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CentOS 5.11 SFTP issues

Posted: 2017/08/02 16:32:24
by ceaton
Hey, we are running a legacy CentOS server that we are hoping not to have to rebuild but is now getting errors when attempting to put and get files. Errors are showing as "Error: Server response does not contain SSH protocol identification." Having no issues when ssh'ing into the box. What logs would be helpful from the server itself? I'm fairly new with this distro so any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Re: CentOS 5.11 SFTP issues

Posted: 2017/08/02 16:45:37
by TrevorH
If you have no issues when using ssh then sftp should also work too since it uses the same server software and the same port. You should check your client to make sure that it's attempting to talk to the ssh port (22 by default unless you change it on the server). You could also try using a different client to eliminate your current one as the cause of the problem.

However you have a more serious issue. CentOS 5 went out of support at the end of March 2017 and will receive no more security updates. There have already been several high severity vulnerabilities that have been fixed for CentOS 6 and 7 that will never be fixed for 5. You should make plans ASAP to migrate to a supported version. Since CentOS 6 has already gone into what's known as "Production Phase 3" where only critical security updates will be made, it makes little sense to use that. It too will go EOL in about 3 years time. CentOS 7 has support until 2024 so is probably the best bet.

Re: CentOS 5.11 SFTP issues

Posted: 2017/08/03 13:48:43
by ceaton
OK, is there an easy way to upgrade to CentOS 7? Or is there a way to transfer users and settings from the SFTP setup to the new OS?

Re: CentOS 5.11 SFTP issues

Posted: 2017/08/03 16:04:44
by TrevorH
There's no migration path from 5 to 6 or to 7, it's a reinstall and reconfigure along with the move of any data across that's required.

However if it's just sftp then it ought to be an easy change since it's just ssh in disguise (and not even a very good disguise at that). You will need to account for the fact that user ids have changed between releases - not entirely sure what el5 used to start numbering its users at but el6 used 500 and el7 uses 1000. Anything below those uids is seen as a 'system' user. You'll probably need to renumber them as they move over.

Re: CentOS 5.11 SFTP issues

Posted: 2017/08/03 16:12:22
by ceaton
OK, so it's not just an easy upgrade or backup/restore, it sounds like it would have to be a fresh install and the configuration rebuilt. Thank you for the information!