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FTP Tutorial and Site ListThe File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the set of programs used for transferring files between systems on the Internet. Most Unix, VMS, and MS-DOS systems on the Internet have a program called ftp which you use to transfer these files, and if you have Internet access, the best way to download the Linux software is by using ftp. This appendix covers basic ftp usage--of course, there are many more functions and uses of ftp than are given here. At the end of this appendix there is a listing of FTP sites where Linux software can be found. Also, if you don't have direct Internet access but are able to exchange electronic mail with the Internet, information on using the ftpmail service is included below. If you're using an MS-DOS, Unix, or VMS system to download files from the Internet, then ftp is a command-driven program. However, there are other implementations of ftp out there, such as the Macintosh version (called Fetch) with a nice menu-driven interface, which is quite self-explanatory. Even if you're not using the command-driven version of ftp, the information given here should help.
ftp can be used to both upload (send) or download (receive) files from other Internet sites. In most situations, you're going to be downloading software. On the Internet there are a large number of publicly-available FTP archive sites, machines which allow anyone to ftp to them and download free software. One such archive site is sunsite.unc.edu, which has a lot of Sun Microsystems software, and acts as one of the main Linux sites. In addition, FTP archive sites mirror software to each other--that is, software uploaded to one site will be automatically copied over to a number of other sites. So don't be surprised if you see the exact same files on many different archive sites.
Starting ftpNote that in the example ``screens'' printed below I'm only showing the most important information, and what you see may differ. Also, commands in italics represent commands that you type; everything else is screen output.
To start ftp and connect to a site, simply use the command
Logging In
When ftp starts up we should see something like
Poking Around
Okay, we're in. ftp> is our prompt, and the ftp program is
waiting for commands. There are a few basic commands you need to know about.
First, the commands
The command
The command
If we type dir at this point we'll see an initial directory
listing of where we are.
Each of these entries is a directory, not an individual file which we can download (specified by the d in the first column of the listing). On most FTP archive sites, the publicly available software is under the directory /pub, so let's go there.
Here we can see a number of (interesting?) files, one of which is called README, which we should download (most FTP sites have a README file in the /pub directory).
Downloading filesBefore downloading files, there are a few things that you need to take care of.
Now you're ready to actually download the file. The command
For our example, to download the file README, we simply use
Quitting FTP
To end your FTP session, simply use the command
Using ftpmailftpmail is a service which allows you to obtain files from FTP archive sites via Internet electronic mail. If you don't have direct Internet access, but are able to send mail to the Internet (from a service such as CompuServe, for example), ftpmail is a good way to get files from FTP archive sites. Unfortunately, ftpmail can be slow, especially when sending large jobs. Before attempting to download large amounts of software using ftpmail, be sure that your mail spool will be able to handle the incoming traffic. Many systems keep quotas on incoming electronic mail, and may delete your account if your mail exceeds this quota. Just use common sense.
sunsite.unc.edu, one of the major Linux FTP archive sites,
is home to an ftpmail server. To use this service, send
electronic mail to
For example, to get a listing of Linux
files found on sunsite.unc.edu, send mail to the above address
containing the text
You may use the ftpmail service to connect to any FTP archive site; you are not limited to sunsite.unc.edu. The next section lists a number of Linux FTP archives.
Linux FTP Site ListThe table on page is a listing of the most well-known FTP archive sites which carry the Linux software. Keep in mind that many other sites mirror these, and more than likely you'll run into Linux on a number of sites not on this list.
tsx-11.mit.edu, sunsite.unc.edu, and nic.funet.fi are the ``home sites'' for the Linux software, where most of the new software is uploaded. Most of the other sites on the list mirror some combination of these three. To reduce network traffic, choose a site that is geographically closest to you. Next: About this document Up: No Title Previous: No Title Clarica Grove Fri Feb 20 04:53:33 PST 1998 |