ftp can open a connection from PC to unix but cannot transfer

[marie-noelle jeanson]

Hi,

I used to transfer files between my PC and a hp-ux system by opening a window on my PC, opening a ftp commenction to the hp-ux system and transfering the files.
Recently I ran into a problem where I can still connect to the hp-ux system, but after that, any command (ls, get, mget, ...) hangs.
It says Port Command Successful and never returns any data.

Any idea why?

Thanks.

Marie

[Rob Leadbeater]

Hi Marie,

It sounds like you may have a firewall blocking port 20...

There's a good description here:

http://slacksite.com/other/ftp.html

You may also be suffering from the problem that the Command Line FTP program on Windows XP, can't do Passive Mode transfers.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Rob

[Bill Hassell]

Almost all ftp transfers need to be made using PASSIVE mode. Since you can authenticate, most likely you are running into NAT or router/firewall problems with ftp using two ports for control and data. After you login, type the command: PASSIVE

If this is not recognized, you'll need a different ftp program that supports that type of connection option.

[marie-noelle jeanson]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I read about active/passive ftp but my ftp does not recognize the command passive. Also it just hangs and does not return any errors. It just times out after a while saying it can't buid a data connection.
I agree though that it may be a firewall problem. I will look into this.

Thanks,

Marie.

[Torsten.]

Hi Marie,

the reason for this is probably the firewall!

I'm experienced the same result while testing some patch upgrade scripts from ITRC.

Hm, most admins consider a ftp connection from productive servers/systems to the internet as a security problem ...

To download single files, try to use the browser, like

ftp://ftp.itrc.hp.com/

[marie-noelle jeanson]

Thanks, Torsten, however it comes back saying DNS unresolved hostname.
I tried using the IP address but it did not help,

Marie

[Bill Hassell]

> it comes back saying DNS unresolved hostname.
I tried using the IP address but it did not help,

Definitely network restrictions. DNS failure for itrc.hp.com could be a minor forwarding problems but if the IP address (I assume you put this: ftp://192.151.52.14 in your browser) fails, you are blocked big time. Having this block means getting software and patches for your HP-UX system is not possible. Most modern IT departments will give you a special proxy ftp site (or a patch for your PC) to allow for ftp.

[Rob Leadbeater]

Hi Marie,

If you're using Windows and Internet Explorer on your PC, then make sure that you have the advanced option set to "Use Passive FTP". It's usually found under Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Browsing.

This might help in FTPing from your browser, but won't affect the capabilities of the built in command line FTP program on Windows.

Cheers,

Rob

[marie-noelle jeanson]

Thanks, Bill and Rob,

I checked that I have passive ftp allowed in my browser.
I will contact the server admin to check the restrictions.

Marie.