H3C Technologies H3C S3100 Series Switches - Manual (Page 766)

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FTP and SFTP Configuration
Introduction to FTP and SFTP
Introduction to FTP
FTP (file transfer protocol) is commonly used in IP-based networks to transmit files. Before World Wide
Web comes into being, files are transferred through command lines, and the most popular application is
FTP. At present, although E-mail and Web are the usual methods for file transmission, FTP still has its
strongholds.
As an application layer protocol, FTP is used for file transfer between remote server and local client.
FTP uses TCP ports 20 and 21 for data transfer and control command transfer respectively. Basic FTP
operations are described in RFC 959.
FTP-based file transmission is performed in the following two modes:
z Binary mode for program file transfer
z ASCII mode for text file transfer
An H3C S3100 series Ethernet switch can act as an FTP client or the FTP server in FTP-employed data
transmission:
Table 1-1 Roles that an H3C S3100 series Ethernet switch acts as in FTP
Item Description Remarks
FTP server
An Ethernet switch can operate as an FTP server to
provide file transmission services for FTP clients. You can
log in to a switch operating as an FTP server by running an
FTP client program on your PC to access files on the FTP
server.
FTP client
In this case, you need to establish a connection between
your PC and the switch through a terminal emulation
program or Telnet, execute the ftp X.X.X.X command on
your PC. (X.X.X.X is the IP address of an FTP server or a
host name), and enter your user name and password in
turn. A switch can operate as an FTP client, through which
you can access files on the FTP server.
The prerequisite is that a
route exists between the
switch and the PC.
Introduction to SFTP
Secure FTP (SFTP) is established based on an SSH2 connection. It allows a remote user to log in to a
switch to manage and transmit files, providing a securer guarantee for data transmission. In addition,
since the switch can be used as a client, you can log in to remote devices to transfer files securely.