1. Installign vsftpd

This section covers the instalation and initial setup of the vsftpd package using the package manager.

1.1 Package Installation

Install the vsftpd daemon using the yum package manager:

[root@host ~]# yum -y install vsftpd

1.2 Configuration File Location

The main configuration file is located at:

[root@host ~]# vim /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

1.3 Enabling and Starting the Service

Configure the service to start automatically at boot and start the daemon:

[root@host ~]# systemctl enable vsftpd.service
[root@host ~]# systemctl start vsftpd.service

1.4 Firewall and SELinux Configuration

Configure firewall rules to allow FTP traffic and adjust SELinux settings:

# Add permanent firewall rule for FTP service
[root@host ~]# firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ftp
[root@host ~]# firewall-cmd --reload

# Temporarily disable SELinux enforcement
[root@host ~]# setenforce 0

# Permanently disable SELinux by editing configuration
[root@host ~]# vim /etc/sysconfig/selinux
# Change SELINUX=enforcing to SELINUX=disabled

2. Accessing the FTP Server

Client-side tools are required to connect to the FTP server.

2.1 Installing FTP Client

Install the lftp client application:

[root@host ~]# yum -y install lftp

2.2 Client Usage

Connect to the FTP server using lftp:

[root@host ~]# lftp 192.168.100.10

Common lftp commands include mirror for directory synchronization, cd for directory navigation, and get for file downloads.

3. FTP Server Access Configuration

3.1 Creating a Dedicated User

Create a system user specifically for FTP access:

[root@host ~]# useradd ftpuser
[root@host ~]# touch /home/ftpuser/sample.txt
[root@host ~]# passwd ftpuser
[root@host ~]# usermod -s /sbin/nologin ftpuser

3.2 Connecting to FTP Service

Access the FTP server with user credentials:

[root@host ~]# lftp ftpuser@192.168.100.10

3.3 Key Configuration Directives

Edit the vsftpd.conf file to customize server behavior:

# Anonymous access settings
anonymous_enable=YES           # Allow anonymous user access
anon_umask=077                 # Set permission mask for anonymous uploads
anon_root=/var/ftp/anonymous   # Define anonymous user root directory
anon_max_rate=500000           # Limit anonymous user bandwidth (bytes/sec)

# Local user settings
local_enable=YES               # Permit local system users to login
write_enable=YES               # Enable write permissions
local_umask=022                # Set default umask for local user uploads
local_max_rate=80000           # Limit local user bandwidth
local_root=/ftproot            # Set root directory for local users

# Connection limits
max_clients=500                # Maximum concurrent connections
max_per_ip=2                   # Maximum connections per IP address

# Chroot jail configuration
chroot_list_enable=YES         # Enable chroot list
chroot_list_file=/etc/vsftpd/chroot_list   # Users excluded from jail
chroot_local_user=YES          # Apply chroot to all local users

3.4 Accessing FTP from Windows

Windows Explorer and browsers support direct FTP access via URL:

ftp://192.168.100.10

4. Sharing YUM Repositories via FTP

FTP servers can distribute yum repository metadata to client systems.

4.1 Server-Side Setup

Create repository directories and mount ISO images:

[root@repo-server ~]# mkdir -p /var/ftp/{rhel8u2,rhel9u1}
[root@repo-server ~]# mount -o loop /dev/sr0 /var/ftp/rhel9u1/
[root@repo-server ~]# echo "mount -o loop /dev/sr0 /var/ftp/rhel9u1/" >> /etc/rc.local
[root@repo-server ~]# chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.local

4.2 Client-Side Configuration

Configure yum client to use the FTP repository:

[root@client ~]# cat > /etc/yum/repos.d/rhel9.repo << EOF
[rhel9u1]
name=RHEL 9 Update 1
baseurl=ftp://192.168.100.10/rhel9u1/
gpgcheck=0
enabled=1
EOF

Verify the repository configuration:

[root@client ~]# yum clean all
[root@client ~]# yum repolist