RE: [cobalt-users] Raq550 FTP client problem

["Jolley, Carl" <Carl.Jolley@xxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Oleg Volkov 
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 1:47 PM
To: cobalt-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [cobalt-users] Raq550 FTP client problem


> I can connect and logon fine (through a scrreening router) from the RaQ550
> to the RaQ3 but when I try to do a "get", I get a message saying:
"Entering
> passive mode" and the FTP clinet hangs. Coing from the other 
> direction, everything works fine.
> 

Get RFC for FTP to learn more about this strange and antique
protocol.

In brief: there is one TCP/IP connection called control
connection (port 21 - FTP). Using this connection both peers
agree about another channel, called data. It may come
on random free port that both agree on it. This agreement
cover by commands PASV and PORT. What mean what, I've
already forgot, because it was unimportant for me - check in RFC.

About your problem:
1. some kind of firewall resides between two boxes, that
does not understand FTP, or suppose to do FTP only in one direction -
from IN to OUT.

2. You trying so called Third party FTP. What meen you open
control connection to both computers from third one. After that
you trying to establish data connection between two of them.
This option open security hole, and closed by default on many
FTP servers for years. It may be opened, however, if you insist.
---------------------------------
I don't really need a tutorial on the FTP protocol. What is giving me
problems
is that the FTP client on the RaQ550 is using passive mode by default.
When I do ftp -help I get:

       Usage: { ftp | pftp } [-pinegvtd] [hostname]
           -p: enable passive mode (default for ftp and pftp)
           -i: turn off prompting during mget
           -n: inhibit auto-login
           -e: disable readline support, if present
           -g: disable filename globbing
           -v: verbose mode
           -t: enable packet tracing [nonfunctional]
           -d: enable debugging

I can write a perl script using Net::FTP and the get works fine
except for being a slow as a snail.

So the firewall nor the screening router is not my problem
it is the FTP client. I can't figure out how to NOT use passive
mode.I would have thought that if the FTP client operated
differently thatn it did on predecessor RaQ's Sun/Cobalt
would have tipped people off and told them how to make it
work the was it used to.