Starting the FTP Server Automatically

The FTP server can be started in one of three ways:

• As a nowait server that is started by inetd

• As a standalone server run in the background

• As a standalone server run in the foreground from the inittab file

A standalone server always has the quickest possible response time, and is intended for large servers that are dedicated to providing FTP service. The standalone server provides low connection latency for dedicated servers because the standalone system never has to be restarted. The standalone server is always running, even during off-peak hours, waiting indefinitely for connections.

How to Start an FTP Server Using SMF

By default, the SMF service is configured to start the FTP server using the nowait mode. If the site handles many connections, the FTP server can also be run in standalone mode. See the in.ftpd(1M) man page for information on additional command-line options.

1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

   Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

2. Verify the wait property for the FTP server.

   The line reporting that wait=FALSE indicates that the server is started in nowait mode.

   # inetadm -l network/ftp
   SCOPE    NAME=VALUE
            name="ftp"
            endpoint_type="stream"
            proto="tcp6"
            isrpc=FALSE
            wait=FALSE
            exec="/usr/sbin/in.ftpd -a"
            user="root"
   default  bind_addr=""
   default  bind_fail_max=-1
   default  bind_fail_interval=-1
   default  max_con_rate=-1
   default  max_copies=-1
   default  con_rate_offline=-1
   default  failrate_cnt=40
   default  failrate_interval=60
   default  inherit_env=TRUE
   default  tcp_trace=FALSE
   default  tcp_wrappers=FALSE

3. Start the FTP server.

   # svcadm enable network/ftp

How to Start a Standalone FTP Server in the Background

1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

   Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

2. Disable the FTP server.

   # svcadm disable network/ftp

3. Start the standalone FTP server.

   # /usr/sbin/in.ftpd -a -S

   Add the line to an FTP server startup script. See Using Run Control Scripts in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration for information on creating a system startup script.

How to Start a Standalone FTP Server in the Foreground

1. Become superuser or assume an equivalent role.

   Roles contain authorizations and privileged commands. For more information about roles, see Configuring RBAC (Task Map) in System Administration Guide: Security Services.

2. Disable the FTP server.

   # svcadm disable network/ftp

3. Add an entry to the inittab file to start the service.

   The new entry in /etc/inittab should look something like the following:

   ftpd:3:respawn:/usr/sbin/in.ftpd -a -s

4. Tell init to re-examine /etc/inittab.

   This command should start the FTP service.

   # init q