Administering an ISP Installation

Uploading Content through FTP

Once content for sites is created, you need to upload it onto a server for publication. The advantage to uploading content through FTP is speed.

FTP, which is integrated into the Microsoft® Windows® operating system as an Internet service, publishes information on a Web server through a standard FTP client. Depending on the client, you can operate FTP through the command-line or through a GUI-based interface.

Although FTP is efficient at uploading, it has two drawbacks:

Minimal Support for Querying and Retrieving Information on the Server Although searching was not part of the original purpose of FTP, you can set up a filter on the client (or server, for that matter). This filter can return result sets for specific information. While this solution might seem a bit cumbersome, it is a viable one.
Lack of Strict Security FTP connections are not secure, because passwords are exchanged as clear text. At this time, extensions are being developed that will create a secure way of authenticating clients and transmitting files. Of course, sensitive information should never be sent as clear text because it can be intercepted, modified, and replayed. When these new extensions become available, FTP will be a secure solution to the current problem.