (i.e. requests with PROGRAMFLAG=daily/weekday/weekend/
weekly/monthly) that are currently scheduled. Reply for this request will contain all the
currently active requests except adhoc and oneshot requests. This is a good way to check if
there is any recurrent request that is no longer needed. A request will look like the following:

START-OF-FILE
FIRMNAME=dl123456
REPLYFILENAME=scheduled.out
PROGRAMNAME=scheduled
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

END-OF-FILE

If there are no scheduled requests found under the account (of any frequency), the response
will return No scheduled nightly requests found. To cancel unwanted scheduled requests,
program “cancel” or “cancel_all” can be used. Please refer to the two sections:
REFERENCE: Cancel
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-cancel &
REFERENCE: Cancel_all
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-cancel-all

Editing Scheduled Requests

REFERENCE: Editing Scheduled Requests
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Per-Security-Program-Names-scheduled-
Editing-Scheduled-Requests

To edit securities or fields in a scheduled request, the client must send another request,
listing new securities or fields under the same REPLYFILENAME as the original response. A
request with a different REPLYFILENAME will be treated as a new scheduled response and
the original will continue to run without changes.

Customer Service Center – Support resources

Access to Request Builder Training Videos
Request Builder training videos on how to set up and submit data license requests can be
located under the Support tab on the Customer Service Center

Training videos in English and other languages are also located in the Data License Guide
REFERENCE: Request Builder - Training Videos
https://service.bloomberg.com/track_download/assets/data-license/#Request-Builder-Request-Builder-Training-
Videos
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The FAQs page contains an extensive list of useful FAQs. Users can easily locate the most
commonly asked questions on Data License on this page. Questions are categorized into
topics. Users can also search the contents easily by using the keyword search.

Submitting an Inquiry to Bloomberg Enterprise Data CSC Web Portal

Clients can submit your question to the Enterprise Data Support team through the Support
tab. To submit a question, do the following:
1) Log into the Bloomberg Customer Service Center home page.
2) Click on Support and select Create Ticket.

3) The “Create Ticket” screen will appear. Select Type as “Data License”, enter a brief
description of your inquiry in the Summary box and type in your question in the Note box.
Bloomberg Enterprise Data

4) Select the Data License Account, attach relevant Data License files and fill out the
Contact Phone and Emails. If you wish to have any of your colleagues subscribed to your
inquiry, simply add their email address in the Subscribe E-mails box at the bottom of the
page, separated by commas.

Click Submit and your inquiry will be sent to one of our Enterprise Data Customer Support
representatives.

Disclaimer
The BLOOMBERG TERMINAL service and Bloomberg data products (the “Services”) are owned and distributed by Bloomberg Finance L.P. (“BFLP”) except that Bloomberg L.P. and its subsidiaries (“BLP”)
distribute these products in Argentina, Australia and certain jurisdictions in the Pacific islands, Bermuda, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. BLP provides BFLP with global marketing and
operational support. The following are trademarks and service marks of BFLP, a Delaware limited partnership, or its subsidiaries: BLOOMBERG, BLOOMBERG ANYWHERE, BLOOMBERG MARKETS,
BLOOMBERG NEWS, BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL, BLOOMBERG TERMINAL and BLOOMBERG.COM. Absence of any trademark or service mark from this list does not waive Bloomberg's intellectual
property rights in that name, mark or logo. All rights reserved.
Methods for Data License access
There are two methods for requesting data from Bloomberg: SFTP and Web Services.
SFTP – Secure File Transfer Protocol, SFTP, is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and
file management functionalities over any reliable data stream. SFTP is available over the Internet and
Dedicated Line using routers.
Web Services – Web Services provides a programmatic interface to submit and retrieve messages to and
from our servers. Bloomberg will provide a certificate for authentication to our network. Additionally, Bloomberg
will provide sample code written in Java and .Net to assist with the client’s API. Web Services is available over
the Internet only and does not encrypt files.

SFTP Connection information

Make sure your firewall allows connectivity to the IPs below:

SFTP INTERNET HOST / PORT 22

Host Name IP Address
sftp.bloomberg.com (recommended) 205.216.112.23
208.22.57.176

SFTP DEDICATED LINE HOSTS / PORT 22

DL Region Host Name IP Address Virtual
ftp2ny.bloomberg.com 160.43.94.20
New York and Tokyo ftp2nj.bloomberg.com 160.43.166.57 160.43.94.78 (recommended)
(Recommended)
London lftpny.bloomberg.com 160.43.94.24
lftpnj.bloomberg.com 160.43.166.58 160.43.94.77 (recommended)

SFTP Whitelist
You will need to provide Bloomberg a list of IPs that you will be connecting to the DL SFTP site from to allow
access. 6 or more /24 CIDR ranges or unique IP address will require authentication by SSH key. Bloomberg
supports “OpenSSH” version 2 keys with a minimum of 2048bits. Clients must generate the public/private keys.
The public keys(s) should be provided to Bloomberg. The private key will be kept by the client and used for
authentication and should NOT be provided to Bloomberg. Multiple SSH keys can be configured for the same
account to support multiple environments.

©2014 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All rights reserved 0

Webservices connection information
WEB SERVICES HOST / PORT 443
WSDL Service Endpoint IP Address
https://service.bloomberg.com/assets/dl/dlws.wsdl https://dlws.bloomberg.com/dlps 69.191.229.90
69.191.193.90

Web Services Access

To assist in initial development, clients can use Bloomberg’s sample code (Java and .NET) as a reference and
enhance/optimize to meet their production requirements. The sample Code (file named PerSecurityWS.zip) is
available in folder on the Documentation tab of the Data License Web Portal. An SSL certificate and password
will be provided by Bloomberg.

Web Services Platforms Supported

• Windows
• Red Hat Linux 9
• Sun Solaris 2.4

• IBM AIX

Web Services Requirements:

To integrate and use W eb Services, the following items are required:

Requirement Description

JDK 1.5 JVM (for Java) Java based clients must install the latest JVM that is distributed with JDK1.5.

Toolkit for Web Install a toolkit for use in development of client applications
Services Development

Client Development A client application must be developed using the contract defined by the WSDL
https://service.bloomberg.com/assets/dl/dlws.wsdl

Security certificate Install the certificate keystore which is a binary file provided by Bloomberg, at a
keystore known directory

Documentation
Create a login for https://service.bloomberg.com/
Log in with username and password
Select “Documentation” Menu option
Select “Data License Guide” from dropdown
- or, go directly to -
https://service.bloomberg.com/documents/dlguide/data-license/

©2014 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All rights reserved 1

SFTP Set-Up Form
In order to setup your account in as an efficient manner as possible, please provide us with the following details.
Please note: it is important that this information is accurate so that the service is setup correctly.

Contacts - Please provide details of personnel from your firm who should be involved during the technical setup
of the account.
Role Name Number Email
Account Owner

Applications - Please provide details of the application(s) that will consume the data.

Type (Please select where relevant) Additional Details

- Request Builder
- Script
- Proprietary
rd
- 3 Party
- Other
- Webservices (Internet only)

Connectivity - Please provide a list of all IPs that will need to be added to the whitelist.

Internet IPs Bloomberg Dedicated Lines IPs

©2014 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All rights reserved 1

ENHANCED
AUTHENTICATION
POLICIES
PASSWORD & SECURE SHELL (SSH) KEYS
FOR YOUR DATA LICENSE

PURPOSE
To ensure the ongoing security of client and other confidential data, Bloomberg is enhancing its
authentication requirements for the file transfer processing. As of June 30, 2016, Bloomberg will require
SFTP accounts to use SSH keys and/or to upgrade to 16-character, complex passwords in cases where
a password is permitted. Bloomberg realizes that yesterday’s mitigation solutions are no longer strong or
complex enough to keep risks at bay. As a result, Bloomberg has decided to strengthen its security
posture by implementing industry best practices to ensure customers’ business data is kept
uncompromised.

Henceforth, the new requirement for passwords will be alphanumeric sixteen characters in length to
increase complexity. What this means is it will take more work for a malicious attacker to decipher the
password to access an account.

Moreover, a stronger asymmetric cryptographic key pair (private and public) with SFTP will add another
robust layer of security for authentication. Key pairs will be mandatory in some cases where the number
of whitelisted IP ranges exceed the maximum requirement. To be specific, the new requirements for SSH
Key Pairs are as follows:

 Key Format: OPENSSH, single-line format

 Key Type: SSH-RSA
 Strength: Minimum length of 2048 characters with a recommendation of 4096

Note: 6 or more CIDR ranges or unique IP address will require authentication by SSH
key and Password will be disabled
ACTION
Password
To upgrade your password to meet the new requirement, contact the Bloomberg Customer Support Line
to obtain your newly generated password via email and to schedule its activation.
The 16-character passwords will have a complex configuration; including upper and lower case letters,
numbers, and special characters and will reset every 18 months.

The Customer account rep will coordinate a date and time of your choosing to activate the password into
your production environment. In the event that you experience any challenges, your legacy password can
be reverted.

SSH Key Pairs

SSH Key pairs must be created by the customer. The customer should keep the Private Key(Secret) and
submit the Public Key to Bloomberg for implementation.
We recommend that you consult your IT Security Team for advisement prior to creating the keys using
the instructions below.

Free/Open Source Products.

1. Putty/Psftp
2. OpenSSH suite (UNIX)

Linux:
1. Open CLI.
2. Type “ssh-keygen -t rsa” (length size is 2048bits by default).
3. Enter filename in which to save the key at location - /home/demo/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
4. Enter passphrase or Leave empty for no passphrase.
5. Press Enter to continue.
6. Locate your pub file in /home/demo/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Windows:
1. Download and Launch PuttyGen
2. Make sure that Type of Key to generate is SSH-2 RSA and Number of bits in a generated key is
2048
3. Press the Generate button to generate the key.
4. Once you have generated the key, select Comment Field to enter your identification comment.
5. In the Comment Field, enter your Groupname@Company
6. Press the Save private Key and Save public Key buttons.
7. Submit public key to Bloomberg for implementation.

For further information about generating keys using Putty visit:

https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_puttygen

The above are two methods of many possible that can be used to generate SSH keys. Bloomberg does
not endorse the approaches above. We strongly advise you consult with your IT Security Team and
security policy experts and follow their guidance on SSH key generation.