Member Avatar for Debangana

Hi

I am trying to ftp files from a windows server to a unix machine. When I login with the required credentials into the windows server , I want to make sure that the login directory is the correct one else I should change directory before initiating the ftp process.
I am using a perl script for ftping the files.
Please help.

Regards
Debangana

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ghostdog74

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Short summary and practical plan based on the thread: observed that the server reports the login directory as “/”, which is common on many Windows FTP setups. ’s suggestion to inspect directory contents is on the right track, and is also correct that server-side configuration usually determines the effective FTP root. Because many Windows FTP servers present a virtual FTP root for security, the protocol-level PWD response can be meaningless for mapping to a physical filesystem path.

Reliable checks to perform from the Perl script:

  • Treat the FTP-reported current-directory string as unreliable on Windows FTP servers.
  • Attempt to change to the expected subdirectory and check the FTP response code; a successful change is a stronger signal than the reported path.
  • Verify the presence of one or more known files (using size or timestamp commands) in that directory to confirm it is the intended location.
  • Turn on passive mode and module debugging while testing so the server responses and return codes are visible.

Example Perl pattern (using the Net::FTP API) that avoids relying on the reported PWD and verifies content:

use Net::FTP;
my $ftp = Net::FTP->new($host, Timeout => 30, Passive => 1) or die $@;
$ftp->login($user,$pass) or die "login failed";
if ($ftp->cwd('/expected/subdir')) {
  my $sz = $ftp->size('marker_file.txt');   # undef if not present
  die "directory not as expected" unless defined $sz;
}
$ftp->quit;

If the script still fails to find the expected files, inspect the FTP server configuration (user isolation/virtual-directory mappings) or the server logs so the administrator can confirm which physical folder is mapped to the FTP user. The Net::FTP docs and the FTP protocol specification are useful references: Net::FTP documentation and RFC 959 (FTP).

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for KevinADC

get the name of the directory after you login, see the documentation for the FTP module you are using for details.

Member Avatar for Debangana

Hi

I have tried using
[ftp->pwd]
to get the name of the current directory after I login but on windows server it always shows '/' as the login directory so I am not able to verify if it's the correct one.

Please help.

Regards
Debangana

Member Avatar for KevinADC

Assuming you are using NET::FTP, look at the ls() or dir() functions and see if one of them will work.

Member Avatar for ghostdog74

i think you shouldn't need to worry too much on whether its the correct directory because you would have set it properly when configuring your FTP server.

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