Home ftp server

exactiv

Hi.

I want to set up an ftp server from home so I can access some of my files while I'm in work (and I just want to see if I can make it work).

I've got an ESAT BT DSL connection. Esat provided me with a ZyXEL Prestige 623r-t1 dsl modem.

I have my ftp server working on the internal lan. I'm able to connect to it from my desktop machine no problem using Cute FTP.

But when I try to connect to my public IP from my desktop it just times out and won't connect.

I have set up NAT forwarding on the Prestige unit to forward all port 21 traffic to my internal ftp server (10.0.0.3), and I have disabled all of the internet security filters.

But still no joy. Any suggestions?

My setup is as follows:

DSL Line>>> ZyXEL DSL Modem>>> 3com Network Hub>>> FTP Server.
and for my desktop the setup is like this
DSL Line>>> ZyXEL DSL Modem>>> 3com Network Hub>>> Firewalled Wireless Router>>> Desktop Machine.

exactiv

anyone?

Stephen

Forward port 20 as well. check that any software firewall on the PC hosting the ftp server is not blocking incoming connections.

fatherdougalmag

If it's only occasional transfers, you could use MSN Messenger (or other IM that supports file transfer). Just set up a contact and sign it in on your home PC. Start a conversation with your work account and drag/drop files to the conversation window. When you get into work, accept the transfer request. Of course, if you need to transfer something whilst in work then you'll need something like LogMeIn to manage both sides of the conversation. Maybe it'd be an idea for someone to develop/enhance an existing open source IM to have true client-server file transfer based on this model. Or maybe somebody's done it already.

dingding

Are you FTP ing to the public ip address of your FTP server.

If you don't have a fixed ip address this can change.

you can find it out by going to the site

www.showmyip.com

you can set up dynamic dns to connect to a temporary ip address.

Appologies if the above is obvious.

exactiv

Hi lads. Thanks for the replies.
- I've got all ports forwarded to the server at the moment. Still no joy.

- MSN Messenger wouldn't be any good cos I have a lot of files I'll need transferred.

- I made sure my IP was correct before I tried to connect

Still no joy

Does Esat Block FTP/HTTP traffic? Are there any know issues with the ZyXEL unit & its NAT capabilities?

matt-dublin

also you have to bear in mind your esat ip address can change at anytime, as they are dynamic im thinking the renewal time for esat is 24/48 hours

liamo

In the absence of information to the contrary, I would say that the problem is that you haven't set your FTP client to use Passive FTP (as opposed to Active FTP).

Active FTP is usually the default and in this case, upon a successful connection from a client, the FTP server attempts to initiate a second connection back to the FTP client. A firewall on the client will block the connection and this is probably the most common problem with FTP.

When passive FTP is used, the client initiates both connections - the initial Command connection and the secondary Data connection.

I haven't looked into the mechanics of how it happens, but I believe that modern firewalls are smart enough to know that if a connection has been established from port 21 from a client and a second connection is attempted from port 20 then it will be permitted.

Anyway, look for a passive FTP setting on your client and tick it.

exactiv

Hi lads,

Thanks again for all your input.

I managed to get it working after all... It wasn't working because I was trying to connect to it with the same external IP address as the server. In other words, connecting to itself on port 21... So it wouldn't work. I tried to connect to it today from work and it's happy enough. Not exactly 100% uptime, but good enough for me. i'm using DynDNS for the ip address. It's built into the ZyXEL unit so it updates itself. Which is excellent.

Thanks again.

edanto

I'm trying to get this working for an FTP server, but I'm kindof right on the edge of what I know....can you help, please?

I have the server running, the domain name sorted out with no-ip, but when I try to connect to it with SmartFTP, I get an error that says:

Resolving host name "ftp.<snip>.<snip>"
Connecting to 84.203.XX.XX Port: 21
No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.
Cannot login waiting to retry....

I'm pretty sure it's not the firewall and I suspect it might be the port forwarding. I followed the instructions in http://support.smarttelecom.ie/forums/archive/index.php/t-22.html
1. Login to your router
2. Open the Security section
3. On the Security Interfaces tab, click on "Advanced NAT configuration" link on the "ipwan/external" line
4. Click on "Add Reserved Mapping" link
5. Leave the Global field blank, add your IP to the Internal field. Specify the protocol and the inbound/outbound ports range you want to do port mapping for. I don't know which protocol I should choose from the drop down menu, so chose 'all' and I put '21' into all 4 boxes here
6. Click on "Add Reserved Mapping"

Should I have picked a particular protocol, such as TCP and should I have put in range of ports instead of just 21?

bushy...

Maybe look into scp or sftp for transferring files , ftp send passwords in plain text afaik , your files could end up anywhere

edanto

Cheers, I'll look them up. Tbh, I'm figuring this out as I go, so if there's an altogether better way to do it I'll go with that.