Trivial File Transfer Protocol
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Contents |
Overview
The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) was developed in 1980 by Noel Chiappa as a simple protocol to transfer files between computers. It is implemented using UDP (Port 69), and is designed to be lightweight (specifically on memory usage) and easy to implement. As such, it is very limited in features compared to other alternatives (FTP, SFTP) as well as security. Due to its lack of security features, it is not safe to use over the open internet, but is still used in private networks as a quick way to transfer files. It is also used to transfer small amounts of data in IP phone firmware as well as in network installations of many current operating systems to load the basic kernel. Windows, Linux and Mac OS all ship with the TFTP server included and disabled by default. The early versions of TFTP were flawed with what was called the Sorcerer's Apprentice Syndrome - causing ever growing packet replication during the transfer.
Features
TFTP has only two features, reading and writing files. It offers no method of listing directory contents, displaying or changing file permissions or even user authentication.
See Also
External Links
References
--Russeld 18:11, 4 April 2009 (EDT)
