Since they both use SSH and share security features, the “better” protocol is dependent on your environment’s requirements. Which Protocol Should You Use? Based on your users’ needsīoth SCP and SFTP have their advantages when it comes to file transfer over SSH. However, SCP’s file transfer speed may be beneficial depending on your files’ size. Which Protocol Should You Use? SFTPįile Size – Neither SCP nor SFTP have file size restrictions.

As well, SFTP allows for pausing and resuming data transfers, which helps in environments with intermittent connectivity. If you or your users will be managing files, including view/searching directories, creating folders and organizing files, deleting or renaming files, etc., SFTP is the superior protocol. Which Protocol Should You Use? Either SCP or SFTPįunctionality /Usability – SCP provides little functionality other than exactly what its name implies: securely copying files. Security – Since both protocols run on SSH, they both provide the same security features which include password and data encryption as well as public-key authentication.

Speed – SCP is usually much faster than SFTP at transferring files, especially on high latency networks. This happens because SCP implements a more efficient transfer algorithm, one which does not require waiting for packet acknowledgement, unlike SFTP. More like a remote file management protocol, SFTP allows for a range of operations on remote files (viewing directories, deleting files and directories, etc.). What is SFTP? SFTP is a more robust file transfer protocol, also based on SSH. The protocol uses the Remote Copy Protocol (RCP) to transfer files and SSH to provide authentication and encryption. With SCP, you can quickly transfer files between hosts along with basic file attributes such as access permission and timestamps that are not always available via FTP. What is SCP? Secure Copy (SCP) is a protocol based on SSH (Secure Shell) that provides file transfers between hosts on a network. Both SCP and SFTP are used for transferring files, but one or the other protocol may be a better fit for your needs depending on your requirements for speed, security and functionality. This article compares SCP and SFTP to help you choose which secure file transfer protocol is best for your needs.

Mobaxterm transfer files