On 5 Mar 01, at 12:41, Gloria Bronte Lane wrote: > I was curious to know more about "Passive Transfer Mode", so looked up > "FTP" in www.whatis.com, and found this about "Passive FTP". I assume > that this is the same as Passive Transfer Mode, but will do some more > looking - fyi: > > "Passive FTP (sometimes referred to as PASV FTP because it involves > the FTP PASV command) is a more secure form of data transfer in which > the flow of data is set up and initiated by the File Transfer Program > (FTP) client rather than by the FTP server program. Separate FTP > client programs, such as WS_FTP Pro, usually allow the user to select > passive FTP. Most Web browsers (which act as FTP clients) use passive > FTP by default because corporations prefer it as a safety measure..." > > Gloria > > At 08:28 AM 3/5/01 -0700, you wrote: > >I just went to WS-FTP and did what was suggested - unchecked Passive > >Transfer. My Remote Directory popped up instantly. > > > >I'm not sure why I started having slow loads, since I've not made any > >changes to my FTP options since I first began using it a few years > >ago. But the suggested solution appears to solve the problem. Here's a bit of an explanation. In Passive Transfers (also referred to as PASV), all connections are originated from the FTP client to the FTP server. Normal FTP has the "control" channel originating from the FTP client to the FTP server and the "data" channels originating from the FTP server to the FTP client. So, Normal FTP is like you calling your neighbor on his listed phone number and then giving him the phone number of your second line and asking him to call you back. PASV mode is more like making 2 telephone calls to your neighbor, with you dialing both of his phone numbers. For a while, the servers at RootsWeb had a problem with PASV in that when the FTP client asked the server which address to use for the second call (i.e. the data channel), the FTP server gave an invalid address. The client dutifully tried to connect to that address and waited for the normal timeout. Once it timed out, the client then issued a PORT command to tell the server how to call back to the client and, assuming that you weren't behind a firewall, the file transfer then went through. If you were behind a firewall, you then got some kind of an error (blocking call cancelled or some such), and then lost the connection to the FTP server. Fortunately, the guys at RootsWeb have fixed the problem. I've tested 3 of the servers and PASV mode is working just fine -- which is important for me since I'm behind a big firewall. Regards, Elsi