FTP access - Login Failed

Question

Hello All,
I am trying to FTP into a virtualbox guest that has Oracle Enterprise Linux installed. The host is Windows Vista.
However, it always gives me "Login Failed" error. Can somebody help?
In the past, I had done it by installing "vsftpd" package and it worked. However, I am wondering if I can do it without vsftpd (or any other additional packages).
Following is what I think are relevant details (but let me know if you need any more details):
Guest OS details:
[root@localhost ~]# lsb_release -a
LSB Version:    :core-3.1-ia32:core-3.1-noarch:graphics-3.1-ia32:graphics-3.1-noarch
Distributor ID: EnterpriseEnterpriseServer
Description:    Enterprise Linux Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 (Carthage)
Release:        5.5
Codename:       Carthage
[root@localhost ~]# uname -a
Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.18-194.0.0.0.4.el5 #1 SMP Thu Apr 8 18:20:19 EDT 2010 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
[root@localhost ~]# service xinetd status
xinetd (pid  3862) is running...This is what I get when I try to FTP from host:
C:\Users\nsp>ftp 192.168.56.101
Connected to 192.168.56.101.
220- localhost.localdomain
Unauthorised use of this FTP server is prohibited and may be subject to civil an
d criminal prosecution.
220 localhost.localdomain FTP Server (Oracle XML DB/Oracle Database) ready.
User (192.168.56.101:(none)): oracle
331 pass required for ORACLE
Password:
530 login error
Login failed.
ftp>Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Dude wrote:
It is possible to use FTP, but it was not designed for modern networks that involve Firewalls, NAT and require a high level of security.
FTP is a two way connection. The first connection is established by the client and negotiates the login using TCP port 21 on the server. The second connection is established by the server back to the client on TCP port 20 for the data communication.
You may have to configure your ftp server to use passive mode. In passive mode FTP the client initiates both connections to the server, solving the problem with typical firewalls.
There is not enough information to be able to pin point your problem. It might be a Firewall, password or vsftpd configuration issue. You can try to pin point the problem by trying to use ftp on the server directly, e.g. ftp oracle@localhost. And exclude password issues establishing a remote SSH session.
Depending on what you are trying to accomplish however it will be much easier and more secure to use SFTP.
If you need to automate file transfers, look at cURL. I wrote a how-to also describing how to resolve the problem with cURL and missing SCP and SFTP support under OL5.
Oracle Linux 5 Howto: Installing and using cURL with support for SCP and SFTP
OL5 Howto: Installing and using cURL with support for SCP and SFTP
Dude,
Many thanks for the explanation. I must admit that I am not that familiar with *nix OS family.
As I told Billy, I am trying to FTP into guest machine (in VirtualBox) from the host using command prompt and without installing vsftpd on the guest OS.
Am I wrong in assuming that my guest OS (with OEL5 as OS) does not have a FTP server running in it?
I will try the cURL option you have suggested but I am curious to find out if I can use FTP with either out-of-box OEL5 OS or do I need any more tools/packages to achieve the same?
You mentioned that I have not posted enough information. Is there anything else I can check? I will be happy to post any more details.