sub openConnection {
    my $self = $_[0];
    
    local $SIG{'__DIE__'} = sub {};
    local $SIG{'__WARN__'} = sub {};

    $self->{'sftp'} = Net::SFTP->new($::config{'ahost'},
        user => $::config{'auser'},
        password => $::config{'apass'},
        ssh_args => [
            options => [
                'ConnectTimeout 30',
                'ServerAliveInterval 20',
                'ServerAliveCountMax 3'
            ]
        ]
    );
    if (!$self->{'sftp'}) {
        $self->{'error'} = "Unable to open SFTP connection";
        return;
    }
    print "SFTP connection opened.\n";
    return 1;
}