Transferring Files from Windows to UNIX
Unix FTP can be used to transfer files between PCs and Unix-based file servers. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol used to transfer files from a PC to a Unix file server over TCP. An FTP server should be installed on the Unix file server and an FTP client should be installed on the PC. The default port for FTP communication is port 21. IETF RFC 959 defines the FTP specification. Most FTP clients use an asynchronous communication method, also known as non-blocking FTP.
With this method, the FTP client uses an asynchronous interface with the Windows Sockets TCP/IP driver, providing the fastest possible data transfer rate with minimal system resource consumption. FTP can be used to upload and download files in ASCII or binary format. Binary files are files where the bytes of the file can be any 256-bit pattern. Examples of binary files are zip files, executable files, images, and audio files.
ASCII files are binary text files in which only 128 ASCII codes can be used. Each ASCII character has a corresponding hexadecimal and binary value. For example, the hexadecimal value of “A” is 61 and the binary equivalent is 0110 0001. The FTP server on a Unix server can be configured to require usernames and passwords or to allow anonymous connections. When anonymous access is configured, all users can upload and download files from any directory that has public read and write permissions configured.
On Unix servers, File Manager can be used to set file and folder permissions to prevent anonymous users from accessing them. You can also create user accounts on the FTP server, assign a username and password, and apply user-level access permissions. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) can be used as an additional layer of security. With standard FTP, data transferred between a PC and a Unix server is not encrypted.