ProFTPD Plugin for unRAID v6.8.x

[offroadguy56]

Ok thanks for the explanation. I have a bit better understanding now and will play around with your suggestions in time. 

[Flemming]

I get NOT INSTALLED even if i hit install, and uninstall don't do anything either

[kricker]

I think I had a similar issue in the past. If I recall properly... I manually removed the plugin and it's configuration file from my flash drive. I made sure to get everything related to the plugin and old copies in the plugins-old-versions folder and the plugins-removed folder. Then I rebooted unRaid and reinstalled the plugin from community applications .

[SlrG]

@Flemming

The "Plugin file missing" under Information indicates a failed uninstallation. On why this happened, I have no idea. To get back to a clean state I would the recommend the manual removal and reinstallation described by @kricker.

 

If you have the time to experiment, what happens if you click "update plugin"?

[Flemming]

It was under failed plugins.

I got it working by deleting, rebooting and reinstalling

Now I can access my FTP with WinCSP, but not with my Reolink IP-cameras 🙄 Even with same settings

 

Looks like this is a common problem with Reolink/ProFTPd 

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51142982/raspberry-pi-ftp-not-working-with-ip-camera
• https://forum.openmediavault.org/index.php?thread/21316-failure-sending-webcam-images-by-ftp/&postID=165219

Edited September 2, 2021 by Flemming

[SlrG]

@Flemming

Are there any error messages in the syslog when trying to connect?

[Flemming]

On 9/3/2021 at 3:12 PM, SlrG said:

@Flemming

Are there any error messages in the syslog when trying to connect?

After may hours of troubleshooting I found out that the problem is in my firewall, between the two VLAN's/networks.

I have now allowed traffic between them and it works.

 

In the future I want to limit my ports, do you have any information about what ports are being in use in Active and/or Passive mode?

[SlrG]

@Flemming

See here for the difference between active and passive ftp. For both types normally data ports >1024 are randomly opened. You can restrict the used ports using the PassivePorts directive.

[Berto90vi]

Hello to all. i installed ftp and created an account. i tried to access via ftp and it works but the user has full access to all folders. Someone explain to me step by step what I need to do to set user "x" to read only this path "/ mnt / user / Download" and deny access to everything else. thanks and sorry if I asked a question already asked.

[SlrG]

@Berto90vi

In unraids user creation screen open your user "x" and put "ftpuser /mnt/user/Download" (without the double quotes) into the Description field. Then apply and restart the proftpd plugin. This will jail the user x into the given directory. It will still have read and write access, however. If you want to restrict that, you will need to configure limits in your proftpd.conf.

[master00]

Hi guys, are there are plugins or commands to see download and upload statistics by user?

[kricker]

Is there any way to recover files that are deleted by a ftp user connected via the ProFTP server?

[SlrG]

@master00

Not within the scope of this plugin. If you setup a vm and install gadmin-proftpd as gui this will come with gprostats as statistics generator. Also there might be other ftp servers more capable but not necessarily free.

 

@kricker

The easiest way would be to restore a backup, if you have.

 

Otherwise as there is no recycle bin you can only search and try some linux ways to restore your data.

 

First make sure nothing is written to your array anymore or you will risk the deleted data being overwritten!

 

I had successes using testdisk and photorec on standalone machines, but never had to try on an unraid machine yet. (see this article for other tools: https://www.journaldev.com/36900/top-best-linux-data-recovery-tools)

 

Make sure however, you mount another disk outside of your array as target for all write operations or again you will risk the deleted data being overwritten. Also you will probably need to know on which exact disk the data you want to recover was and then let the tools work on that disk.

 

I hope this ideas are useful, but I fear the chance to recover the data is very slim. 😟

 

 

 

 

[kricker]

Thanks. I haven't had an issue where I need to recover anything. It's just something I was wondering if is possible in any way. Thanks for all the extra information though!

[KluthR]

Thanks for this plugin! I wonder, why LimeTech does not include the possibilities native.

 

Whatever, I have two suggestions:

 

* Include inline help: To explain some options. Example: What is this "Webserver" option used for?

* Include a log view inside the plugin settings or so, to check connected clients or transfers etc.

[SlrG]

@KluthR

Thank you very much. I'm happy that you like the plugin.

 

1 hour ago, KluthR said:

* Include inline help: To explain some options. Example: What is this "Webserver" option used for?

This is a great idea. At the moment the option is broken, but I hope to bring it back/replace it based on stock unraid functionality in the future. I'm still in the research phase however and have so little time besides job and family.

 

1 hour ago, KluthR said:

Include a log view inside the plugin settings or so, to check connected clients or transfers etc.

Cool idea. I'll put it on my research list, too. While not accessible through the plugins settings page (and you might already know this), but it's possible to check if there are users connected and what they are doing by calling /usr/local/SlrG-Common/usr/local/bin/ftptop from a shell.

[KluthR]

Another question: What about FTPS? Would it be possible to configure an LE cert via the GUI? Or at least via Docker? But the plugin could support configuring FTPS via the Settings page then.

 

Any ideas?

[SlrG]

@KluthR

Using FTPS is possible, and if you search this thread, you will find infos how to do it, but it is not a very straightforward process and integrating it flawlessly into the plugin wouldn't be easy. More so if LE certificates would be used, as they need to be renewed regularly and the server has to fulfill certain requirements (e.g. fixed public IP) to get a certificate. Also if it works and what is needed to make it work depends heavily on the users personal network setup which come in a multitude of variants.

 

Such "complicated" setups leave the scope of what this plugin is designed for (quick, easy, unencrypted FTP for private networks, tightly integrated into the unraid user management) and I recommend using a docker alternative or setting up a VM which will allow for much more ease and freedom in tinkering with the system. The underlying slackware linux of unraid is very basic and is missing a lot of packages and management tools other distros have by default. As plugins are directly modifying the unraid system any additional package increases the risk to break the base functionality and potentionelly harm the data integrity.

 

Firing up an ubuntu vm with proftpd and gadmin-proftpd gui or using another ftpserver with gui and mounting the shares to be accessed by ftp is much easier and will be more flexible in the long run. Personally for larger projects I like CrushFTP, which is not free however.

[kricker]

On 10/28/2021 at 3:17 PM, SlrG said:

Cool idea. I'll put it on my research list, too. While not accessible through the plugins settings page (and you might already know this), but it's possible to check if there are users connected and what they are doing by calling /usr/local/SlrG-Common/usr/local/bin/ftptop from a shell.

Awesome to know how to do this!

[KentBrockman]

I have been using this plugin for a while and it has been great.  Lately I am having trouble with people hammering my server and using all of my upload bandwidth. 

 

I see there is a module called mod_shaper that would allow me to limit the bandwith a user is using.

http://www.castaglia.org/proftpd/modules/mod_shaper.html

 

Can anyone please help me get pointed in the right direction to get this implemented?

Or is this something that has to be added to the plugin?

 

Thanks

[SlrG]

@KentBrockman

The proftpd version in the plugin is compiled with integrated mod_shaper support. So by editing your proftpd.conf file and adding directives as described in the link you have posted above, you should be able to limit the bandwith proftpd is able to use. An configuration example is given on the bottom of the page you linked. Obviously you will have to modify the paths and directives from the example to suit your needs, but it should get you started.

 

 <IfModule mod_shaper.c>
    ShaperEngine on
    ShaperLog /var/log/ftpd/shaper.log
    ShaperTable /var/log/ftpd/shaper.tab

    # An overall rate (in KB/s) must be set.  This line explicitly
    # sets both the download and upload rates to be the same.
    ShaperAll downrate 1500 uprate 1500

    # Allow all system users to see shaper info
    ShaperControlsACLs info allow user *

    # Allow FTP admins to alter settings both overall and per-session
    ShaperControlsACLs all,sess allow group ftpadm
  </IfModule>

 

Don't forget to test your modified configuration. It should give you hints if something is not correctly configured:

/usr/local/SlrG-Common/usr/local/sbin/proftpd -c /etc/proftpd.conf -t

Also remember to restart the proftpd server from the plugins configuration page for the changes to take effect.

Edited November 21, 2021 by SlrG

[KentBrockman]

Thank You SlrG,

 

I have it running now and upload bandwidth is being throttled as I was hoping.

I can't quite make sense of the set rate vs the actual speeds I am seeing.

 

I have tried 500KB/s and 1000KB/s for overall up/down rates but my router is telling me actual is between 5-10Mbps.

Either way I am happy, I was just wondering if anyone knew how the set rates relate to the real world numbers.

 

Thanks again

[SlrG]

@KentBrockman

I'm glad you are happy.

 

KB/s is Kilo Bytes per Second. 1 Kilo Byte is 1024 Byte and 1 Byte is 8 bit. So 1 KB/s is 8192 bits per second or 8192 bps. Your chosen values of 500 KB/s are 4096000 bps or 4 Mbps and 1000KB/s are 8192000 bps or 8 Mbps.

 

If other things in your network besides your FTP server generate some traffic too, this would probably explain the overhead reported by your router.

[PlanetDyna]

Quick question: SSH shows "proftpd.conf" is unwirtable. What should I do to fix it/able to make changes?

Thank you!

[SlrG]

Do you connect as root or as another user? The symlink /etc/proftpd.conf requires root access to be modified. Alternatively you could modify the file in it's storage location /boot/config/plugins/ProFTPd/proftpd.conf.