Shutting down FTP services (kernel.org)

Kernel.org has announced that it will be shutting down FTP access to its archives in two stages: March 1 will see the end of ftp.kernel.org, while December 1 is the termination date for mirrors.kernel.org.

Let's face it -- while kinda neat and convenient, offering a public NFS/CIFS server was a Pretty Bad Idea, not only because both these protocols are pretty terrible over high latency connections, but also because of important security implications.

Well, 19 years later we're thinking it's time to terminate another service that has important protocol and security implications -- our FTP servers. Our decision is driven by the following considerations:

1. The protocol is inefficient and requires adding awkward kludges to firewalls and load-balancing daemons
2. FTP servers have no support for caching or accelerators, which has significant performance impacts
3. Most software implementations have stagnated and see infrequent updates

All kernel.org FTP services will be shut down by the end of this year.