Documentation forServ-U MFT & Serv-U FTP Server

Domain Sessions

When you view the Sessions page from the Domain Activity tab, all connected sessions from the domain are displayed. When you view the Sessions page while you are administering a domain, only the current sessions of the particular domain are displayed. From this page, you can see an overall picture of the current activity on the file server. In addition, you can view individual sessions, including their current status, connection state, and transfer information.

To view detailed information about a specific session, select the session. The Active Session Information group is populated with the details of the currently highlighted session. This information is frequently updated to provide an accurate and up-to-date snapshot of the activities of the session.

Depending on the type of connection made by that session (for example, FTP, HTTP, or SFTP), certain additional functions are available.

Disconnect sessions

You can disconnect any type of session at any time by clicking Disconnect. Click this button to bring up another window with additional options for how the disconnect should be performed. The following disconnect options are available:

Disconnect Immediately disconnects the session. Another session can be immediately established by the disconnected client. This is also known as "kicking" the user.
Disconnect and ban IP for x
  • Immediately disconnects the session and bans its IP address for the specified number of minutes (x), preventing the client from immediately reconnecting.
  • Disconnect and block IP permanently Immediately disconnects the session and adds a deny IP access rule for the IP address, preventing the client from ever reconnecting from the same IP address.

    When disconnecting a session from the Server Session view, you can also use the Apply IP rule to option. By using this option, you can select where you want the temporary or permanent IP ban to be applied: for the entire server, or only the domain the session is connected to.

    In addition to disconnecting the session, you can also disable the user account in use by the session by selecting Disable user account.

    If the current session is using the FTP protocol, you can send a message to the user before disconnecting them by typing it in the Message to user field. This option is not available for HTTP or SFTP sessions because neither protocol defines a method for chatting with users.

    Abort sessions

    If a session is performing a file transfer, you can cancel the file transfer without disconnecting the session by clicking Abort. After confirming the command, the current file transfer for that session is terminated by the server. Some clients, especially FTP and SFTP clients, may automatically restart the canceled transfer, making it appear that the cancellation failed. If this is the case, try disconnecting the session instead.

    Broadcast messages

    You can send a message to all currently connected FTP sessions by clicking Broadcast. Sending a message through broadcast is equivalent to opening the Spy & Chat window to each individual FTP session and sending it a chat message.

    Spy & Chat

    You can spy on any type of session by clicking Spy & Chat or by double-clicking a session in the list. Spying on a user displays all the detailed information normally visible by highlighting the session, and also includes a complete copy of the session log since it first connected to the file server. This way you can browse the log and view all actions taken by the user of the session.

    If the current session is using the FTP protocol, additional options are available for chatting with the user. The Chat group shows all messages sent to and received from the session since beginning to spy on the session. To send a message to the session, type the message text in the Message Content field, and then click Send. When a message is received from the session, it is automatically displayed here.

    Not all FTP clients support chatting with system administrators. The command used to send a message to the server is SITE MSG. In order for a client to receive messages, the client application must be capable of receiving unsolicited responses from the server instead of discarding them.