FTP vs SFTP: Key Differences

What is FTP?

FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It is an internet service which is designed to establish a connection to the specific server or computer. Therefore, users can transfer file (download) or transfer datfilesa to their computer or the FTP server.

The FTP protocol also includes commands which you can use to execute operations on any remote computer. For example, to change directories, show folder contents, create folders or delete files. It is built on a client-server architecture. FTP allows you to utilize separate control and data connections between the client and server applications. It helps to solve the issue of different end host configurations.

In this tutorial, you will learn

• What is FTP?
• What is SFTP?
• Features of FTP
• Features of SFTP
• Difference Between FTP vs. SFTP
• Advantages of using FTP
• Advantages of using SFTP
• Disadvantages of using FTP
• Disadvantages of using SFTP

What is SFTP?

SFTP (full form SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a part of the SSH protocol suite. It provides secure file transfers over SSH to provide access to all the shell accounts on a remote SFTP server.

SSH is a protocol for secure remote access to a machine over untrusted networks. SSH is a replacement for telnet, rsh, rlogin. SFTP verifies the identity of the client and once a secured connection is established information is exchanged.

Features of FTP

• Auto re-get or Resuming
• A user interface that shows both local and remote files
• Allows monitoring of file transfers
• Helps you to set up and save multiple FTP sessions
• Allows for uploading multiple files at one time Support for numerous flavors of FTP and SFTP
• FTP operates in a client/server environment, meaning that the remote machine is configured as a server. So, it waits for the other machine to request a service from it
• The FTP protocol can also perform actions like creating and deleting directories, listing files, deleting and renaming files, etc.

Features of SFTP

• Transmission is secure and can be compressed
• Support for TMUX, Screen sessions
• Implements the SSH3 protocol
• Allows you to execute commands over SSH channel
• Provide support for IPV6 HTTP protocols
• Supports both password and public-key authentication
• Offers interactive keyboard authentication
• Helps you to handle server key re-exchanges transparently
• Supports custom channels
• Automatic conversion of text output from the remote system's charset to Unicode-based strings

Difference Between FTP vs. SFTP

Advantages of using FTP

• The directory listing is uniform and machine-readable
• Transfers can be resumed and can be scheduled
• No size limitation on single transfers
• FTP allows files to take ownership and access restrictions
• It helps you to hide the information on individual computer systems
• Many FTP clients offer scripting capabilities
• Most FTP clients have a synchronizing utility
• FTP client allows you to transfer multiple file & directories

Advantages of using SFTP

• The connection is always secured
• Uninformed TCP/IP ports can be redirected through the encrypted channel in both directions
• The SFTP protocol runs on a secure channel, so no clear text passwords or file data are transferred.
• You can install the software and used with restricted functionality even without root privileges

Disadvantages of using FTP

• Filtering active FTP connections is a tough job on your local machine
• Servers can be spoofed to send data to a random unknown port on any unauthorized computer
• Hard to script jobs using FTP protocol
• FTP is not a non-secure way to transfer data
• Compliance can be an issue when using FTP to send files
• Does not allow server-to-server copy and recursive directory removal operations

Disadvantages of using SFTP

• The communication is binary and can't be logged
• SSH keys are not easy to manage and validate
• The standards define specific things as optional or recommended. It may lead to compatibility problems between different software developed by different vendors.

Summary

• FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol." users can transfer file (download) or transfer their data to their computer or the FTP server.
• SFTP (full form SSH File Transfer Protocol) provides secure file transfers over SSH
• FTP directory listing is uniform and machine-readable
• In SFTP, Uninformed TCP/IP ports can be redirected through the encrypted channel in both directions
• FTP has no size limitation on single transfers
• SFTP communication is binary and can't be logged