FTP Commands FTP is the way to move files between systems (FreeBSD 5.2.1) |
Posted 04.03.2006 | Updated 23.05.2006 | Contributed by Andy Mallett
FTP Who?To FTP another system, you can use its IP Address, NetBIOS name or hostname. To use either of the last two, the names must be resolvable, but using the IP Address of the remote FTP Server should always work. Thus..ftp flash (NetBIOS name) or ftp flash.it.net (hostname) or ftp 10.0.0.100 (IP Address) To initiate an FTP session with another system, the other host must be running the FTP service and a valid username and password will be required to connect successfully. Once connected, the FTP account may grant read only or full access for uploading files and may jail some accounts to a specified directory. Start, Help and StopTo enter FTP mode simply type ftp. Note the prompt changes to ftp>. Once inside an FTP session, typing help will bring up a list of over 100 commands specific to FTP. Note that only about ten of these commands are required for normal usage.# ftp ftp> help Commands may be abbreviated. Commands are: ! delete idle mode pmlsd reset system $ dir image modtime preserve restart tenex account disconnect lcd more progress rhelp throttle append edit less mput prompt rmdir trace ascii epsv4 lpage mreget proxy rstatus type bell exit lpwd msend put runique umask binary features ls newer pwd send unset bye fget macdef nlist quit sendport usage case form mdelete nmap quote set user cd ftp mdir ntrans rate site verbose cdup gate mget open rcvbuf size xferbuf chmod get mkdir page recv sndbuf ? close glob mls passive reget status cr hash mlsd pdir remopts struct debug help mlst pls rename sunique Typing help followed by the commmand name brings up a somewhat minimalist explanation of the command in question..
ftp> help mkdir
mkdir make directory on the remote machine
Typing bye will terminate the FTP session and exit the user back to the command prompt.. ftp> bye # Establishing the connectionThe principle of file transfer under FTP is no different from any other form of network download. The file to be downloaded is sitting in a directory somewhere on the remote server and is to be downloaded to a specific directory on the local machine. The principle of FTP download follows three main steps..
 By default, the download directory will be the directory you were logged onto before you typed the ftp command. Thus if I start the FTP session from my home directory, then that's where the file will eventually download to.. # pwd /usr/home/andym # ftp ftp> Sometimes I forget to change the default download directory before starting the FTP session. No problemo, this is fixable using the lcd command at any time during the FTP session. This command stands for local change directory and will alter the default download directory on the local machine.. ftp> lcd /usr/local/src Local directory now /usr/local/src su-2.05b# ftp ftp> open andrewmallett.net Connected to andrewmallett.net. 220---------- Welcome to Pure-FTPd [TLS] ---------- 220-You are user number 1 of 50 allowed. 220-Local time is now 00:20. Server port: 21. 220-This is a private system - No anonymous login 220-IPv6 connections are also welcome on this server. 220 You will be disconnected after 15 minutes of inactivity. Name (andrewmallett.net:andym): andym 331 User andym OK. Password required Password: 230-User andym has group access to: andym 230 OK. Current restricted directory is / Remote system type is UNIX. Using binary mode to transfer files. ftp> Finding and downloading the fileStart with the pwd to print the working directory, which means to show the current directory you're sitting inside on the FTP server. Next use the ls -la command to show a listing of all the files and sub-directories in the current directory on the FTP Server.Use the cd (change directory) command to navigate the remote server's file system. The final destination on the remote server will be the remote directory which contains the desired file. It usually takes a few ls -la and cd combinations to reach the desired remote directory.. ftp> pwd 257 "/" is your current location ftp> ls -la 229 Extended Passive mode OK (|||18886|) 150 Accepted data connection drwxr-xr-x 26 32023 andym 4096 Feb 28 18:37 . drwxr-x--- 22 32023 99 4096 Feb 5 04:18 .. drwxr-xr-x 2 32023 andym 4096 Dec 16 13:20 email drwxr-x--- 3 32023 12 4096 Jan 20 21:40 etc drwxrwx--- 6 32023 12 4096 Dec 18 07:05 mail drwxr-xr-x 3 32023 andym 4096 May 30 2005 public_ftp drwxr-x--- 22 32023 99 4096 Feb 5 04:18 public_html drwxr-xr-x 6 32023 andym 4096 Sep 6 10:20 tmp lrwxrwxrwx 1 0 0 11 Jan 9 14:53 www -> public_html Note that as usual, directories are indicated with a d on the far left hand side of the listing.. ftp> cd public_html 250 OK. Current directory is /public_html ftp>ls -la drwxr-xr-x 26 32023 andym 4096 Feb 28 18:37 . drwxr-x--- 22 32023 99 4096 Feb 5 04:18 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 1177 May 31 2005 tafeold.htm -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 24142 May 31 2005 tafepage_moved.gif drwxr-xr-x 26 32023 andym 4096 Feb 28 18:37 tech -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 3444 May 31 2005 tech.gif -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 26927 May 31 2005 tent_w2.jpg drwxr-xr-x 22 32023 andym 4096 Oct 13 05:25 thewitchery -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 1518 May 31 2005 transcreen.gif Once the required file is in sight, it's time to download it to the local machine. This time I'm after uhoh.gif.. ftp> cd tech 250 OK. Current directory is /public_html/tech ftp> ls -la 229 Extended Passive mode OK (|||64912|) 150 Accepted data connection drwxr-xr-x 26 32023 andym 4096 Feb 28 18:37 . drwxr-x--- 22 32023 99 4096 Feb 5 04:18 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 1079 Jan 27 02:20 404.htm -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 7631 Jan 27 02:21 Dgclock.class -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 4150 Jan 27 02:22 Fade.class -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 1032 Jan 27 02:26 uhoh.gif -rw-r--r-- 1 32023 andym 2975 Jan 27 02:26 undev.gif The command to download a file is get, however there is one important point to note before downloading that file. FTP has two modes, ascii (for clear text files) and binary (for other files, like programs). The default mode for FTP is ASCII mode, but if a non-text file is downloaded in ACSII mode it can become corrupted. So before downloading a non-text file, change to Binary mode using the bin command.. ftp> bin 200 TYPE is now 8-bit binary ftp> get uhoh.gif local: uhoh.gif remote: uhoh.gif 229 Extended Passive mode OK (|||11857|) 150 Accepted data connection 100% |******************************| 1032 66.54 KB/s 00:00 ETA 226-File successfully transferred 226 0.025 seconds (measured here), 39.71 Kbytes per second 1032 bytes received in 00:00 (2.78 KB/s) Note the 226-File successfully transferredmessage, confirming the file has downloaded. I know of no way to perform a local listing while in the FTP session, other than opening another shell logged onto the download directory. Ending the FTP session will also of course allow a local file listing to occur.. ftp> bye 221-Goodbye. You uploaded 0 and downloaded 2 kbytes. 221 Logout. su-2.05b# ls -la total 26 drwxr-xr-x 2 andym andym 512 Mar 4 16:49 . drwxr-xr-x 6 root wheel 512 Oct 29 12:11 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 767 Jun 10 2005 .cshrc -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 248 Jun 10 2005 .login -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 158 Jun 10 2005 .login_conf -rw------- 1 andym andym 373 Jun 10 2005 .mail_aliases -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 331 Jun 10 2005 .mailrc -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 815 Jun 9 2005 .profile -rw------- 1 andym andym 276 Jun 10 2005 .rhosts -rw-r--r-- 1 andym andym 975 Jun 10 2005 .shrc -rw-r--r-- 1 root andym 123 Jul 9 2005 file.txt -rwxrwxr-x 1 root andym 162 Jul 9 2005 m.sh -rw-r--r-- 1 root andym 1032 Jan 27 18:26 uhoh.gif Uploading files using FTPUploading is of course, the opposite of downloading and the upload command is put. Set the default upload directory and navigate the remote FTP Server's directories in the same way. As previously mentioned, you will require write access permissions to the relevant remote directory to be able to upload stuff.Notes
|
|