FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a technology that transfers files more efficiently than standard HTML web browsers, decreasing your upload and download times anywhere from 20-60%.
FTP is NOT recommended as a migration tool. If you have more than 50GB data total to transfer, consider using Egnyte's Migration App or some other third-party tool designed to handle larger data migrations.
Egnyte is compatible with most FTP clients and supports the following:
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol over implicit TLS/SSL)
- FTPES (File Transfer Protocol over explicit TLS/SSL)
- SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol)
FTP/SFTP is a technology that transfers files in an easy-to-configure manner, albeit with some security limitations. A great time to use FTP is when you are initially transferring up to 50GB of data and if you're uploading files that are each larger than 2.5GB.
Not sure how to go about moving your data? Learn more about Egnyte's migration services.
Enable FTP
To configure FileZilla for FTP access, it is necessary to enable FTP from settings in the Web UI.
Limitations
- Only password authentication is allowed. We do not support key-based authentication
- We do not support the ASCII transfer mode, so please use the Binary mode instead.
- We do not support Active Transfer Mode, so please use Passive Transfer Mode when setting up the client.
- If you use a firewall, please review the Egnyte Public IP Address article to see which IP addresses need to be allowed.
- Access is limited to Admins and Power Users on the Office, Business, or Enterprise plans.
- Trial users on these plans are limited to uploading 1GB total via SFTP/FTP.
- FTP is an inherently insecure data transfer method. For all files sent using this protocol, username, password and even the data are all shared in plain text. This means any hacker can access this information with a minimum of effort. For secure data transfer, choose FTPS or SFTP.
- FTP may not meet your compliance requirements. Using FTP with inadequate security could leave your business at risk for noncompliance fines. Ifyour business is concerned with compliance regulations such as SOX, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ITAR or the like, you might be challenged to find an FTP solution that is sufficiently secure.
- FTP is not 100% reliable with regard file integrity, and it's difficult to validate whether a file has been mishandled or corrupted after being transferred.
- FTP rarely offers the ability to track and validate what's been uploaded to the remote system. If files are mishandled or a data breach occurs, you may struggle to track the source of the problem.
- FTP doesn't offer visibility into the progress of your data transfer. This may not be important for smaller batch uploads. But with an interactive User Interface like that offered by Egnyte's Migration App, you can view your progress (or lack thereof) in real time, which offers significant advantages for larger migration projects.
- There is a four-hour time limit on single file upload via FTP.
- FTP is limited to seven simultaneous uploads.
- FTP cannot be used on folders with more than 15K child items.
Recommended FTP/SFTP Clients For Windows & Mac
- FileZilla (Windows and Mac)
- CyberDuck (Mac)
- WinSCP (Windows)
- Fetch (Mac)
- Command Line Linux/Mac SFTP client
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have questions about using this service, our FAQ article will help you find the answers.