The SFTP Failure: A Learning Experience

Published {$created} by Viggo

We recently encountered a frustrating situation that underscored the critical importance of choosing the right file transfer protocol, especially when dealing with business grade sftp cloud storage. It's a story of near disaster, and a good reminder of why we prioritize SFTP here at ftpGrid.

It started with a new customer, a security camera company, who was migrating their surveillance footage from a self-hosted FTP server to ftpGrid. They were using plain FTP for their initial setup, primarily due to perceived simplicity. We encouraged them to transition to SFTP, highlighting the enhanced security it provides. Our documentation clearly explains the benefits of SFTP, and points to resources like our detailed guide on advanced SSH key authentication for SFTP.

However, something went wrong during their initial data transfer. The old server wasn’t properly configured, and the resulting transfer was incomplete and corrupt. Suddenly, we started seeing erratic errors and data inconsistencies within the customer’s account. The plain FTP connection had left a trail of half-transferred files, creating a tangled mess. Debugging this was a nightmare. Because data was partially transferred and inconsistent, our automated processes struggled to reconcile the situation. We ended up having to manually intervene, which took considerable time and effort.

The SFTP Difference

The root cause? Plain FTP’s lack of inherent data integrity. It's a fundamentally insecure and unreliable protocol for transferring critical data, especially in a production environment. SFTP, on the other hand, running over an SSH tunnel, encrypts both the data and the commands, guaranteeing data integrity. Every file transfer is verified, ensuring the received file is identical to the original.

We’re firm believers that SFTP is the only viable option for business grade sftp cloud storage because of this core difference. Our tutorials clearly illustrate why plain FTP shouldn’t be used for production environments. We strongly advocate using SFTP with SSH keys, as demonstrated in our guides on creating SSH keys and sftp backup scripts.

Lessons Learned & Moving Forward

This incident served as a valuable reminder of the importance of adhering to best practices. While we offer FTP for legacy compatibility, we actively guide our users toward SFTP. We now have stricter checks in place to prevent similar situations from occurring. We also reinforced our internal documentation on handling potentially corrupted data during transfers.

If you’re considering migrating your file storage to the cloud, especially for sensitive data like security camera footage, please consider the inherent risks of plain FTP. Choose a business grade sftp cloud storage provider like ftpGrid, and embrace the security and reliability of SFTP. You can find further information on our pricing page and explore our free tier to experience the benefits firsthand.