File transfer protocol (FTP)
What is File transfer protocol (FTP)?
File transfer protocol(FTP) is a network protocol for transferring computer files between clients and servers. It was initially developed by Abhay Bhushan, a student at MIT, in 1971 to transfer files over the Internet’s precursor, ARPANET. Within years, there were many revisions, and in 2021, the browsers we use today have finally dropped their support for FTP due to issues in secure file transmissions.
FTP uses two different data transfer channels: one for controlling the communication(command channel) and the other for transferring the files(data channel). Also, there are different types of FTP, such as Anonymous FTP, Password-protected FTP, FTP Secure (FTPS), FTP over explicit SSL/TLS (FTPES), and Secure FTP (SFTP) through which can have the following benefits:-
- Large files can be maintained properly than those email/HTTP-based transfers.
- Bulk file transfers can also be done.
- Useful for backups, duplications, and uploading files to remote systems.