Need help troubleshooting FTP problem on Ubuntu Linux

Question

I am running Ubuntu as a guest OS via VMWare on my desktop. It's a Virtual Appliance from Turnkey Linux. I have been fighting with the FTP for some time. I have ProFTPd installed. At one point I was able to FTP in from my desktop using filezilla but was unable to install joomla because the joomla app could not ftp into the localhost, which is a step in the installation process on linux.

I don't think the ftp service is even running as I do not see anything listening on port 21.

root@lamp:~# sudo netstat -l
Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address           Foreign Address         State
tcp        0      0 *:12320                 *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:12321                 *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:12322                 *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 localhost:mysql         *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:www                   *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 localhost:smtp          *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:https                 *:*                     LISTEN
tcp6       0      0 [::]:ssh                [::]:*                  LISTEN
udp        0      0 *:12321                 *:*
udp        0      0 192.168.3.20:ntp        *:*
udp        0      0 localhost:ntp           *:*
udp        0      0 *:ntp                   *:*
udp6       0      0 fe80::20c:29ff:feee:ntp [::]:*
udp6       0      0 ip6-localhost:ntp       [::]:*
udp6       0      0 [::]:ntp                [::]:*

what is my next step? if i issue the start command nothing changes.

here is my proftpd.conf file

#
# /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf -- This is a basic ProFTPD configuration file.
# To really apply changes reload proftpd after modifications.
#

# Includes DSO modules
Include /etc/proftpd/modules.conf

# Set off to disable IPv6 support which is annoying on IPv4 only boxes.
UseIPv6                         on

ServerName                      "Debian"
ServerType                      inetd
DeferWelcome                    off

MultilineRFC2228                on
DefaultServer                   on
ShowSymlinks                    on

TimeoutNoTransfer               600
TimeoutStalled                  600
TimeoutIdle                     1200

DisplayLogin                    welcome.msg
DisplayChdir                    .message true
ListOptions                     "-l"

DenyFilter                      \*.*/

# Use this to jail all users in their homes
# DefaultRoot                   ~

# Users require a valid shell listed in /etc/shells to login.
# Use this directive to release that constrain.
# RequireValidShell             off

Answer 1

if you want to FTP from your desktop to your Guest OS and vice versa, you have to have FTP installed and running on both sides. In your Guest Ubuntu, make sure you start proftpd , eg

/etc/init.d/proftpd start

On your local do the same. Also, make sure you configured your VM properly. Ping them and make sure they see each other.

Answer 2

i figured it out with the help of the following forum post...

http://www.howtoforge.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12972

First changed the "Server Type" from "inetd" to "standalone" in the proftpd.conf file.

checked the /etc/hosts file and updated it to the following:

127.0.0.1 localhost 192.168.0.100 ocram

The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts

::1 ip6-localhost ip6-loopback ocram fe00::0 ip6-localnet ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix ff02::1 ip6-allnodes ff02::2 ip6-allrouters ff02::3 ip6-allhosts