About the File Transfer Protocol, How Much Do You Know?

Before choosing a secure file transfer solution for an enterprise, it is best to have a basic understanding of the transfer protocols involved:

1.FTP FTP is a very primitive file transfer protocol, which has been popular for decades. FTP uses two separate channels to exchange data, "command channel" to verify user identity and "data channel" to transmit files, but both channels are unencrypted, and any data sent on the channels can be easily utilized.

2. FTPS FTPS(FTP over SSL/TLS) is a secure file transfer protocol, which allows you to securely transfer files with your trading partners and customers. File transfer can be authenticated by methods supported by FTPS, such as client certificate, server certificate, and password.

3. SFTP SFTP stands for FTP over SSH (Secure Shell). It is a secure FTP protocol and a good alternative to insecure FTP tools. SFTP exchanges data through SSH connection, and provides organizations with high protection for file transfer shared among their systems, trading partners, employees, and the cloud.

4. http&HTTPS Http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the basis of data communication. It defines the message format of communication between the Web browser and Web server and defines how Web browser should respond to Web requests. HTTP uses TCP transfer control protocol as the underlying transmission, which is a stateless protocol, which means that each command is executed independently, and the receiver does not keep the session information.

Https is a secure version of HTTP, in which communication is encrypted by TLS or SSL.

5. AS2, AS3, and AS4 AS2, AS3, and AS4 are popular protocols used to send and protect key file transfers.

AS2 is used to transmit sensitive data safely and reliably on the network. AS2 uses digital certificates and encryption standards to protect key information transmitted between systems, networks, and locations. AS2 messages can be compressed, signed, encrypted, and sent through a secure SSL tunnel.

AS3 is a standard that can be used to transfer almost any file type. It provides security protection for data transmission through digital signature and data encryption. Originally, AS3 was created for transmitting data files, such as XML and EDI business-to-enterprise data files. Unlike AS2, AS2 is a defined transport protocol, and AS3 is a message standard, which focuses on how to format messages when sending from server to server. Once the AS3 message is synthesized, it can be transmitted through any other protocol (FTP, SFTP, HTTPS, etc.).

AS4 is a protocol that allows enterprises to exchange data securely with their partners. Its predecessor was AS2, but it improved delivery notice based on AS2. As a business-to-business standard, AS4 makes it safe and simple to exchange files online.

6. MFT Managed File Transfer Protocol MFT integrates the advantages of these protocols to help users solve various file transfer problems and improve enterprise efficiency. Raysync is dedicated to meeting the data transfer needs of internal or external partners of enterprises, providing efficient and controllable accelerated transfer of large files, ultra-long-distance, transnational network data transfer, safe outgoing of file assets, file management and organization authority management, supporting local deployment and cloud services, and providing enterprises with safe, stable, efficient and convenient technical support and services for large file interaction.