How to connect to a server via FTP, SFTP, and SCP

How to connect to a server via FTP, SFTP, and SCP

In this article, we will discuss ways to connect to your server using the protocols: FTP, SCP, SFTP. To connect, you must already have an FTP user created on the server. For the Vesta CP panel, it is automatically installed during the panel installation - admin, and in ISP Manager, it needs to be enabled separately. On a server without a control panel, the FTP server needs to be configured manually. You can find out how to create an FTP user in our article "How to create an FTP user in Vesta CP and ISP Manager".

Connect via FTP/SFTP using the program FileZilla

Open the program on your computer. If you don't have it, you can download it from the official website using your preferred search engine. At the top, we see four input fields: host, login, password, and port. The top input data is used for quick connection using the standard encryption and connection settings of the FileZilla program. So, if you want to save your FTP connection with your parameters, press the key combination Ctrl + S. After that, click on the "New site" button and fill in the connection details. You can specify the transfer type in the settings: active or passive. If your IP is hidden behind a firewall, it is recommended to use passive mode for data transfer. Also, you can specify the encryption type if it is configured and working correctly on your server. This way, the data will be transmitted from you to the server in an encrypted form, and the files will be secure in transit. We want to draw your attention that even the credentials for connecting to your server are encrypted in this way.

When connecting quickly, port 22 is used for the SFTP protocol, and 21 is used for FTP. The user "admin" in Vesta CP can connect via both SFTP and FTP because this user is created as a separate user of the operating system and has the ability to connect via SSH.

Connecting via FTP/SFTP/SCP using the program WinSCP

The connection principle through the WinSCP program is similar to FileZilla. After opening the WinSCP program, you will see a window for creating a connection. If you didn't see the connection settings window, you can open it by pressing the key combination Ctrl + N or through the menu: "Connection" tab => "New connection" item.

As you can see, only the data transfer protocol, port, and the presence of the "Encryption" option change, but you can configure it by clicking on the "More..." button and going to the "Encryption" section.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you now know how to connect to a server using the FTP, SFTP, and SCP protocols and work with them.