FTP Server is not prompting for password
(Last modified: 29Apr2002)
This document (10061958) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.
fact
NetWare 5.1
NetWare Enterprise FTP Server
Novell FTP Server
NWFTPD.NLM
symptom
FTP Server is not prompting for password
From Windows text-based FTP client, a user attempts an FTP login to a NetWare 5.1 FTP server
After entering a username, the user sees the message "220 Ready for new user," and then gets an FTP prompt
Since the password has not been entered, anything the user tries to do at this point will fail with an error message
Error: 331 Password Needed for Login
Error: 530 Cmd Failed - Login using User and Pass
cause
NWFTPD.NLM, by default, will check for the existence of a SYS:ETC\WELCOME.TXT file, and display its contents to any user who connects. However, if the file exists but is empty (0 bytes), NWFTPD will sent just a <return> (carriage return & line feed, or hex 0D0A). Many FTP clients would simply disregard this unexpected information. However, Window's text-based FTP client reacted negatively to it. The Windows FTP client's display buffer would become "delayed". For example, the "220 Ready for new user" message was supposed to be displayed before the user was prompted for a username. However, it didn't appear until afterwards. Further testing showed that if the user entered the command "quote pass password" (where "password" is replaced by the user's password) as his first command after supplying his username, the login succeeded. Then the message "Password required for user" appeared, which should have been displayed earlier.
LAN traces indicate that the FTP server was sending these messages at the right times. Only the Windows FTP client was displaying them late.
fix
To correct the situation, use the following recommendations:
1. If the SYS:ETC\WELCOME.TXT file is 0 bytes, either delete it or populate it with a FTP welcome message of some kind. For best results, do not use a final <return> at the end of the last line of text (although that won't cause any known problems, as long as there is *something* in the file.)
NOTE: If the FTPSERV.CFG has been customized, then it's possible that it is using a file other than welcome.txt. Check the WELCOME_BANNER setting in the \ETC\FTPSERV.CFG file to confirm what welcome file is being used.
2. It is also recommended that users / administrators avoid having a 0 byte "message.txt" file in the directories used by FTP users. NWFTPD displays that file to the user anytime they CD into a directory (if that directory holds the file). It will also display the message.txt from the user's home directory, as soon as he logs in, if there is one there. Testing with a 0 byte message.txt didn't reveal any problems, but even so, having a 0 byte file is at best pointless, and at worst could end up causing an unexpected problem, as the 0 byte welcome.txt file did. This filename can also vary, as set by the MESSAGE_FILE parameter in FTPSERV.CFG.
document
| Document Title: | FTP Server is not prompting for password |
| Document ID: | 10061958 |
| Solution ID: | NOVL45573 |
| Creation Date: | 23Apr2001 |
| Modified Date: | 29Apr2002 |
| Novell Product Class: | NetWare |
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