Differences
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| 2006-11-26 | 2006-11-26 | ||
| no summary (68.108.197.159) | no summary (68.108.197.159) | ||
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| ===== Protocol Comparison ===== | ===== Protocol Comparison ===== | ||
| - | List shows only those features, which makes the difference between the protocols. So it is not complete listing. | + | The list below shows only those features which differ between the protocols, so it is not complete listing. |
| ^ Feature ^ SCP ^ SFTP ^ | ^ Feature ^ SCP ^ SFTP ^ | ||
| - | ^ Speed | Transfers are faster in general. Protocol do not use packet confirmation, yet it causes some serious problems. | Transfers are slower in general due to necessity to wait for packet confirmations. In versions 3.7.2 and 3.4 several optimizations were introduced that almost reduced the disadvantage over SCP. | | + | ^ Speed | Transfers are faster in general. This protocol does not use packet confirmation, yet it causes some serious problems. | Transfers are slower in general due to necessity to wait for packet confirmations. In versions 3.7.2 and 3.4 several optimizations were introduced that greatly reduce the disadvantage over SCP. | |
| ^ [[resume|Transfer resume]] | Unsupported. | Supported. WinSCP supports resuming only since protocol version 2 (which introduces rename command). By default it resumes transfers for files larger than 100 kB only, since the overhead is excessive for smaller files. It is possible to change the threshold in Preferences. | | ^ [[resume|Transfer resume]] | Unsupported. | Supported. WinSCP supports resuming only since protocol version 2 (which introduces rename command). By default it resumes transfers for files larger than 100 kB only, since the overhead is excessive for smaller files. It is possible to change the threshold in Preferences. | | ||
| ^ Large files | Does not support files over 4 GB (32-bit boundary). | Supports files over 4 GB (uses 64-bit sizes). | | ^ Large files | Does not support files over 4 GB (32-bit boundary). | Supports files over 4 GB (uses 64-bit sizes). | | ||
| ^ Append to end of file | Unsupported. | Supported. | | ^ Append to end of file | Unsupported. | Supported. | | ||
| ^ [[ui_progress#controlling_the_operation|Transfer cancellation]] | Transfer cannot be canceled without termination of session. | It is possible to cancel transfer and continue with work. | | ^ [[ui_progress#controlling_the_operation|Transfer cancellation]] | Transfer cannot be canceled without termination of session. | It is possible to cancel transfer and continue with work. | | ||
| - | ^ Text (ASCII) [[transfer_mode|transfer mode]] | Not supported by protocol. WinSCP emulates text mode by converting file before transfer. It is necessary to configure [[ui_login_environment#server_eol_characters|line-ending sequence]]. | Supported by protocol since version 4. For older versions WinSCP emulates text mode by converting file before transfer. It is necessary to configure [[ui_login_environment#server_eol_characters|line-ending sequence]]. | | + | ^ Text (ASCII) [[transfer_mode|transfer mode]] | Not supported by the protocol. WinSCP emulates text mode by converting file before transfer. It is necessary to configure [[ui_login_environment#server_eol_characters|line-ending sequence]]. | Supported by protocol since version 4. For older versions WinSCP emulates text mode by converting files before transfer. It is necessary to configure [[ui_login_environment#server_eol_characters|line-ending sequence]]. | |
| - | ^ Directory operations | Recursive operations with directories (deletion, permissions change), can be done with a single command (''rm'', ''chmod'', etc). Thus they are quick. On the other hand it limits some functionality. | Recursive operations with directories (deletion, permissions change) must be performed separately for each file. Thus operations can take a long time, especially for directories with large number of files. | | + | ^ Directory operations | Recursive operations with directories (deletion, permissions change), can be done with a single command (''rm'', ''chmod'', etc). Thus they are quick. On the other hand it limits some functionality. | Recursive operations with directories (deletion, permissions change) must be performed separately for each file. Thus operations can take a long time, especially for directories with a large number of files. | |
| ^ [[task_rename|File renaming]] and [[task_move_duplicate#moving_remote_files|moving]] | Supported (''mv''). | Supported since version 2 of the protocol. | | ^ [[task_rename|File renaming]] and [[task_move_duplicate#moving_remote_files|moving]] | Supported (''mv''). | Supported since version 2 of the protocol. | | ||
| - | ^ [[task_move_duplicate#duplicating_remote_files|File duplication]] | Supported (''cp''). | Unsupported by the protocol. WinSCP can open [[shell_session|separate shell session]] to execute the command. | | + | ^ [[task_move_duplicate#duplicating_remote_files|File duplication]] | Supported (''cp''). | Unsupported by the protocol. WinSCP can open a [[shell_session|separate shell session]] to execute the command. | |
| - | ^ [[remote_command|Execution of arbitrary command]] | Supported as long as the command does not require user input. For example it is not possible to execute ''su root''. | Unsupported by the protocol. WinSCP can open [[shell_session|separate shell session]] to execute the command. | | + | ^ [[remote_command|Execution of arbitrary command]] | Supported as long as the command does not require user input. For example it is not possible to execute ''su root''. | Unsupported by the protocol. WinSCP can open a [[shell_session|separate shell session]] to execute the command. | |
| - | ^ [[task_properties|Owner or group change]] | Supported (''chown'', ''chgrp''). | In version 2 and 3 of SFTP protocol, owner and group can be changed only with knowledge of UID/GID (unsupported by WinSCP). Version 4 allows even change using user or group name. | | + | ^ [[task_properties|Owner or group change]] | Supported (''chown'', ''chgrp''). | In version 2 and 3 of SFTP protocol, the owner and group can be changed only with knowledge of UID/GID (unsupported by WinSCP). Version 4 allows even change using user or group name. | |
| ^ [[task_link|Link creation]] | It is possible to create both symbolic and hard links (''ln''). Symbolic links can be edited also. | It is possible to create and edit symbolic links since version 3. Hard links are supported only since version 6 of the protocol (unsupported by WinSCP). | | ^ [[task_link|Link creation]] | It is possible to create both symbolic and hard links (''ln''). Symbolic links can be edited also. | It is possible to create and edit symbolic links since version 3. Hard links are supported only since version 6 of the protocol (unsupported by WinSCP). | | ||
| ^ User group list lookup | Supported (''groups''). | Unsupported. | | ^ User group list lookup | Supported (''groups''). | Unsupported. | | ||
| - | ^ Influence of environment variables | As WinSCP uses shell, it is influenced by environment variables (date format, etc.). WinSCP requires English environment. See [[requirements]]. | Generally unaffected by environment variables. | | + | ^ Influence of environment variables | As WinSCP uses shell, it is influenced by environment variables (date format, etc.). WinSCP requires the English environment. See [[requirements]]. | Generally unaffected by environment variables. | |
| - | ^ File modification [[timestamp|time-stamp]] | Some shell commands are influenced by daylight-saving time. For example, the ''ls'' command can return a different time than ''scp''. Thus, after transfer, the time-stamp of the file can be different. Also there can be additional difference caused by server timezone offset. This causes trouble when comparing directories and [[task_synchronize|synchronization]]. | Theoretically problem does not occur as the protocol requires timestamps to be in UTC. Practically some of the SFTP servers have problems with DST. | | + | ^ File modification [[timestamp|time-stamp]] | Some shell commands are influenced by daylight-saving time. For example, the ''ls'' command can return a different time than ''scp''. Thus, after transfer, the time-stamp of the file can be different. Also there can be an additional difference caused by the server timezone offset. This causes trouble when comparing directories and [[task_synchronize|synchronization]]. | Theoretically the problem does not occur, as the protocol requires timestamps to be in UTC. Practically some of the SFTP servers have problems with DST. | |
| - | ^ [[ui_login|Configuration]] | For successful connection to server it is often necessary to properly set up several configuration options on the [[ui_login_scp|Login dialog]]. | Generally, only login information is needed. | | + | ^ [[ui_login|Configuration]] | For a successful connection to server it is often necessary to properly set up several configuration options on the [[ui_login_scp|Login dialog]]. | Generally, only login information is needed. | |