Scenario

Very Secure FTP Daemon (Vsftpd) is the default FTP server for most Linux distributions. This document uses a CentOS 7.6 64-bit CVM as an example to describe how to use vsftpd to set up the FTP service for a Linux CVM.

Software

The following lists the software programs for setting up the FTP service.

• Linux: CentOS 7.6 public image
• Vsftpd: vsftpd 3.0.2

Directions

Step 1: Log in to the CVM

Log in to a Linux instance by using WebShell (recommended). You can also use any of the following login methods that you are comfortable with.

• Logging in to a Linux instance by using remote login software
• Logging in to a Linux instance by using SSH

Step 2: Install vsftpd

1. Run the following command to install vsftpd:

   yum install -y vsftpd

2. Run the following command to automatically start vsftpd upon system startup:

   systemctl enable vsftpd

3. Run the following command to start the FTP service:

   systemctl start vsftpd

4. Run the following command to check that the service has been started:

   netstat -antup | grep ftp

   If the following information appears, the FTP service has been started.
   
   By default, vsftpd has enabled the anonymous access mode. You can log in to the FTP server without entering a username or password. However, you do not have permissions to modify or upload files in this login mode.

Step 3: Configure vsftpd

1. Run the following command to create a user for the FTP service, which is ftpuser in this case:

   useradd ftpuser

2. Run the following command to set a password for ftpuser:

   passwd ftpuser

   After entering the password, press Enter to confirm. By default, the password is not displayed. Here, tf7295TFY is used as an example password.
3. Run the following command to create a file directory for the FTP service, which is /var/ftp/test in this case:

   mkdir /var/ftp/test

4. Run the following command to modify the directory permission:

   chown -R ftpuser:ftpuser /var/ftp/test

5. Run the following command to open the vsftpd.conf file:

   vim /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

6. Press i to switch to the editing mode. Select an FTP mode based on your actual needs and modify the vsftpd.conf configuration file.
   

   The FTP server can connect to the client in either active or passive mode for data transmission. Due to the firewall settings of most clients and the fact that the actual IP address cannot be obtained, we recommend that you use the passive mode to set up the FTP service. The following modification uses the passive mode as an example. To use the active mode, see Setting the FTP active mode.

   1. Modify the following configuration parameters to set login permissions for anonymous and local users, set the path for storing the exceptional user list, and enable listening on IPv4 sockets.

      anonymous_enable=NO
      local_enable=YES
      chroot_local_user=YES
      chroot_list_enable=YES
      chroot_list_file=/etc/vsftpd/chroot_list
      listen=YES

   2. Add the pound sign (#) at the beginning of the following line to annotate listen_ipv6=YES and disable listening on IPv6 sockets.

      #listen_ipv6=YES

   3. Add the following configuration parameters to enable the passive mode, set the directory where local users reside after login, and set the port range for transmitting data by the CVM.

      local_root=/var/ftp/test
      allow_writeable_chroot=YES
      pasv_enable=YES
      pasv_address=xxx.xx.xxx.xx # Replace xxx.xx.xxx.xx with the public IP address of your Linux CVM
      pasv_min_port=40000
      pasv_max_port=45000

7. Press Esc and enter :wq. Then, save the changes and close the file.
   
8. Run the following command to create and edit the chroot_list file:

   vim /etc/vsftpd/chroot_list

9. Press i to enter the editing mode and enter the username. Note that each username occupies one line. After finishing the configuration, press Esc and enter :wq. Then, save the change and close the file.
   If you do not need to set exceptional users, skip this step by entering :wq and closing the file.
10. Run the following command to restart the FTP service:

    systemctl restart vsftpd

Step 4: Configure security groups

After setting up the FTP service, configure inbound rules for the Linux CVM based on the actually used FTP mode. For details, see Adding Security Group Rules.
Most clients convert IP addresses in LANs. If you are using the FTP active mode, ensure that the client has obtained the actual IP address. Otherwise, the client may fail to log in to the FTP server.

• For the active mode: open port 21.
• For the passive mode: open port 21 and all ports ranging from pasv_min_port to pasv_max_port set in the configuration file, such as ports 40000 to 45000 in this document.

Step 5: Verify the FTP service

You can verify the FTP server by using tools such as an FTP client, browser, or Windows Explorer. Here, Windows Explorer is used as an example.

1. Open Internet Explorer on the client, choose Tools > Internet Options, and click the Advanced tab. Make the following modifications based on the selected FTP mode.
   • For the active mode: deselect Passive FTP.
   • For the passive mode: select Passive FTP.
2. Open Windows Explorer on the client, enter the following address in the address box and press Enter, as shown in the following figure.

   ftp://<CVM public IP address:21>

   
3. On the login page that appears, enter the username and password set in Configuring vsftpd.
   Here, the username is ftpuser and the password is tf7295TFY.
4. After successful login, you can upload and download files.

Appendix

Setting the FTP active mode

To use the active mode, modify the following configuration parameters and leave others as their defaults:

anonymous_enable=NO      # Forbid anonymous users to log in
local_enable=YES         # Allow local users to log in
chroot_local_user=YES    # Restrict all users to access only the root directory
chroot_list_enable=YES   # Enable the exceptional user list
chroot_list_file=/etc/vsftpd/chroot_list  # Specify the user list, in which the listed users are not restricted to access only the root directory
listen=YES               # Enable listening on IPv4 sockets
# Add the pound sign (#) at the beginning of the following line to comment out the following parameter.
#listen_ipv6=YES         # Disable listening on IPv6 sockets
# Add the following parameters
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
local_root=/var/ftp/test # Set the directory where local users reside after login

Press Esc and enter :wq. Then, save the changes and close the file. After that, go to Step 8 to configure vsftpd.

Failing to upload files from an FTP client

Problem description

In the Linux environment, users encounter the following error message when uploading files with vsftpd.

553 Could not create file

Solution

1. Run the following command to check the disk space utilization of the server:

   df -h

   • If the disk space is insufficient, you cannot upload files. In this case, we recommend that you delete some unnecessary large files from the disk.
   • If the disk space is sufficient, go to the next step.
2. Run the following command to check whether you have the write permission to the FTP directory:

   ls -l /home/test      
   # Here, /home/test indicates the FTP directory. Replace it with your actual FTP directory.

   • If w is not returnred in the result, you do not have the write permission to the directory. In this case, go to the next step.
   • If w is returned in the result, submit a ticket for further troubleshooting.
3. Run the following command to grant the write permission to the FTP directory:

   chmod +w /home/test 
   # Here, /home/test indicates the FTP directory. Replace it with your actual FTP directory.

4. Run the following command to check whether the write permission is successfully granted:

   ls -l /home/test   
   # Here, /home/test indicates the FTP directory. Replace it with your actual FTP directory.