How to Start an FTP Service on Linux

A Linux service, or daemon, is a computer program that runs in the background and requires no involvement on the part of the computer user. An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server is run as a service. Once it is started, it runs in the background and waits for a request from an FTP client. There are multiple FTP server programs available for the Linux operating system. The machines all start the same way.

Things You'll Need

• FTP Server software

Instructions

1. Open a terminal window. In most distributions, the terminal window is found under the "Utilities," "Accessories" or "System Tools" section of the main menu.

2. Type the command "su" to switch to the root user. Ubuntu users will type "sudo" before the next command.

3. Type the command "/etc/init.d/ftpd start" to start the FTP service. Replace "ftpd" with the name of the FTP server that you have installed. Other FTP servers include pure-ftpd, vsftpd and wu-ftpd.

4. Type the command "exit" to close the root session.

References

• LHN: Quick HOWTO : Ch15 : Linux FTP Server Setup
• Media College: How to start FTP in Redhat 9.0