16.4 Network Commands
16.4.4 The ftp command
The ftp (File Transfer Protocol) application is part of the TCP/IP protocol suite and is standard with the UNIX operating system. It can be used to transfer files using ASCII or binary mode between systems using similar or dissimilar operating systems. This provides a basic means of transferring files from one file system to another. For instance a UNIX file would normally be unreadable by a Windows operating system. Since both operating systems support FTP, the file is converted from one file system to another as it is transferred.

Most computers running Servers with sites set up for downloading files sometimes provide an anonymous ftp account so users can pull files off the server. For this kind of an account, at the Name prompt, the word anonymous is entered instead of accepting the default displayed. If a password is required for the anonymous account, it will usually be your full email address.

Once you have successfully used ftp to access a remote site, some familiar file and directory access commands like cd and ls are available. To view a list of FTP available commands, enter the ? at the ftp> prompt.  If permissions are set by the site's system administrator for a user to see the contents of a directory, the ls command will display files in that directory. If permissions are set such that a user does not have access to the files, when the ls command is entered, a prompt will be returned in response. As on your local system, cd will change directories on the remote system. If it is necessary for you to change directories on your own system in the middle of the ftp session, the lcd (local change directory) command can be used. To end an ftp session, type bye at the prompt. The File Transfer Protocol supports several subcommands such as get, to copy a file from a remote host and put to copy a file to the remote hosts. Figure shows an example using the ftp command to get or retrieve a file in binary mode from another host. In this case, we are initiating an ftp session to the host name venus. As with ping and telnet, you can ftp directly to the host's IP address.
Interactive Media Activity (Flash, 95 kB)
  Using ftp

In this media activity, you are logged in as user2 and your current working directory is /home/user2. Type the commands that would accomplish the following objectives. 
Note: Be sure to press enter after each one. Click on step 1 to begin.

Lab Activity (Adobe Acrobat Reader, 54 kB)
  Network Commands

In this lab, you will work with UNIX and Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Networking Commands.