# How can you learn the FTP address of "whatever.com"?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 10, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100 "2000-04-10T16:17:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/1 "2000-04-10T16:17:00Z")
As I understand it, when you type in a domain name, say for example, www. whatever-the-name-is .com, there is some central computer registry that knows that whatever-the-name-is .com is in fact an FTP (file transfer protocol for those wondering) server with an address like 464.576.667. or something.
Is there any way to figure out what the FTP address is if I only have the domain name to work from?
Thanks,
Inky
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### Author:  [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/2 "2000-04-10T16:30:00Z")
Easy way:
From a command line, while you’re connected to the Internet, type _ping [ftp.domain.com](http://ftp.domain.com)_. You’ll get back the IP address of their ftp host.
Or just _ping [domain.com](http://domain.com)_ as most ftp hosts resolve to the domain A record anyways.
Not so easy way:
You could do an nslookup from a Unix commmand line, type _set q=any_, and then _[domain.com](http://domain.com)_ to get the authoritative name server. Then type _[server=nameserver.com](http://server=nameserver.com)_, hit enter, and type _ls -d [domain.com](http://domain.com)_ and get the entire zone file, which will give you the A record, the ftp host, the mail servers and everything else.
If they don’t have a zone file yet, then you have to check with the domain owner or hoster to find out the IP address.
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### Author:  [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/3 "2000-04-10T16:32:00Z")
Dammit, dammit, dammit. I want a preview function.
Inky-, the short answer is that the FTP IP address is almost always the same as the domain’s main (or A record) IP address, and you can get that with a ping.
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/4 "2000-04-10T16:43:00Z")
FTP is file transfer protocol. HTTP is hypertext transfer protocol. IP is internet protocol. All servers on the internet have an IP address. This is a sequence of three numbers between 1 and 255 separated by dots. For example, the remote access server I use at my school is 128.113.113.33. Many servers, and virtually all web servers have a domain name. When you connect to a server using its domain name, you must first connect to a DNS (domain name server) which resolves the domain name into an IP address. You have to specify the IP address of the DNS you want to use under network properties.
If you want to find the IP address of a web (HTTP) server, go to a DOS prompt and type “ping [http://www.something.com](http://www.something.com)”. It will return the IP address of the [www.something.com](http://www.something.com) web server. Often, a place that has a web server will have an ftp server as well. This may or may not have the same IP address as the web server. If it does, you can simply ftp it at [www.something.com.](http://www.something.com.) In general, if someone is operating an anonymous ftp server (i.e. one that doesn’t require an account on it for you to log in), it will most likely be on a separate computer than the web server, and will probably have a different IP address.
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### Author:  [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2000, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/5 "2000-04-10T21:28:00Z")
WaterJ…you go to RPI?
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-learn-the-ftp-address-of-whatever-com/10100/6 "2000-04-11T15:38:00Z")
Whatcha want the FTP address for? ANyway, there are specific programs that can make it easier for you at [download.com](http://download.com) if you search for say, FTP, I use wspingpro.
Say, can’t you just change the http? e.g. [http://www.dogs.com](http://www.dogs.com)
ftp://ftp.dogs.com