At last! Using FTP to access your network share

Andrew Marx — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:25:00 GMT

From the day I announced that we were rolling out a department file server, people have been asking if they could get FTP access to it. Because of the inherently insecure nature of FTP, I was hesitant. After careful research, however, I was able to find a secure FTP server that will allow MSE domain users to access their files without being on (or VPNing onto) Drexel's network. Support for the MATERIALS domain has been discontinued.

Step 1: Finding a client that works for you

Most FTP clients have built-in support for secure certificate negotiation, so if you already have an FTP client you like, try it out. I was able to find a very able free client called Core FTP (download), but you're free to choose any that you like. Downloading and installation should be quite simple.

Step 2: Logging in

Server: ftp://files.mse.drexel.edu/

There is no need to put MSE in front of your username, as the FTP server will search the domain automatically. You will have to tell the client to use Secure FTP--you'll be looking for an option that looks like "AUTH SSL" or "AUTH TLS" or "Implicit SSL". SFTP is not the same as Secure FTP--it stands for SSH FTP, which we do not use. Selecting this won't get you to your files.

Step 3: Troubleshooting

Since this is a new system, I expect that there will be issues. If you receive "Invalid home directory", it's because you don't have a user directory on the file server, or it is improperly configured. Contact me to have one created. If you receive "Invalid user name/password", you may have to reset your domain password. Again, contact me and I'll reset it.

MSE Tech : ftp

At last! Using FTP to access your network share