Why does FTP struggle with large files? TCP/FTP use a relatively unsophisticated mechanism to move files, sending only a fraction of the file’s data and waiting for acknowledgment that the data has been received on the other end before sending a bit more, and so on. The bigger the file, the slower and less reliable FTP becomesĪny file between 500MB and 1GB approaches a threshold where FTP starts to break down in speed and reliability. A 40+ year-old technology, FTP what was once the easiest and most cost-effective way to transfer large files, but there are some growing challenges with FTP in today’s media landscape. The problem is, compared to general traffic, large files are much more taxing for TCP, the standard Internet Protocol that moves data from one point to another and the foundation protocol for FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Where 4K = 8 megapixels, 8K = 32 megapixels. How much bigger can they get? With each jump between 2K, 4K and 8K, pixel rates (and file sizes) square incrementally. Already 4K files are huge and trends in higher resolution are pushing that mark ever higher. Standard Internet Protocols like FTP struggle with today’s media file sizesĪt the same time that traffic is increasing exponentially, so are the media file sizes we’re attempting to move over IP networks.
Granted, much of it will likely still be pet bloopers and teenage antics, but professional content created and distributed by the Media & Entertainment industry will take up its share as well. It would take more than 5 million years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month in 2021.” “Overall,” says the report, “IP traffic will grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24 percent from 2016 to 2021,” with IP video traffic making up 82 percent. Coined by Cisco in a recent report on IP network trends, “The Zettabyte Era” will be defined by a continued surge of traffic over the next few years. The flow of data across the Internet is steadily increasing, with annual global IP traffic predicted to reach 3.3 ZB by 2021.