ftp.dana.com is intended for use only by Dana and authorized partner
companies. To arrange access please contact the appropriate Dana
divisional contact person and have them submit a request for access to
Dana's Global Information Technology Group Security team. This can be
done by downloading the
ftp.dana.com Account Request MS-Word document,
completing it and emailing it to gitg.security@dana.com, or by calling
the Dana GITG Customer Support Center on 419-482-2020 (USA).
Can I use a web browser to upload and download files?
Any web browser can be used to download files. Generic support
for uploading files using a web browser is not available at this time.
Some later versions of Internet Explorer and other browser may include
an ftp client. See question 18 for more information.
How do I use a web browser for anonymous ftp?
Connect your web browser to ftp://ftp.dana.com
Provided your web browser is configured correctly it will automatically
connect with the name 'anonymous' and use your e-mail address as the
password. Default names used in web browsers, typically names such as
IEUser@, IE30User@, or IE40User@ will not be accepted by this ftp server.
To check that Internet Explorer is configured correctly, perform
the following steps.
Please note that these steps involve editing the registry on your
computer. If this is not done correctly, corruption may result and the
computer may not function properly. If you are at all unsure about these
procedures please do not use them, but ask a technical support
person at your facility to help with this configuration. Please note
that Dana, and the Global Information Technology Group do not accept
responsibility for any problems introduced by making changes to the
registry on your computer. Any changes made are at your own risk. This
information is provided only as a service to users of this facility.
Use the Microsoft Registry Editor tool by clicking Start
Run
and typing regedit
Locate the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
and look for the EmailName field. The default value is something like
"IEUser@," "IE30User@", or "IE40User@". If the value is corrupted, an
elipsis (...) is placed after the data value
(for example, "IE40User@"...). At the very least, the ellipsis (...)
should be removed.
To check that Netscape Navigator is configured correctly, perform
the following steps:
Click
Edit
Preferences
Mail & Newsgroups
Identity
Check the Email address provided and ensure that it is valid.
Many anonymous ftp servers will not accept the default Internet
Explorer EmailName, and require a real e-mail address. A real address
also allows an administrator to locate log file entries and match them
up with problems you may experience. In addition, using a real e-mail
address provides a means for an administrator to contact users with news
and change information if no other contact details have been provided.
How do I use a web browser with a name and password?
A web browser can be connected to a ftp server with a name and password
using the following syntax:
ftp://name:password@ftp.dana.com
Replace name and password above with your user name and
password.
At this time support for uploads using a web browser is not available.
A browser can only be used to explore directories and download files.
Where can I get a GUI ftp client?
Many GUI ftp clients are available from different sources. Some are free,
some are shareware (require payment after an evaluation period) and some
are commercial versions. A few freeware GUI ftp clients for
MS-Windows operating systems are available for public download on
this ftp server. Note that these are almost certainly superceded by
newer versions. Click here
to download, or visit a web site such as Tucows at
http://www.tucows.com.
Is it possible to automate uploading and downloading files using ftp?
Yes, ftp connections can be automated. This is mostly possible using Unix
operating systems. Some Windows based ftp clients also provide features
that allow unattended, automated connections to ftp servers. It is also
possible to use a Windows batch file or install a language such as
perl or expect on a PC, which allow
programs to be written relatively easily to connect to an ftp server.
I don't know my password. Can it be reset?
A password can be changed by the GITG Security team. A request must be
submitted to the team by the Dana divisional contact person responsible
for requesting any ftp access. Please address email requests to
gitg.security@dana.com
Can I change my own password?
Yes, provided you know your existing password you can change it to
something else. GITG encourages frequent password changes in the
interest of security. You can change your password by selecting the
Change access password
link on the main page, or by clicking the link here. Note that this
feature is only available to users inside Dana's firewall
as the HTTP protocol to provide web services are blocked at the firewall.
Some of my files disappeared. What is the file retention period?
An automated cleanup mechanism has been implemented to remove any files
that have been on the system for more than seven days. This removes the
burden of having to cleanup from the user, and helps to reduce the
possibility of file systems filling up with old and unused files.
Why can't I download a file, when I see it exists?
File names are case sensitive. If you are using a text based ftp client
make sure that you type the name exactly as it appears when you use
ls or dir to list the files. The file may
be visible to you, but for various reasons you may not have read access
to it. If you get a 'Permission denied' message, you don't have read
permissions on the file. Use the command ls -al to see a
detailed list of files in the directory, with permissions, owner and
group owner and other detail.
The permissions will be at the beginning of the line, and will be
something like -r-xr-xr--
If the file is owned by someone else, you are not in the same group,
and the last 3 characters of the permission field do NOT have an r in
them, you will not be able to read the file. Please contact the GITG
helpdesk for further information.
How can I remove a file from my directory?
You will only be able to remove a file if you have WRITE permissions to
it. Use ls -al as described in the previous question. Look at
the permissions list at the beginning of the line. If you are not the owner,
not a member of the group, and do not see a w in the last 3 characters
of the permissions field, you will not be able to remove the file.
All files will be removed once they reach the age limit for which files
are retained on this server - typically 7 days. If you do have write
permissions on the file, you can remove it using any GUI based ftp client,
or with a text based ftp client, use the command
dele <filename>.
I have a text file which looks weird after ftp. It has ^M at the end of every line, or else all lines appear to have been merged into one long line with a block character where I expect line breaks to be.
Unix stores text (ASCII) files differently than DOS/Windows and other
operating systems. At the end of every line of text in a MicroSoft OS there
are two invisible characters - a carriage return, and a line feed. Unix
stores the same files with just one invisible character, a carriage return.
Many ftp clients have built in capabilities to automatically detect the
file type, and will switch between ASCII and binary modes automatically.
Sometimes the detection is not correct, and a file will be sent as the wrong
type. Using a text based ftp client, it is usually necessary to specify
the file type manually, using ASC or BIN to indicate ASCII or binary.
If a text file is uploaded as binary, a ^M character may appear at the
end of every line. If this file is later downloaded it may have either
a ^M at the end of each line, or it may seem that all lines have been
merged into one long line. Try having your ftp client download the file
using both BIN and ASC modes until it seems right.
Some editors will open a text file that has been downloaded to a PC and it
will look like one very long line of text rather than many individual files.
If you have already downloaded a file and want to convert it, many tools
are available. Their use and syntax are beyond the scope of this FAQ. On
most Unix variants, you can usually find utilities dos2unix
and unix2dos. It is also possible to modify files using
awk, sed, perl and inside an editor
such as vi. It is also possible to work around a problem file
by uploading it back to the ftp server in one format e.g. binary, and
downloading again in another
e.g. ASCII.
As a general rule, rather try to ensure that the correct mode is used for
the file type.
I use a GUI ftp client. When I drag a file and drop it onto the ftp server I get an "Error 550 permission denied on server"
This can happen when attempting to transfer files or folders that have spaces in the name. Try renaming the file, or use a command line ftp client to send the file. When specifying the file name, enclose it in in quotes (") to prevent the ftp client and server from treating this as separate file names.
Remember that when downloading the file, similar problems could occur, and
it may be necessary to use a command line ftp client and specify the name
in quotes again. Note that spaces in file names will not be accepted by
the server, use file names with no spaces or other special characters.
Can I provide a link to another user so they simply click the link and download a file with their web browser?
It is possible to point at a specific file, but only if the user name and user password are known in advance.
e.g.
ftp://myuserid:mypassword@ftp.dana.com/home/myuserid/myfile.zip
Note also that this will not always work as expected, if the server/browser determine that a file is a text file for example, it will not be downloaded but displayed as text in the browser. The same applies to a graphic image of known file type, e.g. GIF, JPG etc. so that the following will cause the image to be displayed:
ftp://myuserid:mypassword@ftp.dana.com/home/myuserid/myphoto.jpg
The other option, if a user has a number of files to download and they want to use a web browser rather than a real ftp client, is to point them at the directory, e.g.
ftp://myuserid:mypassword@ftp.dana.com
which will open a browsable view of the directory for them
My connection is erratic. I connect sometimes with no problem, but other times my connection fails with: "connection failed ftp.dana.com"
One possible issue is that by default, many ftp clients do not use a passive mode connection. ftp.dana.com requires that you connect with passive mode, so that after the initial connection, the server opens a new return connection to you and tells you which port range is acceptable to it. Search for options to set passive mode connections in your ftp client. E.g. if by default WS-FTP is not in passive mode, try clicking 'Options', 'Session' and look for the 3rd checkbox down, 'Use Passive Transfer Mode'. If that is not selected, then try checking it, and click the 'Set As Default' button.
Probably when you connected previously, the successful attempts happened to connect within the supported port range. When you had problems, your PC requested a port from the ftp server (non passive mode) which was outside the supported range. The server probably rejected the request, and no clear message was displayed.
For Windows ftp, command line or batch mode, try using the command literal pasv although this is unlikely to succeed. In addition to numerous tests at GITG, research on both the internet as a whole, and on MicroSoft's web page indicates that while MicroSoft's ftp.exe will accept an instruction to switch to passive mode, the instruction is passed on to the server but the client does not properly honor the passive mode instruction.
An alternative is to use a Windows based ftp client that does support passive mode. So far only one true command line alternative has been identified by GITG. This is a freeware utility named MoveItFreely, the executable being ftps.exe. This program provides a true drop in replacement for ftp.exe supporting all ftp operations, including a fully functional passive mode and a feature to allow secure ftp using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology. The home page for this application is http://www.stdnet.com. A copy of this application is also located on this ftp server in the FTP clients area or download directly using this link MoveItFreelyInst.exe Note that MoveItFreely recognizes the word PASSIVE, and does not support literal pasv as Microsoft's ftp does.
I am experiencing problems with access to ncsftp.dana.com
ncsftp.dana.com is in the process of being decommissioned. Anonymous ftp
is less secure than named ftp and is difficult to control. The hardware
on which ncsftp runs is obsolete and limited in capacity. Please contact
the GITG helpdesk and ask for a new account to be created on ftp.dana.com
instead.
Why can't I use anonymous ftp on this server?
Anonymous ftp is less secure than named ftp and is difficult to control
who uploads and downloads files, and also difficult to restrict access
to files that may be confidential. Anonymous ftp puts Dana at risk by
allowing anyone to upload files, also potentially allowing abuse of Dana
facilities which might impact on Dana and customers or vendors.
ftp.dana.com accepts anonymous ftp only for downloading a few provided
files. All other ftp activity requires a named account. Dana facilities
have their own accounts, and can have as many customers or vendors as
necessary defined as sub accounts. The primary Dana account can access
only their own files, and those of all customer/vendor sub accounts.
Customer/vendor sub accouts can only access files in their own directory,
to keep files separate and confidential.
How do I use Internet Explorer as an ftp client?
Some more recent versions of Internet Explorer include ftp client support
so that uploads are allowed in addition to downloads. This may not be enabled
by default. To see if your browser has been configured to allow ftp
connections, first connect to ftp://ftp.dana.com, then click File, and see
if there is a "Login As" option. If so, your browser is already enabled for
ftp connections.
If you don't see "Login As", you can enable ftp connections by clicking
Tools, Internet Options, and the Advanced tab. Scroll down looking at
available options. One option under the Browsing sub group is
"Enable folder view for FTP sites". Check this box, then click the Apply
button, at which time the browser will allow normal ftp connections,
including upload capabilities. Note that Dana's ftp server requires an
additional change! Passive mode transfers are required, and using
Active mode will most likely result in some difficulties. Still in the
Advanced tab, scroll to the end of the Browsing sub group. Look for a
check box "Use Passive FTP", check it, then click Apply.
When logging in to an ftp server using Internet Explorer, there is a check
box that allows saving the password. Most ftp clients have this feature.
It is a bad security practice to do this! Because you can not see the
password (it may be masked as dots or asterisks) does not mean it is
invisible. It can easily be viewed with freely avaialble tools. It is not
recommended that passwords ever be stored in an ftp client in this way.
Uploading files is just the same as using Windows Explorer, browse to the
file(s) to be uploaded. Select them and press Ctrl C or click Edit, Copy.
Change to the Internet Explorer window view that is logged in to the ftp
server, and press Ctrl V, or click Edit Paste.
Do you have any other questions, or suggestions for tips that may be useful
to other users? Please tell us - call the GITG Customer Support Center
