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i have a remote server running linux/WHM/cpanel which i'm having no trouble connecting to via SSH (via the same internet connection).

however, when i try to connect with FTP, sometimes it works, and sometimes it gives me the following message:

Server said: I won't open a connection to (only to 78.xxx.xxx.xxx) 

Error -162: PORT failed

sometimes it just works, and sometimes it doesn't!

the 78.xxx.xxx.xxx IP is the one i see when i check my ip using whatismyip.com on my local computer.

in addition to this, if i use a different internet connection it works fine.

my ISP doesn't seem to know what's going on.

please help!

thanks :)

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2 Answers

PORT mode requires the server to make connections to the client, which typically doesn't work in NATed or firewalled environments. In almost all cases, you want to be using passive mode.

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Perhaps the FTP server is on an internal adress, and use masquerade. What does the logs of the ftp server say? (dunno where? find out what ftp server software and check for the logs in /var/log)

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