Disadvantages of FTP

[Rhythm]

Despite the advances in the original FTP protocol there are still some problems that remain unsolved. These problems have less to do with the protocol and more to do with supporting users of the protocol. For this reason these issues cannot be easily solved at the protocol level.

Firewalls

As companies become more concerned about network security, firewalls have become a commonplace appliance. Unfortunately while these firewalls can prevent unauthorized users from getting onto the network they can also inadvertently prevent legitimate users from accessing company resources. To resolve this issue a network administrator must typically modify the firewall rules for each user and their corresponding outbound and inbound FTP connections. Aside from making it more difficult for users to connect, managing this process can also be costly and error prone.

Client Support

There are a vast number of FTP clients available today, each with it's own set of features and also their own interpretation of the FTP protocol specifications. FTP server administrators must know how to support all of these different clients as well as know which ones are compatible with their particular FTP server. There is also the additional cost of purchasing FTP client licenses for each user and the maintenance of these licenses over time.
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[maha678]

FTP is commonly run on two ports, 20 and 21, and runs exclusively over TCP. The FTP Server listens on Port 21 for incoming connection from FTP clients. A connection on this port forms the control stream, on which commands are passed to the FTP server. For the actual file transfer to take place, a different connection is required. Depending on the transfer mode, the client (active mode) or the server (passive mode) can listen for the incoming data connection. Before file transfer begins, the client and server also negotiate the port of the da
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[richynaughty]

Using a FTP server offers advantages of its own. For one, a user can use a program to perform a mass upload to a server, not having to worry about repeatedly having to rebrowse for files and re-upload them using one form. Downloads can also be done en masse as well. Unfortunately, an FTP server still requires an FTP client to use, and the use of one would be particularly cumbersome to those who just wanted to upload a picture or two.nses over time.
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[robby]

FTP is commonly run on two ports, 20 and 21, and runs exclusively over TCP. The FTP Server listens on Port 21 for incoming connection from FTP clients. A connection on this port forms the control stream, on which commands are passed to the FTP server. For the actual file transfer to take place, a different connection is required. Depending on the transfer mode, the client (active mode) or the server (passive mode) can listen for the incoming data connection.

[scorp]

If you've spent any time coding an Ajax application you know that the one of the problems with Ajax is that it breaks the back button. You have probably seen solutions that use an iframe and a hash (#) in the url to fix this issue. While this works there is a much simpler way that I've been using in my applications for the last year or so.

The key is the A tag (also known as the anchor tag) and the name parameter with a hash in the url. The trick is to either dynamically create the element or to just change the value of the name parameter to the matching value of the hash.

[naudy]

# You need to obtain and pay for disk space on an FTP server. This storage space is typically very limited or much more expensive per MB than our service.
# No automatic backup: You need to remember to back up every day.
# FTP connections are unreliable and often times out, so you need to resume the connection and figure out which files were not backed up.
# Files can be corrupted during FTP transfers without your knowledge.
# You need to manage multiple file versions yourself.
# Most FTP software is not encrypted and therefore not secure.
# FTP servers do not normally use data mirroring.
# Many FTP server data centers have only minimal data security features.

[preet21]

FTP has built-in error checking, and can restart transfers from the point of failure. HTTP doesn't have these. However, a disadvantage of FTP over something like SSL or SFTP is that there's no encryption, so data could be intercepted.

[ms123]

FTP can transfer over TCP but not any other server. But it has its own advantages as well with built-in features for good companies.

[figage]

despite on this disadvanteges nowadays ftp is still commonly used when we are talking about data transfer like uploading to a host etc

[dav1dso]

It is hard to filter active mode FTP traffic on the client side by using a firewall, since the user must open a random port to make this connection.