FTP folder setup for external access

[mhelms1961]

Hi group,

I am attempting to set up an FTP folder that I can share with others. It will mainly be used to exchange video files as I am using an overseas resource to do the video edits. I have set up an FTP share on windows as well as a Netgear ready share drive connected to the router via usb. I can’t seem to find a straight forward list of steps to set up a shared FTP folder for FreeNas and I have been looking high and low. I have been accessing the file share on windows and ready share by typing the following address in the web browser FTP://ftpuser:password@177.98.94.111:4521/shares/ “ip address is as example not the real thing” but that format gets me into the folder via a browser.

I was thinking these would be the steps
1. I have reserved an IP address on my netgear router for the FreeNas server 192.168.1.125
2. I set up an FTP service on the router, and selected 192.168.1.125 and assigned 4521 as the internal and external port
3. I set up an ftpuser account
4 I set up a dataset for the ftp share
5. I enabled the ftp service on FreeNas
6. I setup a shared folder and used the path of the dataset I created in step 4

When I put the url FTP://ftpuser:password@177.98.94.111:4521/shares/ into a browser it gives me a login request, which it shouldn’t” and nothing happens.
I keep ready about “FileZilla” on the blogs to set up FTP on FreeNas but not sure why I need that when I don’t have to fool with it in Windows or Netgear. Any suggestions or links to step by step FreeNas step by step FTP setup would be appreciated as I am obviously missing a step.

Thanks!

 

[lukyjay]

I don't think browsers support username and password in the url. My understanding is that's a file browser / FTP client feature. I might be wrong.

 

[mhelms1961]

Thanks for the reply, I am new to FreeNAS so I may be missing something obvious.

 

[mhelms1961]

FreeNAS Version: 11.2-RELEASE-U1
I can get to my ftp folder share through filezilla on any computer connected to the local network:
ip information is for example purposes
local IP address is 192.168.1.112 I configured port forwarding on netgear R7000 router to port 6800
user id: ftpusertest pw: 1818Mockingbirdlane#
I can hit the ftp folder just fine on filezilla for locally connected computers using the username, PW, host ip address and port listed above.
I have a test laptop connected to my cellphone hotspot so I can try connecting remotely. my public ip from my ISP is 174.96.99.109 and I can connect just fine with that ip with windows ftp folder and mac ftp folder. unfortunately no dice when trying to connect to FreeNAS using filezilla on the test laptop connecting through my mobile hotspot.
I would appreciate any help as I don't know if the problem is with the ftp services configuration on freenas or what.

Error messages from FileZilla:
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Status: Insecure server, it does not support FTP over TLS.
Status: Logged in
Status: Retrieving directory listing...
Status: Server sent passive reply with unroutable address. Using server address instead.
Command: MLSD
Error: The data connection could not be established: ECONNREFUSED - Connection refused by server

Log Messages from the FreeNAS Server:
Dec 28 17:56:37 freenas syslog-ng[1945]: Syslog connection broken; fd='22', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 28 17:57:37 freenas syslog-ng[1945]: Syslog connection established; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 28 17:57:37 freenas syslog-ng[1945]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='23', error='Connection refused (61)'

 

[lukyjay]

Are you using TLS? If so you'll need a certificate. See the tool tip next to that option in the FTP settings.

Some things to try:

• Disable TLS
• Use a non-standard port in case your ISP blocks this port (e.g. try port 32500)
• Check you're not on a carrier grade NAT which will stop your port forwarding from working. Easiest way is to check your WAN IP on your router then ask Google 'what is my IP'. If the two are different you need to call your ISP to remove the CGNAT.
• Set your masquerade address in the FTP settings to your WAN IP address.

 

[mhelms1961]

Are you using TLS? If so you'll need a certificate. See the tool tip next to that option in the FTP settings.

Some things to try:

• Disable TLS
• Use a non-standard port in case your ISP blocks this port (e.g. try port 32500)
• Check you're not on a carrier grade NAT which will stop your port forwarding from working. Easiest way is to check your WAN IP on your router then ask Google 'what is my IP'. If the two are different you need to call your ISP to remove the CGNAT.
• Set your masquerade address in the FTP settings to your WAN IP address.

Thanks for suggestions:
Current OS = FreeNAS-11.2-RELEASE-U1
. I Set up the FTP service in the new UI using instructions from this link: Configure ftp on FreeNAS
. Set FTP Login attempts to 3
. By Default I did not enable TLS
. I used port 32500
. I confirmed that the external IP address matched between what the router showed and what "what is my IP" on google
I was able to get to the FTP site using the LAN IP and port 32500 using filezilla on the same LAN
. The LAN connection failed when I set masquerade address in the FTP settings to my WAN IP address so I cleared that setting in the FTP service and the LAN access worked again.

FileZilla Log from LAN client (IP address is Example) successful connection: uploaded a 2.2gb file and 32gb file no problem
xfer rate 54.3 MiB/s
Status: Connecting to 192.168.1.139:32500...
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Status: Insecure server, it does not support FTP over TLS.
Status: Logged in
Status: Retrieving directory listing...
Status: Directory listing of "/" successful

FreeNas LOG while connecting LAN client successful connection
Dec 29 08:19:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='23', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:19:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 29 08:20:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 29 08:20:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='24', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:20:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 29 08:21:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 29 08:21:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='23', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:21:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 29 08:22:09 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'

Results from trying WAN Client after disconnecting from server from the LAN client same FTP service settings as listed above but masquerade address left blank since it broke the LAN connection (Failed)
FileZilla Log from WAN client (WAN IP is example but matched between router and "what is my IP")
Status: Connecting to 184.98.91.125:32500...
Status: Connection established, waiting for welcome message...
Status: Insecure server, it does not support FTP over TLS.
Status: Logged in
Status: Retrieving directory listing...
Status: Server sent passive reply with unroutable address. Using server address instead.
Command: MLSD
Error: Connection timed out after 20 seconds of inactivity
Error: Failed to retrieve directory listing

FreeNas LOG while connecting WAN client connection (Failed)
Dec 29 08:44:12 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 29 08:44:15 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='24', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:44:15 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 29 08:45:15 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 29 08:45:18 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='24', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:45:18 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='24', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'
Dec 29 08:46:18 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection established; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', local='AF_INET(0.0.0.0:514)'
Dec 29 08:46:19 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: I/O error occurred while writing; fd='23', error='Connection refused (61)'
Dec 29 08:46:19 freenas syslog-ng[2243]: Syslog connection broken; fd='23', server='AF_INET(192.168.1.1:514)', time_reopen='60'

 

[mhelms1961]

Well Folks, after 3 days of trying ways to share from FTP, to NextCloud, to WebDAV, I settled on WebDAV.
I could never figure out how to get the FTP share to work externally, (I configured a Windows FTP server and an OSX FTP Server in under 30 minutes each but FreeNAS stumped me!!) I was able to hit the FTP internally but no dice externally.
I messed around with NextCloud for about a day and could not really find a way to share files externally with non-NextCloud Users
Finally about 2 hours ago I started messing around with configuring WebDAV using this youtube video as a guide Configure WebDAV on FreeNAS
I am able to access the folder though my LAN as well as the WAN, I mapped the drive seamlessly on Windows and Connected to the Server on my MACs with ease as well. This should take care of the upload workflow for my videography business as a 32GB project took under 15 minutes to upload versus 10 hours +++ on Google drive. Testing download speeds with my brother in another state to see how that part performs.
It may not be the most elegant way to share files with remote users but it was definitely the most straight forward setup for this newbie on FreeNAS!

 

[saudansari968]

Well Folks, after 3 days of trying ways to share from FTP, to NextCloud, to WebDAV, I settled on WebDAV.
I could never figure out how to get the FTP share to work externally, (I configured a Windows FTP server and an OSX FTP Server in under 30 minutes each but FreeNAS stumped me!!) I was able to hit the FTP internally but no dice externally.
I messed around with NextCloud for about a day and could not really find a way to share files externally with non-NextCloud Users
Finally about 2 hours ago I started messing around with configuring WebDAV using this youtube video as a guide Configure WebDAV on FreeNAS
I am able to access the folder though my LAN as well as the WAN, I mapped the drive seamlessly on Windows and Connected to the Server on my MACs with ease as well. This should take care of the upload workflow for my videography business as a 32GB project took under 15 minutes to upload versus 10 hours +++ on Google drive. Testing download speeds with my brother in another state to see how that part performs.
It may not be the most elegant way to share files with remote users but it was definitely the most straight forward setup for this newbie on FreeNAS!

Please give the youtube video link