Setting up guest FTP services using Proftpd

[coben]

I'm new at linux and am trying to set up ftp. I downloaded and installed proftpd and have looked through the documentation at

http://www.proftpd.org.

However, the documentation is difficult to understand. What I've done so far is to edit the xinetd.conf file and added ftp services. I've included the following:

service ftp
{
socket_type = stream
wait = no
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/proftpd
server_args = -l -a
log_on_success += DURATION USERID
log_on_failure += USERID
nice = -1
disable = no
}

The proftpd documentation (Chpt 11) talks about setting up ftp users in AuthUserFiles and AuthGroupFiles. Does proftpd use these files by default or do I have to configure it somewhere to use these files? I cannot find these files nor does the documentation explain whether I have to create these files and if so, where to put them. If I don't have to use them, does proftpd use the passwd and group files by default or do I have to configure proftpd to use those files? What I want to accomplish is to set up several ftp only accounts for students but I don't want to set up annonymous. Can anyone help me configure proftpd? Please assume I know nothing about linux file structure (which is very close to the truth) and include paths to files and sample configurations if possible.

BTW, I looked into using wu-ftp but found that just as confusing. When I read the documentation on proftpd they gave reasons why it was better than wu-ftp. So I figured I had to choose which ftp software to use so I chose proftpd. I'm open to using wu-ftp if it is easier to configure and fairly secure. Thanks so much for any help.
Chris

 

[RhythmAce]

If you are new to linux, these can get pretty confusing. If you would like a GUI admin program that will make life easier, you may want to check out

http://www.webmin.com

and download the version for you distro. You will be able to configure ALL your servers and admin your system all from one place.

 

[coben]

I like the webmin utility. However, I still can't get my proftpd server to function. Can anyone help? Thanks.

 

[ShadowTech]

If you want to make life easier for yourself, don't run proftpd under xinetd - I've tried, found it way too difficult to get it working properly under heavily used ftp site and switched to standalone installation -> no problems since =D

 

[coben]

Thanks. I think I'll go that route. Is there an easy way to switch from inetd mode to standalone? If not, do I need to delete old files and reinstall or just do a new installation? Any suggestions? Thanks again.