After OES 2 updates, pure-ftpd (Novell FTP) may stop working

  • 7007304
  • 03-Dec-2010
  • 10-Dec-2012

Environment

Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 (OES 2) Linux Support Pack 2

Situation

An OES 2 SP2 or SP3 server is initially set up and running Novell FTP (LUM-enabled pure-ftpd) without problems.  However, after applying further updates, FTP services fail.

Resolution

There can be various causes to this type of situation.  Overall, this issue should be eliminated by being more fully up-to-date, meaning:
 
SLES 10 SP4 should be present
OES 2 SP3 plus current maintenance patches should be present.
 
However, in case those levels cannot be installed, or problems persist anyway, see the list below.  It is intended to help administrators identify their scenario and find the specific TIDs appropriate to their situation.  This document may be revised as needed.
 
1.  There has been a report that in some scenarios, applying updates re-enabled the OpenLDAP client, which was previously disabled in order to avoid conflicts between OpenLDAP and Novell LDAP.  A quick potential clue to this problem would be that the /etc/nsswitch.conf file mentions "ldap" on some of it's lines.  Alternatively, Yast -> Network Services -> LDAP Client may show "Use LDAP."  Resolving this typically takes a few more steps than just disabling the OpenLDAP client.  For full instructions, see KB 7006394 ( https://support.microfocus.com/kb/doc.php?id=7006394 ).
 
2.  On clusters running pure-ftpd, or a standalone system running multiple instances of FTP, pure-ftpd is typically started by the /usr/sbin/pure-config.pl script, rather than by /etc/init.d/pure-ftpd.  After an update, these systems may fail to login users who are not already contained in the Novell Account Management cache (NAM cache).  For this issue, see KB 7007248https://support.microfocus.com/kb/doc.php?id=7007248 ).
 
 
If none of the above help, Novell recommends reviewing the general setup of Novell FTP, which can be done with KB 3503915 ( https://support.microfocus.com/kb/doc.php?id=3503915 ).