FTPDrive
Encyclopedia
FTP Drive is an installable file system
and network redirector
for NT-based Microsoft Windows
operating systems. This program is a File Transfer Protocol
(FTP) client
whose functionality can be accessed from any file manager
in an OS. FTP servers
have to be configured in a special applet and appear in Windows explorer (or any other file manager) as subdirectories of a (virtual) network drive (the drive letter
also can be configured). As of October 28, 2007, this program is freeware
.
Read-only file access can be completely transparent to applications, as long as they do not use very large memory-mapped file
s. Random write access is not possible due to limitations of the protocol. It is possible to copy files to a server, and programs which write files sequentially, as one operation, should not have problems with write access. This program has some support for FTP over SSL and TLS
.
Installable File System
The Installable File System is a filesystem API in IBM OS/2 and Microsoft Windows that enables the operating system to recognize and load drivers for file systems...
and network redirector
Network redirector
A network redirector, or redirector, is an operating system driver that sends data to and receives data from a remote device. A network redirector provides mechanisms to locate, open, read, write, and delete files and submit print jobs....
for NT-based Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems. This program is a File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
(FTP) client
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....
whose functionality can be accessed from any file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
in an OS. FTP servers
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
have to be configured in a special applet and appear in Windows explorer (or any other file manager) as subdirectories of a (virtual) network drive (the drive letter
Drive letter assignment
Drive letter assignment is the process of assigning alphabetical identifiers to physical or logical disk drives or partitions in the root filesystem namespace; this usage is now mostly found in Microsoft operating systems...
also can be configured). As of October 28, 2007, this program is freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
.
Read-only file access can be completely transparent to applications, as long as they do not use very large memory-mapped file
Memory-mapped file
A memory-mapped file is a segment of virtual memory which has been assigned a direct byte-for-byte correlation with some portion of a file or file-like resource. This resource is typically a file that is physically present on-disk, but can also be a device, shared memory object, or other resource...
s. Random write access is not possible due to limitations of the protocol. It is possible to copy files to a server, and programs which write files sequentially, as one operation, should not have problems with write access. This program has some support for FTP over SSL and TLS
FTPS
FTPS is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol that adds support for the Transport Layer Security and the Secure Sockets Layer cryptographic protocols....
.