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Introduction

The Resumable File Transfer Protocol (RFTP) software allows the user to transfer files between computers using the Internet or intranet.  The person on the “user” or “client” side of the connection can be given permission by the “server” side to browse through the folders* and files of the server computer.  RFTP's functionality is comparable to that provided by File Transfer Protocol (FTP) as defined in RFC (Request For Comment) 959 with several exceptions. In addition to FTP-like functionality, RFTP also has the ability to resume the download of a file after the download has been interrupted by loss of a connection, or interrupted by the user.   

Downloading large files is easy with RFTP’s convenient interface and resumable file transfers. Users with lower (28 K, 56 K) connection speeds whose downloads take proportionally more time, or home users sharing one line for both voice and data have a higher risk that a connection could accidentally be lost during a download.  Using RFTP to transfer files means that if a transfer is interrupted, the time already invested in downloading isn’t wasted.

Users can choose to use RFTP with a text-based interface or using a graphical user interface. The text-based interface is the RFTP Console Interface. To give an overview on the text-based interface, to transfer files using this interface, the user enters text commands and receives a response from the server.  The GUI interface, called RFTP File Mover, is described in the section by the same name. Most users choose to use File Mover with its convenient and graphical interface.   

The RFTP Server is run on the server machine to provide File Mover with the requested services.  Its use is described in a section by the same name. This server application provides security for the server machine and is run to allow the users access to the server files and folders.  Each user is assigned a login and password, and can be restricted to a specific area of the server’s folders. 

All components (Console interface, GUI and server) of RFTP can be installed on one machine (Windows or Unix). The instructions for installation are given in the next section of this manual. 

RFTP can also be run with one machine acting as both the RFTP Server machine and the client machine.  This is convenient when learning how to use RFTP, so the user doesn't need to have two machines running programs at once.  You don't even have to actually connect to the Internet, as long as you have TCP/IP^** on your machine (you probably do).

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* RFTP works on both UNIX and Windows machines.  The Windows term “folder” and UNIX term “directory” are used interchangeably in this document.  Both refer to the hierarchical structure where folders contain other folders and files.

** Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

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