FTP Traffic

Edward Baiz offers some tips and tricks for moving files around a network

Hello fellow Atarians. I am back once again and this time I would like to talk about file transfer between computers using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Basically, this is a follow-up to the articles I have done in the past involving setting up an Atari Ethernet system. I made it clear that the main reason I wanted an Ethernet set-up was the fact that I wanted an easy way to exchange files and to back up my hard drives.

After my Ethernet set-up was complete and running like a dream, I looked into the various types of file transfer. One I had been using was a program called PARCP. This is a good way for anyone, without an Ethernet set-up, who wants a fast and easy way to transfer files between two Atari computers, two PC computers or between a PC and an Atari. This can be done as PARCP comes in two versions, one for the Atari and one for the PC. You also need a special cable that you either can build or else you can order one from the author. Finally, the PC must have a bi-directional printer port (all the Ataris have bi-directional printer ports). The file transfer rate is about 100 KB/s which is fast and the program's user screen is easy to use, but involves using the keyboard to issue commands. I would have preferred using a mouse.

Another way of file transfer was a program called BNeT. This works using my Ethernet set-up and even puts the folders/files of the computer I am looking at on my desktop for easy access. I will not go into the set up and use of BNeT as it as already been talked about in a previous MyAtari article. I will say that it does work well on my Hades and my STE (I hear there may be a PC version coming), but I do get errors from time to time which is frustrating.

For years, people have been telling me about how good it was to use FTP for file transfer. When I first heard about it, I really did not know what it was or how it worked. Then when they said they were hooking two computers up using a null modem cable, I was really confused. But I wanted something that worked without errors that I could just fire up quickly for immediate use. I did not want to have to use special cables or the like. It was people like Lonny Pursell who told me that since I had a good Ethernet LAN, I should try using FTP. So, I decided to look into it and in the end, I was glad I did.

When all this started, I did not realize that I already had half of what I needed and that was the program aFTP. I have version 1.55b (STiK version) which runs great on my Hades060. I had tried other FTP programs before, but most of them were not as easy to use and usually crashed my Hades after about 30 minutes of use. Too bad ATACK is not supporting it anymore, but maybe it will be picked up by some other Atari programmer and will get a well deserved update.

When one uses a program like aFTP, you put in the address of the FTP site and log on. Then you get a list of files you can download for your own use. In order for you to access the files on the remote computer, the computer must be running what is called an FTP server program. This kind of program lets users connect to a central computer (called the server) and share files. Users have access rights that can range from anonymous (or guest) which allows only downloading, to full rights which allows users to modify the remote file system. I will not go into the set up of an FTP server, but will only say that it is not hard to do and that it took me about 20 minutes.

My wife wanted me to back up some of the contents on her computer and since she had tons of files, I felt that using FTP would be the best way for me to do this for her. The big step was finding an FTP server program that would do the job. There are tons of these types for programs for the PC. The one I chose was War FTP Daemon because of its ease of use. I set it up according to the instructions and picked a password. You must make sure you do not forget the password or you will not be able to see what is going on in the program (like who is on-line on your system). However, for our purposes, you would still be able to use it.

The FTP server program for the Atari is much easier to use and set up as you would expect. To pick up a copy you can go to http://users.otenet.gr/~papval/ - this version works under STiK, STinG and GlueSTiK.

Now we can start sharing some files. I am assuming you all have a working Ethernet system at home with a router. If you do not, then these programs should work using a null modem cable if you have set up STiK, STinG or GlueSTiK to access the modem port on your Atari. The first thing to do is the run an FTP server program on the computer you want to share files with. For me, I am using my Hades as the computer I am signing on with and the STE and my wife's PC as my servers.

Since this is an Atari magazine, I will just show screen-shots of my session using the STE as my FTP server. Once the server is up and running, the next thing to do is to run whatever FTP client program you have. In order to sign on you must know the IP address of the computer you wish to share files with. This is the same IP address you assigned the computer when you set up your Ethernet LAN. I have my STE in the "Hotlist" of aFTP. When I bring it up it looks like this:

I always use the "Login as Anonymous" option, but I want you to notice the "Starting dir" field. My STE has partitions C to J. I can only access one partition at a time, so if I want to back up all the partitions, I must download them each separately to my Hades. I must change the entry in the parameter field each time for each partition.

You see in the example I have partition F entered. On the STE, partition F looks like this:

but on aFTP is looks like this:

Now when the files come up in aFTP I can then go under the Commands option and do anything I want. Of course, the main thing I do is use the Get Files option and download the STE's files to my Hades for backing up. You know aFTP is downloading when the download screen comes up.

The red line represents the current file and the green line is the total downloaded so far.

On the STE side, the program's on-line screen shows who is on-line and what partition they are accessing. All this is very useful for you to make sure that everything is working properly.

I hope this article has shown you just how simple and easy it is to share files between computers on an Ethernet LAN. Everything runs so smoothly for me. I hope things go the same for you. If not, feel free to e-mail me. Until next time.

edward@myatari.net

MyAtari magazine - Feature #5, May 2004