[wwPDB] Deprecation of FTP File Download Protocol in the PDB Archive

The FTP protocol for file downloads has been losing popularity over the years in favor of HTTP/S. There are many advantages of HTTP/S including speed, statelessness, security (HTTPS), and better support. Importantly during the past 2-3 years the main web browsers (Chrome and Firefox) have dropped support for the FTP protocol, which has effectively discontinued the FTP protocol for non-technical users.

Given that the majority of file download activity on the internet has moved to HTTP/S, wwPDB plans to deprecate FTP download protocol on November 1st 2024 (see previous announcement).

Support for the RSYNC protocol, which offers additional functionality, will continue to be maintained.

As announced previously, wwPDB supports protocol-specific DNS names:

• http://files.wwpdb.org for HTTP/S
• http://rsync.wwpdb.org for RSYNC
• ftp.wwpdb.org for FTP; will be deprecated on November 1, 2024. Note this DNS name does not accept HTTP/S traffic.

Please contact info@wwpdb.org with any questions.

[ wwPDB News ]