Sorry regarding those backslashes, it justs improves readability IMHO ... and since I install almost everything with a script these days ... BTW, ProFTPd 1.2.7 will be out soon so watch out for it ;)

I really appreciate you guys help. Gonna try to implement the suggestions tomorrow.

Unless you have a really compelling reason to use xinetd as the launcher, I'd recommend changing one line in your proftpd.conf: right at the top of the file, make the "ServerType" line read "ServerType standalone" (if it's not already there, add it). This will cause proftpd to start up at boot time and keep a low profile until someone accesses it through the FTP port, instead of starting on demand. Since any server take a little bit of time to initialize, starting on demand causes a slight drop in performance. A side effect of this change will be to eliminate your problem in getting xinetd to work properly with it!

Heck. After all of this work the guy who maintains the servers for me says that he is running them behind a firewall. This is over my head. Is there anyway to get around this so I can run proftpd?

(I think) as long as port 21 can come in and out it should be o.k...... just tell him what you're doing and he'll make the apropriate changes....

Port 20 (FTP-Data) should also be open. Use connection tracking firewall rules!

And BTW, I would NOT recommend running ProFTPd as standalone server. Xinetd has a lot of security related configuration options which could help you to keep your service up and running rather than ressource abuse, etc!

I don't understand?
I have 3 servers.

Well almost 3.
One has some of our stuff on it.
The other is old but has ftp access.
The third which is a new server is the one I'm trying to install proftpd.

The person who keeps the servers for us says that there is a firewall. How can my old server run proftpd and not my new server?

do you mean "how can" like "I want" or "why can't my new server work if the old one does?"

I think the firewall can accept ftp traffic for the older server, but not let it in for your new one.

consult the guy who maintains the firewall, and he'll make all the necessary changes.