<networking> (Or "FTP site", "FTP archive") An Internet
host where program source, documents, e-mail or news
messages are stored for public access via anonymous FTP,
Gopher, World-Wide Web or other document distribution
system. There may be several archive sites for e.g. a
Usenet newsgroup though one may be recognised as the main
one.
FTP servers were common on the Internet for many years before
the World-Wide Web (WWW) was invented and are still used in
preference to web servers for serving large files such as
software distributions. This is because FTP is more efficient
than HTTP, the protocol of the WWW. Many sites therefore
run both HTTP and FTP servers.
[Is FTP more efficient? How much more?]
Some well-known archive sites include Imperial College, UK, UUNET, USA.
See also archie, GNU archive site, mirror.
(1998-07-02)
Nearby terms:
architecture « Architecture Neutral Distribution Format « archive « archive site » ARCnet » ARCS » Arctic
