There are two different types of secure file transfer protocols which are in widespread use:

Firstly, there is an enhancement to standard FTP (as defined in RFC 959), which uses the same FTP commands (and protocol) over secure sockets, i.e. over SSL/TLS. This enhancement is defined in RFC 4217 and is known under the names of FTPS, FTP-TLS, and FTP-over-SSL.There are many FTP clients and servers that support FTP-TLS.

There is also another protocol, unfortunately named “SFTP” ““ and therefore falsely implying a relationship with the FTP protocol – which also provides secure file transfer. This protocol is implemented using SSH (Secure SHell), a suite of secure network connectivity tools and is not related to the FTP protocol at all. SSH and SFTP are popular especially in the Unix world.

The two protocols are completely different, not related to each other and not  compatible with each other.

SSH2/SFTP is more popular in the Unix world while FTP-TLS is more popular in the Windows World. There are numerous implementations for both standards available for the most common platforms.

Anuj holds professional certifications in Google Cloud, AWS as well as certifications in Docker and App Performance Tools such as New Relic. He specializes in Cloud Security, Data Encryption and Container Technologies.

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Anuj Varma – who has written posts on Anuj Varma, Hands-On Technology Architect, Clean Air Activist.

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