Troubleshooting Overview

This page describes common issues and resolutions for ftp.intel.com file transfer services.

General Issues

Microsoft Windows FTP Program (FTP.exe) is not working

Windows FTP program (sometimes referred to as FTP.exe) is not supported due to its inability to support a feature called passive data connections. You will need to find an FTP program that does support passive data connections.  A guide for users outside of Intel's networks and a guide for users connected inside of Intel may be helpful; however, there are other FTP clients other than those mentioned in the guides that support passive data connections are available.

Performance is slow

Tips to gain higher performance are:

1. Use FTP over Explicit TLS/SSL connections.  In some unique situations cases, this transfer method can be faster.
2. The Internet will likely have the greatest impact on performance. In general, higher the bandwidth/speed of Internet connection will increase performance.
3. Network latency can increase transfer times and this service is hosted in California, US; therefore, it is likely that transferring files within the US will be faster than transferring files outside of the US. Transferring files from other US sites outside of California may also be slower.
4. Transferring files on off-peak hours can increase performance. In general off-peak hours are between 1:00-6:00am within a geography's timezone.
5. Transferring files in parallel (or splitting a large file and transferring each chunk in parallel) can be faster if the network bandwidth allows this.
6. To avoid possible interruptions in file transfers and having to restart the transfer of a large file from the beginning, you will want to confirm that your FTP client and the FTP service you are using supports Resume capability. Most do, but some do not. Anonymous Adhoc file transfer (incoming/outgoing folders) do not support FTP resume due to blind drop/get requirements.  Named FTP accounts do; however, support the ability to resume.
7. For connections originating within Intel's internal networks, avoid the use of a Proxy server.  If you are required to do this due to your network requirements, then use Intel Proxy Server host server in your FTP Client configuration that is closest to your current location. This should decrease network latency.

Unable to connect

1. Install an FTP client if none installed yet
2. Configure the FTP client to connect to ftp.intel.com using the following settings:
   1. Host/Server: ftp.intel.com (port 21)
   2. Mode/Connection Type: Normal FTP (unsecure), Explicit FTP/SSL (secure), Explicit FTP/TLS (secure), or FTPES (secure).
      * Note that Implicit FTPS is not supported.
      * Important note about security: To ensure that your file transfer kept confidential always encrypt your files before upload.
   3. Username: anonymous
   4. Password: <your email address>
   5. Choose to use Passive (PASV) Data Connections (NOTE: this may be a command that you need to set after connecting)
3. Configure any network firewall you are connecting through for network port 21 (control channel) and network ports 36000-36200 (data channels) to ftp.intel.com
4. Disconnect from any VPN connection to Intel's network if you are connecting using FTP over Explicit FTP/SSL (FTPS).  This is an expected known issue with Intel's VPN connections that has no known workaround.  VPN connections to other companies may also see this same issue where disconnecting may also be a resolution.

Unable to connect using FTP over Explicit FTP/SSL (FTPS) over VPN

Disconnect from any VPN connection to Intel's network if you are connecting using FTP over Explicit FTP/SSL (FTPS).  This is an expected known issue with Intel's VPN connections that has no known workaround.  VPN connections to other companies may also see this same issue where disconnecting may also be a resolution.

This known issue can be confirmed if you are able to connect successfully using regular unsecure FTP.  Some FTP client logs show a hang after the AUTH TLS/SSL command and some FTP client logs may show an error message similar to "GnuTLS error -73: ASN1 parser: Error in TAG.".  If you are aware that your connection is being routed through a Checkpoint firewall, then is it possible that the firewall requires inspection of the data packets and will drop a connection when it cannot inspect the data, such is the case when the FTP connection starts the TLS/SSL handshake as part of the FTPS protocol.

Unable to list file from a directory

1. This issue applied only to Anonymous file transfers.
2. All "incoming" and "outgoing" folders do not allow directory listing of files. When trying to list files from these folders, you may see an access denied error or unable to connect to site error. Most FTP client GUI tools will automatically try to list files when you traverse a file structure regardless of whether you want to see files in the folders or not. Please expect these errors when using the GUI tools when viewing, downloading, or uploading files in each of the "incoming" and "outgoing" folders.

Unable to confirm file upload was successful

1. This issue applied only to Anonymous file transfers.
2. To determine whether a file upload was successful, review the FTP log for the commands used by the GUI tool (e.g. after "STOR myfile.txt" command you should expect to see "Response: 226 Transfer complete")

I get an Access Denied error when trying to browse to the /incoming or /outgoing folders

This issue applied only to Anonymous file transfers.  All "incoming" and "outgoing" folders do not allow directory listing of files for security measures. When trying to list files from these folder, an access denied error is expected. Most FTP client GUI tools will automatically try to list files when you traverse a file structure regardless of whether you want to see files in the folders or not. When prompted due to the errors, just click through the error and then try your file transfer.  You may also see these Access Denied or Directory Listing Denied errors in the FTP Client log that can be ignored.

For example, you may see the error when browsing to the /outgoing folder to upload a file within the Internet Explorer web browse (also applies to /incoming folder):

If you saw the above error, click OK and then upload your file as you normally would:

Unable to CD into the /incoming or /outgoing folders to upload or download files

The "incoming" and "outgoing" folders do not allow a CD into the folder. This is due to permissions that disallow a directory listing.  To Download or Upload a file into the "incoming" and "outgoing" folder, you must be in the Pub folder which is the parent of the "incoming" and "outgoing" folders.  Once inside the Pub folder, specify the entire folder path including the file name and depending on your FTP client software, you may need to specify the local file name too.

While in the Pub folder, the following commands are examples of what your FTP client software may support:

It is important to note that some FTP client software tools may require the use of the backslash or two backslashes instead of the forward slash in the above examples

Cannot use a wildcards in FTP GET for /incoming or /outgoing folders

It is not possible to use wildcards when downloading files from the /incoming or /outgoing folders when logged on using an anonymous user.  This is expected behavior.  Specify the file name of each file you need to download.

Cannot use "mget" or "get -r" FTP commands for /incoming or /outgoing folders

It is not possible to use the "mget" or "get -r" FTP commands to download files from the /incoming or /outgoing folders when logged on using an anonymous user.  This is expected behavior.  Specify the file name of each file you need to download.

Can successfully connect to ftp.intel.com, but as soon as I try to download/upload a file or list the directory, I get disconnected or the service is unresponsive

Be sure that your FTP client is configured for use of passive data connections. Windows FTP client (FTP.exe) does not support passive data connections; therefore, it is not supported.

Unknown Error

If you are unable to find help anywhere in this guide, here are some steps that may help

1. For anonymous adhoc file transfer...
   1. If possible, follow the guides for using the FileZilla FTP Client or Internet Explorer Web browser to determine if the problem is isolated to your FTP client.  A guide for users outside of Intel's networks and a guide for users connected inside of Intel may be helpful
   2. If you are connected to Intel's network, then you can only download files from the /pub/incoming folder and upload files into the /pub/outgoing folder
   3. If you are connected outside of Intel's network, then you can only download files from the /pub/outgoing folder and upload files in the /pub/incoming folder
   4. When downloading files, you cannot navigate into either of the /pub/incoming or /pub/outgoing folder directly. You must be in a parent folder and use the entire path to the file including the file name to download it (e.g. get /pub/outgoing/myfile.txt)
   5. You must be using Passive Data Connections. Be sure this feature is enabled. Passive Data Connections is the default if using a Web browser. If you not sure whether Passive Data Connections are allowed, connect to ftp.intel.com using your FTP client and enter an "ls" command at the root folder. If your connection is closed automatically or becomes unresponsive, then Passive Data Connections is disabled; therefore, review the documentation of your FTP Client on how to enable this feature.
2. If using a Web browser to access ftp.intel.com
   1. Be sure that you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox
   2. Note that you cannot upload files using Firefox
   3. When uploading files, you may see an Access Denied error when browsing to the /pub/incoming or /pub/outgoing folder. That is expected to disallow listing of files. Click OK to the error prompt and continue to upload the file. You should be able to successfully upload the file; however, you will not be able to see the file after the transfer because file listing is disallowed.