# FTP server

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Computer software server that uses FTP file transfer protocol

An **FTP server** is [computer](/source/Computer) [software](/source/Software) consisting of one or more [programs](/source/Computer_program) that can execute commands given by remote [client](/source/Client_(computing))(s) such as receiving, sending, deleting [files](/source/Computer_file), creating or removing [directories](/source/Directory_(computing)), etc. The software may run as a [software component](/source/Software_component) of a program, as a standalone program or even as one or more [processes](/source/Process_(computing)) (in the background).

An FTP server plays the role of a [server](/source/Server_(computing)) in a [client–server model](/source/Client%E2%80%93server_model) using the [FTP](/source/File_Transfer_Protocol) and/or the [FTPS](/source/FTPS) and/or the [SFTP](/source/SSH_File_Transfer_Protocol) [network protocol](/source/Network_protocol)(s).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

An FTP server can also be intended as a **computer** that runs an FTP server program to host collections of files. Big FTP sites can be run by many computers in order to be able to serve the desired maximum number of clients connected to servers.

A client program connects to an FTP server, then, unless anonymous access is enabled, it has to authenticate itself by sending [username](/source/Username) and [password](/source/Password); after that it can retrieve and/or send files to the server along with other operations (depending on user's privileges).[1]

## See also

- [Server (computing)](/source/Server_(computing))

- [File Transfer Protocol](/source/File_Transfer_Protocol)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ftp-server_1-0)** ["FTP server definition"](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/glossary/ftp-server/). BleepingComputer. 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-19.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [FTP server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTP_server) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTP_server?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.