File Transfer Protocol
One of the popular services offered by the TCP/IP protocol suite is the File
Transfer Protocol (FTP). With FTP, you can copy files from any host on the
Internet that allows FTP access to any other Internet Host, such as your PC.
Many of you have heard about "downloading" such and such file from
this or that host. For example, one could download a set of instructions on how
to complete income tax forms from a system supported by the IRS, or access the
NIH grant guidelines or a new set of programs from some bulletin board. "Uploading"
is the process of transferring your file to a host; for example, the electronic
filing of your completed tax form, a completed grant application, or this neat
little program you want to share with the rest of the users.
A typical command to make a connection to a remote host using FTP is:
FTP sleepy.anest.ufl.edu
If the remote host accepts your request for a connection, you can transfer
files. 
Note that many hosts
only allow you to download and not to upload information If you want to
transfer a file to/from a host, you need an account on that host. It is not
practical to provide each user with his/her own login identifier. The anonymous
FTP facility allows you to connect to a host without having an account on that
system, by merely providing the username "anonymous" with essentially
any password. Typically, these accounts are restricted to access well
controlled areas on the host. Proper "Netiquette" assumes that you
will provide your E-mail address as your password for identification. An example
of an anonymous FTP session is depicted in the figure. When you use the FTP
program, you need to keep two things in mind: 1) since many files are of the
binary type, type BIN before "downloading" files, and 2) many hosts
use filenames that are case-sensitive.
