FTP root for web sites on os x server 10.5.6

[HodgeHi]

Hello all, hope you have had a good day.

I have been looking at our websites today and have started thinking about external access to them for editing files and updating data.

We currently have an Xserve that runs around 6-7 websites, each with its own root folder in the webserver folder.

The issue i have currently is that if i use the url to connect to the server and add the path to the web site's root folder and use the username of the admin account i can connect fine. But i can then backtrack right down to the root of the local drive. Obviously this is an issue. But the root folder isn't shared either?

I don't think i am approaching this correctly. Anyone know how to configure this correctly and securely? Hope someone can help as this will enable me to work a little more flexibly.

TIA

[HodgeHi]

OK i have had another bash at this. I have started the FTP service and configured a share for FTP access on one of the folders inside the web site i want to access. This in theory should allow me to access the share since the FTP service mounts the ftproot and share-points.

I have added myself as a user with read-write privs to the ACL list and propagated the permissions.

I am almost there except that the when i use cyberduck to authenticate against the server and share with my username it fails.

Is this another half-arsed AD integration implementation? Do i need to fiddle with the auth settings on this service as well like the rest of them? i have also created a local user and get the same error.

I have just authenticated as the local admin user however. Maybe FTP cannot use ACLs, only posix???

Anyone able to shed some more light?

[HodgeHi]

I have now officially given up on Apple's FTP service implementation. After some digging and some more searching and a discussion with Tony Rocco, i have come to the conclusion that the FTP service in OS X 10.5.6 is just to insecure to use out of the box and i can't see a simple way of changing that.

So i have been looking around for an alternative and have found what looks to be a pretty good one.

It is called Pure-FTPD

Now, the version on their website seems to need compiling and i wasn't about to go into that sort of thing. So i carried on my search and came across Pure-FTPD Manager

This comes with a GUI to manage the service but more importantly the service itself. Its a simple install .pkg file and looks quite good.

It also has the added bonus of not using local users. It uses virtual ftp users and also comes with the possibility of SSL encryption for FTP.

Check it out if you need a decent FTP service on your OS X machine.