Problems with DOS FTP penetrating firewall when other FTP programs don't

[Jack]

Hi
I'm having problems penerating my company's firewall using
ftp in command line. I am running Win2K. I can log on, but
can not get a dir listing or anything else.

If I use an FTP client software package like Cuteftp, it
works great, no problems. I can get directory listings,
download files, etc. But I need the Dos batch options. Can
anyone tell me why this is happening?

Jack

 

[Marty List]

Does your firewall allow both port 20 and 21?

Does Cuteftp only work if you set it to use PASV mode?

When you say "can not get a dir listing or anything else" that's pretty
vague, what is the error?

 

[Ross Presser]

The most likely cause is that your firewall works with PASV
("passive") mode ftp, but not PORT ("active") mode. Without knowing
the details of the firewall, it is difficult to suggest a solution.

.... unsaid is the fact that the command-line ftp program in Win95 and
higher does not support PASV mode. Try the replacement ftp.exe you can
find at cygwin <http://www.cygwin.com>, or try alternative and more full-
featured tools like wget and curl (same site).