Install Anonymous FTP server on CentOS 8

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer computer files between client and servers on a computer network. FTP users can authenticate themselves with a username/password, but FTP users can also connect anonymously, if the FTP server is configured to allow it.

In this lab, we will install and configure Anonymous FTP Server on CentOS 8.

Here, configurations are performed through Linux CLI (Command Line Interface). Therefore, we strongly recommend you should read The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition by William Shotts, to develop a strong understanding of Linux CLI.

 

This Article Provides:

 

Environment Specification:

We are using a CentOS 8 minimal virtual machine with following specification.

• CPU - 3.4 Ghz (2 cores)
• Memory - 2 GB
• Storage - 20 GB
• Operating System - CentOS 8.0
• Hostname – ftp-server.recipes.com
• IP Address - 192.168.116.206 /24

 

Installing vsftpd on CentOS 8:

We are installing vsftpd package to configure a FTP services on our CentOS 8 server.

[root@ftp-server ~]# dnf install -y vsftpd
CentOS-8 - Extras                               937  B/s | 1.5 kB     00:01
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package         Architecture    Version               Repository          Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 vsftpd          x86_64          3.0.3-28.el8          AppStream          180 k

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  1 Package

Total download size: 180 k
Installed size: 359 k
Downloading Packages:
vsftpd-3.0.3-28.el8.x86_64.rpm                  322 kB/s | 180 kB     00:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                           152 kB/s | 180 kB     00:01
Running transaction check
Transaction check succeeded.
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded.
Running transaction
  Preparing        :                                                        1/1
  Installing       : vsftpd-3.0.3-28.el8.x86_64                             1/1
  Running scriptlet: vsftpd-3.0.3-28.el8.x86_64                             1/1
  Verifying        : vsftpd-3.0.3-28.el8.x86_64                             1/1

Installed:
  vsftpd-3.0.3-28.el8.x86_64

Complete!

Allow anonymous access to FTP server by editing vsftpd configuration file.

[root@ftp-server ~]# vi /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

Find and set following directive in this file.

anonymous_enable=YES

Enable and start FTP service.

[root@ftp-server ~]# systemctl enable --now vsftpd.service
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/vsftpd.service â /usr/lib/systemd/system/vsftpd.service.

 

Connecting with CentOS 8 based Anonymous FTP Server:

To connect to an FTP server, we need a FTP client.

There are many free FTP clients available on the Internet and in CentOS 8 yum repository.

We are installing lftp (A sophisticated FTP Client) to connect with our FTP server.

[root@ftp-client ~]# dnf install -y lftp
Last metadata expiration check: 0:24:42 ago on Thu 13 Feb 2020 07:04:11 PM PKT.
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package       Architecture    Version                 Repository          Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 lftp          x86_64          4.8.4-1.el8             AppStream          889 k

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  1 Package

Total download size: 889 k
Installed size: 3.2 M
Downloading Packages:
lftp-4.8.4-1.el8.x86_64.rpm                     621 kB/s | 889 kB     00:01
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                           467 kB/s | 889 kB     00:01
Running transaction check
Transaction check succeeded.
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded.
Running transaction
  Preparing        :                                                        1/1
  Installing       : lftp-4.8.4-1.el8.x86_64                                1/1
  Running scriptlet: lftp-4.8.4-1.el8.x86_64                                1/1
  Verifying        : lftp-4.8.4-1.el8.x86_64                                1/1

Installed:
  lftp-4.8.4-1.el8.x86_64

Complete!

Connect with FTP Server anonymously using lftp command.

[root@ftp-client ~]# lftp ftp-server
lftp ftp-server:~> ls
drwxr-xr-x    2 0        0              24 Feb 10 15:54 pub

Download a file from FTP Server.

lftp ftp-server:/> cd pub
lftp ftp-server:/pub> get cacert.p12
12354 bytes transferred

Exit from lftp client.

lftp ftp-server:/pub> exit

We have successfully installed and configured Anonymous FTP Server on CentOS 8.