How to build a secure ftp server

[rsp11]

I'm newish to the world of UNIX and I've been asked to build a "secure" ftp server so staff can access it from inside and outside the network. The networking side isn't much of a porblem but can someone direct me a resources where I can get this box up and running with Solaris and an ftp daemon.

Solaris (x.x "not sure which&quot should already be on the box so I'll need to know how to secure it and how to get ftp up and running.

Any help will be welcomed ...........cheers!

 

[roylec]

Solaris is shipped as standard with the ftpd (or FTP daemon) and is enabled usually with an entry in the /etc/services file.

You should start *at least* by looking at the manual pages for ftp, in.ftpd, ftpd and similar.

Essentially, from inside the network, users should be able to ftp to the server immediately, as long as it is known to the local network directory service.

From outside the network, you will need to configure your routers and firewall such that ftp requests to a given IP port or hostname are directed to this server.

For any user that wants to have access to the server, you will need a user account and home directory on the server.

This answer is the quick and dirty essentials, because you should really spend some time looking at books and internet references on the subject. FTP security is a contentious issue and there are strong divisions on how you should provide secure access to remote network resources. Having said that, the setup and configuration is surprisingly easy. It's keeping out unwanted guests that is the hard part.

Christian

 

[Sol8Darity]

You may want to check out Washington University FTP (WU-FTP). You can lock down users to specific directories by way of a file called "ftpaccess". It's free at

http://sunfreeware.com.

Select your OS-type, scroll then click the wuftpd-2.6.2 link. It'll install to /usr/local. You'll need &quot;gzip&quot; to uncompress the file. Run &quot;pgadd -d <package>&quot;. The packages on this site are normally named <something-something-local.gz>.

If you're more of a hacker, or prefer to install to a different directory, you might want the source code which is normally named <something-something-tar.gz>. You'll need to uncompress, then untar the file. You'll also need a compiler (gcc or Forte, for example).

I'm sorry, but I can't offer more assistance regarding the ftpaccess file--I'm trying to figure it out myself! If you happen to find a site, paper, editorial, etc., that gives a good explanation of the file, please let me know.

Good luck!

 

[falban]

Another good ftp daemon is proftp. Pretty much the same thing as WUFTP.