Legacy Telnet and FTP go away
I work in a development and integration lab environment running multiple OS?s on multiple platforms. We have historically used Telnet and FTP for developer access. I have begun to see Operating systems install without default support for Telnet or FTP. Instead the default is an SSH based Telnet and FTP. The legacy Telnet and FTP were available for optional install. What I am trying to find out is if anyone has an idea of a time line were the legacy products will no longer be available?
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Software/Hardware used:
ASKED:
August 31, 2005 4:36 PM
UPDATED:
September 1, 2005 2:32 PM
Answer Wiki:
I'm not sure there's any clear answer to that question given that whether or not telnet, ftp or any other package is available, default, non-default or otherwise is really up to vendors.
Given that SSH is the defacto-standard replacement for telnet and ftp IMO I think you should consider moving to them to stay "mainstream," and get all the benefits therein however given how engrained both telnet and ftp are in general networking and that there are ways to use them securely (with kerberos for example), I doubt they're going away entirely any time soon.
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Legacy applications usually wither instead of dying on a given date. Two factors drive their extinction – lack of inherent security. Even Windows 2000 went to disabled for the default on ‘Telnet’. The other factor is more problematic – 3rd party desire for control of of access and file transfer. Micrsoft has integrated ‘FTP’ into IE for effective DRM (digital rights management). There are sever open source alternatives to keep ‘business’ fingers out of your operation. BUT you will have to make the decisions about trading security (Trusted Platform) for freedom of control/access.
As long as the RFCs exist, I can’t imagine that telnet or FTP would go away. I mean, at their heart, they’re really just a couple of sockets applications that any reasonably good sockets programmer could write.
Certainly one vendor or another can choose to drop support at any time. But I would expect a rash of free- or share-ware apps to hit the ‘net soon after any such vendor announcement. And I’d look into likely open-source projects. Those seem to me to be candidates that already have lots of relevant procedures already developed.
Overall, I won’t be surprised at any default installs disappearing. I will be surprised to see support drop from any vendor entirely within the foreseeable future though.