Best way to let users download a file from my website: http or ftp

 

We have some files on our website that users of our software can download. Some of the files are in virtual folders on the website while others are on our ftp. The files on the ftp are generally accessed by clicking on an ftp:// link in a browser - most of our customers do not have an ftp client. The other files are accessed by clicking an http:// link in a browser.

Should I move all the files to the ftp? or does it not matter? Whats the difference?

HTTP has many advantages over FTP:

  • it is available in more places (think workplaces which block anything other than HTTP/S)
  • it works nicely with proxies (FTP requires extra settings for the proxy - like making sure that it allows the CONNECT method)
  • it provides built-in compression (with GZIP) which almost all browsers can handle (as opposed to FTP which has a non-official "MODE Z" extension)
  • NAT gateways must be configured in a special mode to support active FTP connections, while passive FTP connections require them to allow access to all ports (it it doesn't have conneciton tracking)
  • some FTP clients insist on opening a new data connection for each data transfer, which can leave you with a lot of "TIME_WAIT" sockets

    • If speed matters to your users, and they are technically inclined, http allows multiple connections for one file (if the client supports it. I use DownThemAll). Most browsers should handle ftp links just fine, though.

    I think most users, even today, are more familiar with http than ftp and for that reason you should stick with http by default unless there's a compelling reason to use ftp. It's nit-picking, though.

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