FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a very old protocol, dating back to 1971, developed at MIT.
Background information
FTP is a very simple and efficient protocol for file transfers. It includes no encryption, and extremely minimal overhead overall. To date it is still probably the most popular protocol to transfer files in a client-server fashion. During the years FTP has gained only a few new features since it's inception.
Default port for FTP is 21.
FXP
While at times considered as a discreet protocol, it really is not. Servers configured for FXP only change their authentication behavior so that in active connection any IP may contact the server to the specified port for file transfer, therefore you can transfer data directly from server to server without the need for data to pass through the client computer. Especially useful for large amounts of data where transferring the data via client computer would be prohibitively slow.
FXP stands for File eXchange Protocol, despite it merely extends what FTP servers are capable of already, and actually is achieved by simply disabling a security feature (IP authentication). Unfortunately FXP can make the FTP server vulnerable for FTP Bounce attack, and therefore is disabled by default in most FTP servers.
Pulsed Media seedboxes have FXP enabled.
Security Considerations
Standard FTP transmits data, including usernames and passwords, in plain text, making it vulnerable to interception. For secure file transfers, consider using:
- FTPS (FTP Secure): FTP over SSL/TLS, which encrypts the data.
- SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol): A separate protocol built on SSH, providing secure file transfer capabilities. SFTP is the recommended method for connecting to Pulsed Media seedboxes.
FTP Client programs
Some popular FTP clients are: