Over time, clouds have established their own synchronisation standards, such as WebDAV. As a result, more and more cloud software works with these standards.
However, a cloud solution can also work in a different way: The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) has been available for years and is used by website operators to move their files to web space.
Since FTP or similar variants (e.g. SFTP, FTPS) can be used to exchange, delete and edit files in encrypted form, it is suitable as a solid basis for cloud software.
Pros and cons
The main advantage is that almost all web hosters that provide "storage space on the Internet" offer FTP. Often the encrypted versions are also accepted. The advantages of FTPbox at a glance:
- Uses FTP as an established standard
As mentioned above,FTPbox is based on an established standard, FTP. As a result, nothing needs to be developed from scratch. Setting up the server is also not very difficult. Moreover, the files can be accessed from any application that supports FTP. And there are a lot of them. You don't just have to use "normal" FTP programs like Filezilla …
- Lots of applications
… but you can also choose from a wide range of FTP applications. Below we present some of the most successful apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone (see: FTP apps). With Owncloud & Co. there is always only one app, but for FTP clients there is a huge choice.
- Easy to use
FTPbox is easy to use. Just follow our FTP tutorial Just follow our FTP tutorial to set up FTPbox and your server safely. After a few settings, the programme will start synchronising. You can access your folder as usual. If a file changes, it is immediately synchronised with the FTP server.
- Nice layout
FTPbox also looks pretty good. Ideally, however, you won't see much of it. After installation, FTPbox starts by default when you start your computer. Then you should only see the logo and a green check mark in your taskbar.
Of course, this solution has its disadvantages:
- Cloud-unspecific protocol
FTP was not originally developed for this kind of synchronisation. So every time you change something, no matter how small, you have to transfer the whole file again. This is not the case with Seafile for example.
- No additional features
FTPbox focuses on synchronising files. If you need additional features such as calendar synchronisation and collaborative working, you will be happier with another software solution.
