File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and

manipulate files over a TCP/IP based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a

client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the

client and server applications. Applications were originally interactive command-line

tools with a standardized command syntax, but graphical user interfaces have been

developed for all desktop operating systems in use today. FTP is also often used as an

application component to automatically transfer files for program internal functions. FTP

can be used with user-based password authentication or with anonymous user access. The

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is a similar, but simplified, not interoperable, and

unauthenticated version of FTP.

History

RFC 114 was released on 16 April 1971 and was the original specification of the File

Transfer Protocol (FTP). It was obsoleted by RFC 765 on June 1980, which in turn was

obsoleted by RFC 959 on October 1985, which is current specification. Several proposed

standards ammend that RFC, for example RFC 2228 of June 1997 proposes security

extensions and RFC 2428 of September 1998 adds support for IPv6 and defines a new

type of passive mode.

Use
As outlined by its RFC, FTP is used to:
• Promote sharing of files (computer programs and/or data).

• Encourage indirect or implicit use of remote computers.

 • Shield a user from variations in file storage systems among different hosts. (The

user does not need to know that what the type of file system is.)

• Transfer data reliably, and efficiently.

Protocol overview
A client makes a connection to the server using TCP port 21.
This connection, the control connection, remains open for the duration of the session,

with a second connection on port 20 opened as required to transfer file data. Commands

are sent by the client over the control connection in ASCII and terminated by a carriage

return and line feed. For example "RETR filename" would transfer the specified file from

the server to the client.

The server responds on the control connection with three digit status codes in ASCII with

an optional text message, for example "200" (or "200 OK.") means that the last command

was successful. A file transfer in progress over the data connection can be aborted using

an interrupt message sent over the control connection.

FTP can be run in active mode or passive mode, which control how the second

connection is opened. In active mode the client sends the server the IP address port

number the client is to use for the data connection and the server opens the connection.

Passive mode was devised for use where the client is behind a firewall and unable to

accept incoming TCP connections. The server sends the client an IP address and port

number and the the client opens the connection to the server. Both modes were updated in

September 1998 to add support for IPv6 and made some other changes to passive mode,

making it extended passive mode.

While transferring data over the network, four data representations can be used, of which

only two are common:

• ASCII mode: only for plain text. (Any other form of data will be corrupted)

• Binary mode: the sending machine sends each file byte for byte and as such the

recipient stores the bytestream as it receives it. (The FTP standard calls this

"IMAGE" or "I" mode)

The other two, EBCDIC and local file type are essentially obsolete. For text files,

different format control and record structure can be selected, although these features are

also rarely used now. One of three file transfer modes can also be chosen, but the default

of "stream" is invariably used now.

Security

The original FTP specification is an inherently unsecure method of transferring files

because there is no method specified for transferring data in an encrypted fashion. This

means that under most network configurations, user names, passwords, FTP commands

and transferred files can be captured by anyone on the same network using a packet

sniffer. This is a problem common to many Internet protocol specifications written prior

to the creation of SSL, such as HTTP, SMTP and Telnet. The common solution to this

problem is to use either SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol), or FTPS (FTP over SSL),

which adds SSL or TLS encryption to FTP as specified in RFC 4217.

Anonymous FTP
A host that provides an FTP service may additionally provide anonymous FTP access.

Users typically login to the service with an 'anonymous' account when prompted for user

name. Although users are commonly asked to send their email address in lieu of a

password, little to no verification is actually performed on the supplied data.

As modern FTP clients typically hide the anonymous login process from the user, the ftp

client will supply dummy data as the password (since the user's email address may not be

known to the application).

The Gopher protocol has been suggested as an alternative to anonymous FTP, as well as

Trivial File Transfer Protocol and File Service Protocol.[citation needed]

Remote FTP or FTP Mail

Where FTP access is restricted, a remote FTP (or FTP Mail) service can be used to

circumvent the problem. An e-mail containing the FTP commands to be performed is sent

to a remote FTP server, which is a mail server that parses the incoming e-mail, executes

the FTP commands, and sends back an e-mail with any downloaded files as an

attachment. Obviously this is less flexible than an ftp client, as it is not possible to view

directories interactively or to modify commands, and there can also be problems with

large file attachments in the response not getting through mail servers. As most internet

users these days have ready access to FTP, this procedure is no longer in everyday use.

FTP and web browsers

Most recent web browsers and file managers can connect to FTP servers, although they

may lack the support for protocol extensions such as FTPS. This allows manipulation of
remote files over FTP through an interface similar to that used for local files. This is done

via an FTP URL, which takes the form ftp(s)://<ftpserveraddress> (e.g.,

ftp://ftp.gimp.org/). A password can optionally be given in the URL, e.g.:

ftp(s)://<login>:<password>@<ftpserveraddress>:<port>. Most web-browsers require

the use of passive mode FTP, which not all FTP servers are capable of handling. Some

browsers allow only the downloading of files, but offer no way to upload files to the

server.

FTP and NAT devices

The representation of the IP addresses and port numbers in the PORT command and

PASV reply poses another challenge for Network address translation (NAT) devices in

handling FTP. The NAT device must alter these values, so that they contain the IP

address of the NAT-ed client, and a port chosen by the NAT device for the data

connection. The new address and port will probably differ in length in their decimal

representation from the original address and port. This means that altering the values on

the control connection by the NAT device must be done carefully, changing the TCP

Sequence and Acknowledgment fields for all subsequent packets. Such translation is not

usually performed in most NAT devices, but special application layer gateways exist for

this purpose.

FTP over SSH (not SFTP)

FTP over SSH (not SFTP) refers to the practice of tunneling a normal FTP session over

an SSH connection.
Because FTP uses multiple TCP connections (unusual for a TCP/IP protocol that is still

in use), it is particularly difficult to tunnel over SSH. With many SSH clients, attempting

to set up a tunnel for the control channel (the initial client-to-server connection on port

21) will protect only that channel; when data is transferred, the FTP software at either end

will set up new TCP connections (data channels) which will bypass the SSH connection,

and thus have no confidentiality, integrity protection, etc.

Otherwise, it is necessary for the SSH client software to have specific knowledge of the

FTP protocol, and monitor and rewrite FTP control channel messages and autonomously

open new forwardings for FTP data channels. Version 3 of SSH Communications

Security's software suite, and the GPL licensed FONC are two software packages that

support this mode.

FTP over SSH is sometimes referred to as secure FTP; this should not be confused with

other methods of securing FTP, such as with SSL/TLS (FTPS). Other methods of

transferring files using SSH that are not related to FTP include SFTP and SCP; in each of

these, the entire conversation (credentials and data) is always protected by the SSH

protocol.