Topic: FTP Setup (Server-only)

[Mordax]

This is probably a stupid question, but as far as i can see i have set everything up for ftp. I'm running a IPcop firewall with port forwarding to my SME with the correct addresses and everything. All the ftp settings are enabled on my SME.

What am i doing wrong or not doing?

T.I.A

[arthurhanlon]

Hi there,

You have to let us know what the problem is. Can you explain in more detail the trouble you are having?

Cheers,

Arthur

[Mordax]

sorry for being vague, i'm having difficulty connecting via ftp, apparently the port is open but i'm just not getting a connection established. I specified the router address for internet access or atleast to the firewall and have double checked the settings for anything which is possibly funny via the server-manager. I have an extremely basic knowledge of linux. Do i need an extra .rpm for the ftp?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CharlieBrady]

sorry for being vague, i'm having difficulty connecting via ftp, apparently the port is open but i'm just not getting a connection established.

ftp needs two ports. It's a difficult protocol to forward through a firewall.

[Mordax]

here's a stupid one, i'm a newb at this SME thing...what do you mean by 2 ports?

[arthurhanlon]

Hi there,

What Charlie means is that you need to have 2 ports of communication open in order to enable FTP through a firewall.

You can think of ports as pipes in and out of your computer used for data tranfer.

HTH,

Arthur

[Mordax]

Ok, on the firewall i do have 2 ports as u just explained. Do i need 2 on the SME aswell?

Sorry for asking stupid questions but i really havent got a clue.

[arthurhanlon]

No problems, you have to ask to find out, right?

If accessing from external machines, i.e. Internet, you have to enable exteranl access to the FTP service in the server manager panel, Security > Remote Access. Should work internally without modification of this though.

Let us know how you get on.

Arthur

[Mordax]

ok, so far so good. I got all that sorted, however i can only login in as admin (using putty), i spoke to a few guys that claim there is a bug with the ftp service on SME 6.0.1 and higher. is this true? personally i don't think so but i don't know.

Under remote access, i have enable all the ftp settings for public sharing to the internet and accepting passwords from anywhere. Via the web browser on the internal network i get the primary directory, with 2 files in that i placed in it, i cant change to any other directories

Is there something i'm missing? I also checked with the company that put the firewall in that the port forwarding is configured correctly.

i'm somewhat at a loss.

[arthurhanlon]

ok, so far so good. I got all that sorted, however i can only login in as admin (using putty), i spoke to a few guys that claim there is a bug with the ftp service on SME 6.0.1 and higher. is this true? personally i don't think so but i don't know.

But the issue is with FTP isn't it? You can login with the Admin account or the Root account both using the admin password that you setup at installation time.

Under remote access, i have enable all the ftp settings for public sharing to the internet and accepting passwords from anywhere. Via the web browser on the internal network i get the primary directory, with 2 files in that i placed in it, i cant change to any other directories

Other directories are created either through the use of ibays or simply the creation of a sub directory in the Primary ibay ie. http://your-server/subfolder can either be an ibay called subfolder or just a subdirctory.

I assume that you are unable to access any FTP from outwith your LAN?

Arthur

[arne]

The ftp server use port 20 and port 21.

I think I use to forward both those two ports.

I think that the SME 6.0.1 does not have any real bug with the ftp server, but when you mention it and when I think it over .. I wonder if I have not had some problems logging on via MS Explorer as ftp client some times ?? (Not sure about that one.)

Using "a real ftp client", I think there has never been any problems.

The ftp servers in general can comunicate in two ways in active mode and passive mode. I'm not sure about the SME server, but I wonder if it does not do both.

According to "the book" I believe that the "passive mode" is the "firewall friendly mode" and that the "active mode" is the "firewall demanding mode". Wonder if I havent also experienced the oposite as well, without a reasonable explanation, but that's another story.

For access from internet, try to forward both port 20 and port 21. Then also, if still problems, try to use "a real ftp client" not only MS Explorer and try also to change the ftp client setup between "ftp passive mode" and "ftp active mode".

By the way .. I think the nmap port scanner is not a part of the sme server by default, but you can install a rpm made for RedHat 7.3

When you then run "nmap localhost" you can easily see all the prosesses you are running. The ftpd is just "visible" as a port 21 service as the other port is used for data transfer.

Another good alternative for file transfer is the WinSCP program. This does encrypted data transfer via port 22 only. Very easy to set up and use.

Arne.

[Mordax]

Thanks a zillion! I used core ftp...seemed like a fairly solid ftp client and it works like a treat!

Thanks to all for the help!