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File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol,
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism
provided by TCP/IP for copying a file from one host to another
over internet.
 FTP is a most commonly used communication protocol for
transferring the files over the internet.
Problems in FTP,
• two systems may use different file name conventions.
• Two systems may have different ways to represent text and data.
 FTP establishes two connections between the hosts.
 One connection is used for data transfer
 The other for control information (commands and responses).
 FTP uses two well-known TCP ports:
 Port 21 is used for the control connection
 port 20 is used for the data connection.
Communication over Control Connection,
 It uses 7 bit ASCII character set.
 Communication is achieved through commands and responses.
 It can send only one command (or response) at a time.
 Each command or response is only one short line.
 Each line is terminated with a two-character (carriage return and
line feed) end-of-line token.
Communication over Data Connection
 File transfer occurs over the data connection under the control of the
commands sent over the control connection.
A file is to be copied from the server to the client. This is called
retrieving aft/e. It is done under the supervision of the RETR command.
A file is to be copied from the client to the server. This is called storing
aft/e. It is done under the supervision of the STOR command.
A list of directory or file names is to be sent from the server to the client.
This is done under the supervision of the LIST command. Note that FTP
treats a list of directory or file names as a file. It is sent over the data
connection.
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol
Transmission Modes,
 Stream Mode
FTP to TCP as a continuous stream of bytes.
No end of file is needed.
End-of-file in this case is the closing of the data connection by the
sender.
 Block Mode
each block is preceded by a 3-byte header.
The first byte is called the block descriptor; the next 2 bytes define the
size of the block in bytes.
 Compressed Mode
Uses run length encoding.
consecutive appearances of a data unit are replaced by one occurrence
and the number of repetitions.
File Transfer Protocol
FTP provides,
– Interactive Access: Most implementations provide an interactive
interface that allows humans to easily interact with remote servers.
– Format (representation) specification: FTP allows the client to
specify the type and format of stored data.
– Authentication Control: FTP requires client to authorize themselves
by sending a login name and password to the server before requesting
file transfers.
File Transfer Protocol
Anonymous FTP,
• To use FTP, a user needs an account (user name) and a password on the
remote server.
• Some sites have a set of files available for public access, to enable
anonymous FTP.
– To access these files, a user does not need to have an account or password.
Instead, the user can use anonymous as the user name and guest as the
password.
– User access to the system is very limited. Some sites allow anonymous users
only a subset of commands. For example, most sites allow the user to copy
some files, but do not allow navigation through the directories.

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File Transfer Protocol

  • 2. File Transfer Protocol File Transfer Protocol,  File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP/IP for copying a file from one host to another over internet.  FTP is a most commonly used communication protocol for transferring the files over the internet. Problems in FTP, • two systems may use different file name conventions. • Two systems may have different ways to represent text and data.  FTP establishes two connections between the hosts.  One connection is used for data transfer  The other for control information (commands and responses).  FTP uses two well-known TCP ports:  Port 21 is used for the control connection  port 20 is used for the data connection.
  • 3. Communication over Control Connection,  It uses 7 bit ASCII character set.  Communication is achieved through commands and responses.  It can send only one command (or response) at a time.  Each command or response is only one short line.  Each line is terminated with a two-character (carriage return and line feed) end-of-line token. Communication over Data Connection  File transfer occurs over the data connection under the control of the commands sent over the control connection. A file is to be copied from the server to the client. This is called retrieving aft/e. It is done under the supervision of the RETR command. A file is to be copied from the client to the server. This is called storing aft/e. It is done under the supervision of the STOR command. A list of directory or file names is to be sent from the server to the client. This is done under the supervision of the LIST command. Note that FTP treats a list of directory or file names as a file. It is sent over the data connection.
  • 5. File Transfer Protocol Transmission Modes,  Stream Mode FTP to TCP as a continuous stream of bytes. No end of file is needed. End-of-file in this case is the closing of the data connection by the sender.  Block Mode each block is preceded by a 3-byte header. The first byte is called the block descriptor; the next 2 bytes define the size of the block in bytes.  Compressed Mode Uses run length encoding. consecutive appearances of a data unit are replaced by one occurrence and the number of repetitions.
  • 6. File Transfer Protocol FTP provides, – Interactive Access: Most implementations provide an interactive interface that allows humans to easily interact with remote servers. – Format (representation) specification: FTP allows the client to specify the type and format of stored data. – Authentication Control: FTP requires client to authorize themselves by sending a login name and password to the server before requesting file transfers.
  • 7. File Transfer Protocol Anonymous FTP, • To use FTP, a user needs an account (user name) and a password on the remote server. • Some sites have a set of files available for public access, to enable anonymous FTP. – To access these files, a user does not need to have an account or password. Instead, the user can use anonymous as the user name and guest as the password. – User access to the system is very limited. Some sites allow anonymous users only a subset of commands. For example, most sites allow the user to copy some files, but do not allow navigation through the directories.