

SFTP provides a wider set of capabilities, including file and directory management commands, while SCP is only used for file transfers.Here is a comparison between the two protocols: However, it lacks the functionality of SFTP. The Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) utility is commonly used for file transfers.

This older protocol was never widely used and has fallen out of favor. SFTP should not be confused with the original Simple File Transfer Protocol, which was also abbreviated as SFTP.

Unfortunately, there are occasional compatibility issues between implementations from different vendors. This is advantageous for security, but makes it difficult to log. SFTP allows pipelined requests and asynchronous responses and uses binary communications. This single-port architecture means it is easier to use and secure than other similar protocols. SFTP shares its default port 22 with SSH. When the secure channel has authenticated the client, SFTP can be used.Īn enhancement over earlier protocols is that files are uploaded along with their basic attributes, such as timestamps. A number of protocols can provide this channel, but in practice, SSH is almost always used. SFTP requires the use of a secure channel, which it uses to carry out all operations. It also provides the ability to delete, rename, and move files, and create, list, and delete directories. SFTP is a file management protocol rather than a pure file transfer utility. One advantage of SSH is that all data is encrypted, including the control commands. This architecture allows SFTP to leverage and access SSH security and authentication features. SFTP is designed from scratch to provide comprehensive file management. It is based on the SSH program and not on the original FTP utility. SFTP, sometimes referred to as the Secure File Transfer Protocol, was developed to address serious security concerns surrounding the original FTP protocol. This guide provides some background information about SFTP and explains how to use it to transfer files. SFTP extends version 2.0 of the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol to provide greater security. It is a free and open-source utility that is available on all Linux systems. SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) provides a mechanism for transferring, accessing, and managing files more securely compared to earlier protocols.
