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SSL/TLS and SSH/SFTP support in Covalent FTP module in vFabric Enterprise Ready Server 4.0 (2010333)
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There are two forms and different protocols for what is referred to as Secure FTP. The first is FTP over SSL, which is sometimes referred to as FTPS. FTPS is an FTP run over a secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption link. The Covalent FTP module supports this protocol in the following forms:
- Plain FTP
- FTP over implicit SSL
- FTP over explicit SSL
Note: FTP over explicit SSL requires the use of mod_ssl. For more information on FTP over SSL/TLS, see http://httpd.apache.org/mod_ftp/ftp/ftp_tls.html.
The second form is often referred to as SFTP. It is an extension of the SSH protocol. This form does not use the FTP protocol and does not perform a standard SSL/TLS handshake, instead using a custom protocol for negotiation and file transfer. Covalent's FTP module does not natively support this form.
However, you can use the SSH protocol in conjunction with the Covalent FTP module to secure FTP connections by setting up an SSH tunnel between the FTP server offered by the Covalent FTP module and the client.
The second form is often referred to as SFTP. It is an extension of the SSH protocol. This form does not use the FTP protocol and does not perform a standard SSL/TLS handshake, instead using a custom protocol for negotiation and file transfer. Covalent's FTP module does not natively support this form.
However, you can use the SSH protocol in conjunction with the Covalent FTP module to secure FTP connections by setting up an SSH tunnel between the FTP server offered by the Covalent FTP module and the client.
Recommended FTP clients that support FTP over SSL include:
Note: Other FTP clients with support for FTP over SSL are also available.
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