-1

I've been given by a company their FTP IP where I should connect to. I got also username and password. That is supposed to work with port 21, right?

I tried to use FTP command-line but it didn't work; I tried my chance with sftp command-line and, using their credentials, I am authorized and connect without any problem.

SFTP is supposed to use port 22 (and I used wireshark to check that).

Am I right that this is just luck? I feel a bit confused.

I am using LINUX CentOs 6.4.

Abruzzo Forte e Gentile
  • 221
  • 1
  • 3
  • 9

1 Answers1

6

The company may only allow SFTP, they don't have to allow both. They are two different protocols, SFTP being the SSH File Transfer Protocol and really isn't related to FTP much. This is keeping it extremely simple, differences between the two are beyond the scope of this question.

It's possible they didn't specify that you should use SFTP and not FTP, assuming they're the same. Most FTP clients I've used don't automatically try port 22 by default, you have to tell them.

Basically they've given you ssh access to their server, whether this was accidental or not I can't tell you.

MDMoore313
  • 5,581
  • 6
  • 36
  • 75
  • 2
    For the sake of extra confusion, I'll also mention FTPS: FTP over SSL. It's the bastard stepchild of HTTPS and FTP, and it's horrid, but you do occasionally find it in use. There's also TFTP, which is a whole 'nother thing yet. So in total, when someone says FTP, if they're not being precise, they could mean any of four different protocols—(plain ol') FTP, SFTP, FTPS, or TFTP. At press time, a new version of the FTP discussion protocol, tentatively named dFTP, is being worked on to facilitate accurate interhuman conversations regarding the FTP protocol flavor in use. – BMDan May 07 '13 at 14:24
  • 1
    @BMDan don't forget about FTP over SSH (not SFTP), I second the motion to move dFTP out of alpha and into production, no beta needed. – MDMoore313 May 07 '13 at 14:37