What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?

FTP or file transfer protocol is the convention for connecting computers over a Internet connection in order for one computer to transfer files and execute file commands on a different computer.

FTP is generally used for transferring files over a network using the TCP/IP protocol. The 2 main components are usually a FTP Client and FTP Server. The server listens for a connection request from the client computer, and once connected, the client may send commands to the server to execute operations on files. Such as uploading, downloading, deleting and renaming to name the basic operations.

FTP is normally used on ports 20 and 21 but may be configured to use different ports or port ranges. The FTP Server will listen for incoming connections from a FTP client on the specified port. Commands are then sent to the server.

The purpose of FTP is to promote file sharing between computers on a network in a secure, efficient and reliable manner.