Hey everyone, I need to transfer files from a debian machine to my SuSE 10 box. What is the best way to setup FTP on the SuSE 10 machine? What software would you recommend? I tried using a knoppix CD to retrieve the data from the debian box, but kept getting errors. I figured setting up FTP would be the next easiest way to go. When setting up FTP, will the debian machine need to run a client, or can I just use the command line to send the data to the SuSE?

If you're running ssh on both (as hopefully you are) you can use scp or sftp to do file transfer securely because it uses the same port as ssh.

man scp
man sftp
man ssh

For more details on usage of above commands.

If you must use ftp instead you need to enable it inetd.conf or xinetd.d depending on which your distro uses. Typically the file or entry is already there but commented out (inetd) or disabled (xinetd) and all you need do is uncomment or enable it. You only need to do this on the receiving host - the initiating host will always allow outbound ftp.

Also if you have any firewall restrictions such as iptables you may need to enable the port there. As noted above it is better to use scp/sftp as they are more secure.

My favorite FTP client is fireftp, a firefox extension. All GUI and easy to use.