Development Of FTP
(File Transfer Protocol)
Server
Nadiatul
Ramesh
Abd Rahman
Agenda…
Introduction to FTP
Overview
FTP in Detail
Advantages/Limitations
Programming for FTP
Alternatives
Introduction
FTP or File Transfer Protocol is used to
transfer data from one computer to
another over the Internet, or through a
network.
Specifically, FTP is a commonly
used protocol for exchanging files over
any network that supports the TCP/IP
protocol
FTP Server FTP Client
The FTP server, running FTP server
software, listens on the network for
connection requests from other
computers. The client computer, running
FTP client software, initiates a connection
to the server.
UI
FTP Commands/
Server Replies
Protocol User PI
Interpreter (port 21)
Server
Data Data Connection
File User DTP File
Transfer
System (port 20) System
Process
FTP Server FTP Client
Overview
FTP runs exclusively over TCP
FTP servers by default listen on port 21for
incoming connections from FTP clients.
(control stream )
For the actual file transfer to take place, a
different connection is required by default
port 20 (data stream)
Connection Modes:
Active Mode
Passive Mode
Extended Passive Mode
FTP in detail:
- Two Primary file transfer modes
- ASCII (plain text)
- End-of-line translation occurs between platforms
- Data is considered to be only 7 bits (high order bits are lost)
- Binary image
- Data is transferred raw (not interpreted)
- Other Modes (EBCDIC, local) are rarely ever used
- Mode must be set before transfer begins
- Many clients have an auto-select mode.
- File suffix / name guides selection of transfer mode
- Common mistake to transfer a binary file in ASCII mode.
..contd.,
- The server stores files in a directory structure
- Clients log on, traverse the directories, and
download files
- Anonymous access is an option
- The FTP request command determines the
direction of the data transfer (GET/PUT)
Different FTP clients hide the protocol
details in different ways:
Command line – closest to the real protocol
Dedicated FTP clients, such as ‘Filezilla’ –
easier to use, more flexible and robust
Web browsers – tend to make FTP and web
access look similar
Standard Connection Model
Control
A
A Data B
B
Alternative Connection Model
Control Control
A
B
B Data C
C
Access Control Commands
USER specify user
PASS specify password
CWD change directory
CDUP change directory to parent
QUIT logout
Transfer Parameter Commands
PORT publish local data port
PASV server should listen
TYPE establish data representation
MODE establish transfer mode
STRU establish file structure
Service Commands
RETR retrieve file
STOR send file
STOU send file and save as unique
APPE send file and append
ABOR abort prev. service command
PWD print working directory
LIST transfer list of files over data link
FTP Replies
All replies are sent over control
connection.
Replies are a single line containing
3 digit status code (sent as 3 numeric
chars).
text message.
The FTP spec. includes support for
multi-line text replies.
Data Transfer Modes
STREAM: file is transmitted as a stream of
bytes.
BLOCK: file is transmitted as a series of
blocks preceded by headers containing count
and descriptor code (EOF, EOR, restart
marker).
COMPRESSED: uses a simple compression
scheme - compressed blocks are transmitted.
Advantages/Limitations
Advantages over HTTP:
Allows inspection of file-tree, file size and
time-stamps.
No HTML code required.
Easy to implement download/uploading
Limitations:
Passwords and file contents are sent in clear text,
which can be intercepted by eavesdroppers.
There are protocol enhancements that
circumvent this.
Multiple TCP/IP connections are used, one for
the control connection, and one for each
download, upload, or directory listing. Firewall
software needs additional logic to account for
these connections.
It is hard to filter active mode FTP traffic on the
client side by using a firewall, since the client
must open an arbitrary port in order to receive the
connection. This problem is largely resolved by
using passive mode FTP.
FTP is a high latency protocol due to the number
of commands needed to initiate a transfer.
No integrity check on the receiver side. If
transfer is interrupted the receiver has no way to
know if the received file is complete or not. It is
necessary to manage this externally for example
with MD5 sums or cyclic redundancy checking.
No error detection. FTP relies on the underlying
TCP layer for error control, which uses a weak
checksum by modern standards.
Java Programming for FTP
There is no standard API for FTP (eg like
http package)
Should rely on ‘URL’ and ‘URLConnection’
classes.
Sun provides an undocumented and
unsupported API called ‘sun.net.ftp’
For enhanced capability should rely on
third party API’s.
JDK support for FTP
Java.net sun.net.ftp
Third party API’s for FTP client
JScape, iNet Factory: com.jscape.inet.ftp.Ftp
IP*Works: ipworks.Ftp
Enterprise Distributed Technologies, Java FTP Client
Library: com.enterprisedt.net.ftp.FTPClient
IBM alphaWorks, FTP Bean Suite:
com.ibm.network.ftp.protocol.FTPProtocol
SourceForge, JFtp: net.sf.jftp.net.FtpConnection
The Jakarta Project, Jakarta Commons/Net:
org.apache.commons.net.ftp.FTPClient
JavaShop JNetBeans: jshop.jnet.FTPClient
Florent Cueto, JavaFTP API: com.cqs.ftp.FTP
Bea Petrovicova, jFTP: cz.dhl.ftp.Ftp
The Globus Project, Java CoG Kit:
org.globus.io.ftp.FTPClient
The comprehensive comparison can be
found at:
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-04-
2003/ftp/jw-0404-ftptable.html
Alternatives and Enhancements
FTP over SSH (secure FTP )
FTP over SSH refers to the practice of tunneling
a normal FTP session over an SSH
connection.
FTP over SSL (FTPS )
SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
This is not related to standard FTP. Here, the
entire conversation (credentials and data) is
always protected by the SSH protocol.
Additional References:
www.wikipedia.com
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/
http://www.javaworld.com/
http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/net/
http://www.enterprisedt.com/publications/FTP_Overview.html
RFC 959. File Transfer Protocol. J.Postel. J Reynolds. 1985.
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc0959.txt
Thank you!!
