FTP(S) Connections

The Files.com Agent can act as a secure FTP(S) proxy that routes FTP Remote Server connections from your Files.com site to an internal, on-premise FTP or FTPS server. This capability allows Files.com to reach FTP(S) servers that live entirely inside private networks, without requiring those servers to be exposed to the public internet.

Prerequisites

To use Agent-routed FTP(S) connections, you must run a Files.com Agent on a system that can reach the internal FTP(S) server over the network.

The Agent host must have outbound access to the FTP(S) server on its configured port. Explicit FTP(S) typically uses TCP 21. Implicit FTPS typically uses TCP 990. Passive mode data connections must also be allowed from the Agent host to the FTP(S) server.

The Agent configuration must explicitly allow FTP(S) routing, and the internal FTP(S) server must accept connections from the Agent host.

Enable FTP(S) Routing on the Agent

Files.com enables FTP(S) routing through the Agent configuration file. Edit the configuration file and set the integrations value to include "ftp".

Save the change and restart the Agent so it can advertise FTP(S) routing support to your Files.com site.

Configuration example:

integrations = ["ftp"]

Once the Agent restarts, it becomes available for FTP(S) routing.

Configure an FTP(S) Remote Server to Use the Agent

After the Agent has been configured for FTP(S) routing, configure the FTP(S) Remote Server in Files.com.

When creating or editing the Remote Server, enter the internal hostname or IP address of the FTP(S) server. Enable Agent routing and select the Agent that runs inside the same private network as the FTP(S) server.

From that point forward, Files.com routes all FTP(S) traffic for this Remote Server through the selected Agent.

Transfer Performance Boost

Agent-routed connections significantly improve transfer speed compared to direct legacy protocol based access. FTP(S) is a chatty, latency-sensitive protocol that performs poorly over long-distance or high-latency networks. By contrast, the Files.com Agent communicates with Files.com using an optimized transfer mechanism designed for high throughput and resilience.

Files.com transfers data quickly to the Agent, often at speeds far exceeding what FTP(S) can sustain over the public internet. The Agent then performs the FTP(S) transfer locally within your private network, where latency is low and bandwidth is abundant. This separation removes FTP(S)’s performance bottlenecks from the long-haul portion of the transfer.