Run FTP server with dynamic ip ?

case1984 · 07-24-2004, 12:32 PM

I'm running an apache server on a machine with a dynamic IP. I use zoneedit.com to forward http traffic to my IP.

Is there a way to do this with an ftp server?

I'd like to set one up, but I can't get it to work with zoneedit. Is there another way?

my current web site address is just verbbooks.com, and I'd like people to just be able to type in ftp://verbbooks.com and have it just work.

Thanks,
Michael

RobertP · 07-24-2004, 01:22 PM

Pinging verbbooks.com [207.234.129.65] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 207.234.129.65: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=50
Reply from 207.234.129.65: bytes=32 time=140ms TTL=50
Reply from 207.234.129.65: bytes=32 time=125ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 207.234.129.65:
Packets: Sent = 3, Received = 3, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 125ms, Maximum = 156ms, Average = 140ms

ftp verbbooks.com
Connected to verbbooks.com
Connection closed by remote host.

ftp 207.234.129.65
Connected to 207.234.129.65.
Connection closed by remote host.

It looks to me, from here, that the DNS is working if you are 207...

Check your server logs. I will bet ftpd or your firewall is rejecting connections for some reason.

Have you installed proftpd or ftpd? Have you configured and started the daemon?

iantri · 07-24-2004, 01:32 PM

It appears to me that you are using a combination of their dynamic DNS services and "WebForward". Am I correct in understanding that your ISP blocks port 80? You have "verbbooks.com" redirecting to ww2.verbbooks.com:5691.

Examination of their FAQ reveals this:

Quote:

A WebForward™ creates a hidden "A" record pointing to our web server. When our web server gets a request for your site from a visitor, our web server is designed to forward the visitor to the URL of your choosing.

This means that, verbbooks.com (and www.verbbooks.com) actually point to ZoneEdit's IP address instead of yours. It seems you have ww2.verbbooks.com actually pointing to your IP address. ZoneEdit then forwards all connections to www.verbbooks.com and verbbooks.com through to port 5691 of ww2.verbboks.com, which points to your actual IP.

EDIT: A little checking shows that this is the case. The ip for ww2.verbbooks.com resolves back to a Cox Cable address. The ip for verbbooks.com doesn't.

What you need to do is create a subdomain (like ftp.verbbooks.com) with an A record that points to your dynamic IP address. Whether they offer this level of control, I don't know, but you can't have verbbooks.com work with the WebForward service and be able to run an FTP server on that same address at the same time, because of how it works. You can, however, have a subdomain (ftp.verbbooks.com) that will work like you want.

Why are you doing this complicated redirection? Does your ISP block port 80? If you can simply do away with the redirection you will have no problems. Also, pointing it to port 5691 could cause problems for people who are surfing from behind firewalls, which may not allow people to access non-standard ports.

Also, why do you want to run an FTP server? It makes you an excellent target for attacks, and without knowing it you could end up acting as a warez server.

If you want to provide downloads (of books, or whatever) just do it through the web server. If you want to be able to upload files remotely (to change web pages, and that sort of thing) use SSH -- it has an inbuilt FTP-like capability and is signifigantly more secure. The two functions are SCP and SFTP -- SFTP acts like a command-line FTP client and SCP acts as a copy command between hosts.

Good luck,
iantri

case1984 · 07-24-2004, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by iantri
It appears to me that you are using a combination of their dynamic DNS services and "WebForward". Am I correct in understanding that your ISP blocks port 80? You have "verbbooks.com" redirecting to ww2.verbbooks.com:5691.

Examination of their FAQ reveals this:

This means that, verbbooks.com (and www.verbbooks.com) actually point to ZoneEdit's IP address instead of yours. It seems you have ww2.verbbooks.com actually pointing to your IP address. ZoneEdit then forwards all connections to www.verbbooks.com and verbbooks.com through to port 5691 of ww2.verbboks.com, which points to your actual IP.

EDIT: A little checking shows that this is the case. The ip for ww2.verbbooks.com resolves back to a Cox Cable address. The ip for verbbooks.com doesn't.

What you need to do is create a subdomain (like ftp.verbbooks.com) with an A record that points to your dynamic IP address. Whether they offer this level of control, I don't know, but you can't have verbbooks.com work with the WebForward service and be able to run an FTP server on that same address at the same time, because of how it works. You can, however, have a subdomain (ftp.verbbooks.com) that will work like you want.

That's exactly correct! But what I would like to do is just have ftp://ftp.verbbooks.com accessable from an ftp client. Is that somehow possible?

Quote:

Why are you doing this complicated redirection? Does your ISP block port 80? If you can simply do away with the redirection you will have no problems. Also, pointing it to port 5691 could cause problems for people who are surfing from behind firewalls, which may not allow people to access non-standard ports.

Yes, my ISP blocks port 80.
Could you maybe suggest a port that might not get blocked by a firewall? I know they block 80 and I think they block 20 and 21.

Quote:

Also, why do you want to run an FTP server? It makes you an excellent target for attacks, and without knowing it you could end up acting as a warez server.

Part of the reason I'm doing this is to gain real-world experience. If I screw up and get hacked or something, then I'll learn not to do that again.
I could just have http downloads, but then I wouldn't know how to set up and run an ftp server.

Quote:

If you want to provide downloads (of books, or whatever) just do it through the web server. If you want to be able to upload files remotely (to change web pages, and that sort of thing) use SSH -- it has an inbuilt FTP-like capability and is signifigantly more secure. The two functions are SCP and SFTP -- SFTP acts like a command-line FTP client and SCP acts as a copy command between hosts.

Good luck,
iantri

iantri · 07-24-2004, 10:56 PM

Anyway, the gist of what you need to do is to generate a new A record for ftp.verbbooks.com that points to your IP address, like in this screenshot (from the ZoneEdit website):

http://www.zoneedit.com/img/screenshot-assign.gif

As I understand it, you simply enter your current IP address and configure your dynamic DNS client to update that record too, but, since I don't use ZoneEdit, I'm not entirely sure on the details.

Once you have created the A record for ftp.verbbooks.com, any request for that domain name will go straight through to your IP address.

Quote:

Yes, my ISP blocks port 80.
Could you maybe suggest a port that might not get blocked by a firewall? I know they block 80 and I think they block 20 and 21.

Well, guess which ports FTP runs on. That's right! You can, of course, run it on a non-standard port, but your mileage may vary.

Why are the major American ISPs so evil? Very few Canadian ISPs block any ports at all, with only the big ones (Rogers, Sympatico) blocking port 25 and nothing more. And they (Sympatico) just recently dropped all bandwidth caps.

IMHO, ISPs should be in the business of providing INTERNET access, not access to a few Internet services, such as the web...

charon79m · 07-25-2004, 07:08 AM

If you want real-world, get an ISP that does not block ports. I was having the same issue with my cable internet provider, so I switched to DSL and they block nothing. I'm also able to have as many public IPs as I want at no extra cost.

(This is via Earthlink/Sprint.)

Cheers.

MrKnisely

case1984 · 07-25-2004, 09:55 AM

iantri: I'll set it up, and post back if it works, thanks for the help!

charon79m: I'm trying to avoid switching to DSL, because in my area it's a lot slower than the local cable provider, and I get a special deal through work and school which makes cable about half the cost of DSL. In a perfect world, I'd have DSL.

Thanks!
Michael