FTP Transfer Protocol

FTP handles files over networks.

The File Transfer Protocal (FTC) is a part of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite. FTP was one of the first networking facilities created.

History

FTP pre-dates TCP/IP. FTP was first defined in 1971, while TCP/IP was created in 1974. FTP ran over networks managed by the Network Control Protocol (NCP), which preceded the Internet. FTP's design to run over TCP was standardized in 1980.

Purpose

FTP is intended to transfer files among devices linked by networks. This is the basis of all "indirect" network usage, which is the process of obtaining a resource from a remote computer or transferring a local resource across the network to another endpoint.

Usage

The FTP is still widely used in 2010 to transfer files across networks and over the Internet. You may notice references to a "file server" or "FTP file server." When you access a file from an FTP server, the address probably does not begin with "www" as with web pages, but with "ftp."

References

• Internet Engineering Task Force: Datatracker: RFC 959