Conversion from FTP to SFTP or FTPS

We ensure greater security for your data transfer 

The security of our customers’ data is our top priority. In order to be prepared for the requirements of the future, we would like to support you in switching from FTP to SFTP or FTPS as soon as possible, as these two technologies guarantee a higher level of security. As a customer, you can choose which of the two new technologies you would like to use. There are different aspects to consider when making the switch. 

In this article, we provide you with all the information you need to make the switch in advance: 

• What are the differences between FTP, SFTP and FTPS? 

• When does SFTP make more sense, and when FTPS? 

• Switching from FTP to SFTP: Requirements and procedure 

• Switching from FTP to FTPS: Requirements and procedure 

We recommend that you consult your IT contact during the changeover. Your contact at nexmart will also be happy to help you. 

In view of the security aspect, we also advise you to make the switch as soon as possible. 

What are the differences between FTP, SFTP and FTPS? 

FTP 

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and refers to a protocol for data transfer. FTP is a conventional file transfer technology, but it offers less security than SFTP and FTPS. We therefore support our customers in switching to one of the two newer technologies. 

SFTP and FTPS 

Although SFTP and FTPS have similar names, they are completely different file transfer technologies. 

SFTP is based on SSH (Secure Shell). This technology offers the possibility to connect to the command line of a remote Linux system. 

FTPS is the secure version of FTP. 

A particularly significant difference between FTPS and SFTP is that FTPS uses several network ports for data exchange. This means that several port openings must be configured in the firewall. 

With SFTP, on the other hand, only a single network port is used for communication. In addition to the usual “user and password” option, SFTP also offers the additional option of using private and public SSH keys for authentication (Private/Public SSH Keys). 

When does SFTP make more sense, and when FTPS? 

The advantage of SFTP is that the technology generally requires less initial configuration effort in the firewall. In addition, when using private/public keys, there is less risk of access being lost because it is forgotten or guessed, as is the case with a password. 

FTPS, on the other hand, can have advantages in terms of data transfer speed, but this also depends on the size and number of files to be transferred. 

Switching from FTP to SFTP: Requirements and procedure 

Prerequisites 

Your software must support SFTP and a certain amount of technical know-how is required for the keys in particular. It is best to contact your IT contact person for this. 

Procedure 

Basically, your existing nexmart FTP account with the existing directory structure can still be used when switching to SFTP. Only the technical access path to the account will change. 

For a changeover, you as the customer must provide us with a public key. Examples of how to create such a key can be found here, for example: 

What is ssh-Keygen & How to Use It to Generate a New SSH Key?

We support these public key formats: SSH2, OPENSSH 

We support these public key algorithms: rsa, ecdsa, ed25519 

We recommend using a “passphrase” for the private key, but it is not necessary. 

As a customer, you can compare our host keys with the fingerprints and certificates provided on nexmart certificates.

Finally, you must configure the software you use for file transfer with the appropriate private key and this connection data: 

nexmart SFTP Host: ftp.nexmart.com 

nexmart SFTP port: 2222 

nexmart SFTP user: previous FTP account name or new account name provided by nexmart 

Please note that the conversion to SFTP on our side will take 2 hours, which is why we need an informal order from you. If you are interested, simply get in touch with your contact person or use our contact form:  

Switching from FTP to FTPS: Requirements and procedure 

Prerequisites 

Your software must support FTPS, and also our automatic update of the certificate. If the update is not supported automatically, it may be possible to set up a manual process to update the certificate in your software instead. We recommend that you work together with your IT contacts here too. 

Procedure 

To switch from an unencrypted connection (FTP) to the nexmart FTP server to an encrypted connection via FTPS, do the following: 

The connection data remains the same: 

nexmart FTP host: ftp.nexmart.com 

nexmart FTP port: 21 

User and password also remain identical. 

The corresponding encryption option must be activated in your FTP client.  

The naming of the options varies from client to client, here as an example the naming in the Filezilla FTP client: 

Encryption:

Select the encryption: 

• “If available, use explicit FTP via TLS”  

• or “Require explicit FTP via TLS”  

Implicit FTP via TLS is not supported by us. 

Select in the transmission settings: 

Transmission mode: Passive  

We do not support active mode in combination with TLS. 

For an FTPS connection, some FTP clients must import the certificate that our FTP server offers during the connection. This certificate is renewed automatically on a regular basis and can always be retrieved in the current version at the following URL: 

/media/certificates/ftp.nexmart.com.zip

How the certificate contained in the zipped archive can be imported depends on the client. 

Again using Filezilla as an example: Here, the certificate is displayed for confirmation on the first connection to the FTP server and the user can decide whether to trust it or not. 

Passive connections from the Internet with explicit TLS require a firewall activation on the customer/client side to destination port 21 and to destination ports 49,000 to 51,000. 

This means that you as the customer must allow outgoing connections to the nexmart FTP server (with the IP 185.87.132.15) on these ports in your firewall (if available). 

Do you have any questions?

If you have any technical questions, please get in touch with your IT contact first. Otherwise, we will also be happy to help you. Simply get in touch with your usual nexmart contact person or contact us via our contact form.