SSH

Principle of FTP-SFTP Conversion

The principles of FTP-SFTP conversion

Figure 5.3. The principles of FTP-SFTP conversion

The following steps happen during the FTP-SFTP conversion:

  1. An application, a script, or a user triggers a file transfer.

  2. The original FTP client in the File Transfer Client host starts opening a file transfer connection to the original destination FTP server (in File Transfer Server).

  3. The Tectia connection capture module captures the connection before it leaves the client side. Tectia ConnectSecure checks and applies the filter rules that specify which connections to capture. The filter rules are defined in the Connection Broker configuration. Connections can be captured based on the FTP application used and the destination address and/or the port.

  4. Tectia ConnectSecure can extract the user name, password, and the destination host name from the secured FTP application, and use them for authentication and connection setup with the Secure Shell SFTP server.

  5. The FTP-SFTP conversion module manages the FTP connection so that it remains unchanged from the original FTP client's point of view. FTP is converted to secure SFTP file transfer.

  6. The SFTP connection is managed by the Connection Broker module.

  7. The Secure Shell SFTP server in the File Transfer Server host is the end point of the file transfer.

    The unsecured original FTP server program can be eliminated from the server host.