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Date:      Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:08:55 +0000 (UTC)
From:      Dru Lavigne <dru@FreeBSD.org>
To:        doc-committers@freebsd.org, svn-doc-all@freebsd.org, svn-doc-head@freebsd.org
Subject:   svn commit: r43980 - head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/firewalls
Message-ID:  <201402181808.s1II8tvq074894@svn.freebsd.org>

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Author: dru
Date: Tue Feb 18 18:08:55 2014
New Revision: 43980
URL: http://svnweb.freebsd.org/changeset/doc/43980

Log:
  Clarify the section on FTP proxy.
  
  Sponsored by: iXsystems

Modified:
  head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/firewalls/chapter.xml

Modified: head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/firewalls/chapter.xml
==============================================================================
--- head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/firewalls/chapter.xml	Tue Feb 18 18:07:00 2014	(r43979)
+++ head/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/firewalls/chapter.xml	Tue Feb 18 18:08:55 2014	(r43980)
@@ -777,140 +777,105 @@ pass quick inet proto { tcp, udp } to an
       <sect3 xml:id="pftut-ftp">
 	<title>Creating an <acronym>FTP</acronym> Proxy</title>
 
-	<para>The short list of real life <acronym>TCP</acronym> ports
-	  above contained, among other things, <acronym>FTP</acronym>.
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> is a sad old thing and a problem
-	  child, emphatically so for anyone trying to combine
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> and firewalls.
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> is an old and weird protocol, with a
-	  lot to not like.  The most common points against it
-	  are</para>
+	<para>Configuring working <acronym>FTP</acronym> rules can be
+	  problematic due to the nature of the <acronym>FTP</acronym>
+	  protocol.  <acronym>FTP</acronym> pre-dates firewalls by
+	  several decades and is insecure in its design.  The most
+	  common points against using <acronym>FTP</acronym> include:</para>
 
 	<itemizedlist>
 	  <listitem>
-	    <para>Passwords are transferred in the clear</para>
+	    <para>Passwords are transferred in the clear.</para>
 	  </listitem>
 
 	  <listitem>
 	    <para>The protocol demands the use of at least two
 	      <acronym>TCP</acronym> connections (control and data) on
-	      separate ports</para>
+	      separate ports.</para>
 	  </listitem>
 
 	  <listitem>
 	    <para>When a session is established, data is communicated
-	      via ports selected at random</para>
+	      using randomly selected ports.</para>
 	  </listitem>
 	</itemizedlist>
 
-	<para>All of these points make for challenges security-wise,
-	  even before considering any potential weaknesses in client
-	  or server software which may lead to security issues.  These
-	  things have tended to happen.</para>
-
-	<para>Under any circumstances, other more modern and more
-	  secure options for file transfer exist, such as &man.sftp.1;
-	  or &man.scp.1;, which feature both authentication and data
-	  transfer via encrypted connections.  Competent
-	  <acronym>IT</acronym> professionals should have a preference
-	  for some other form of file transfer than
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym>.</para>
-
-	<para>Regardless of our professionalism and preferences, we
-	  are all too aware that at times we will need to handle
-	  things we would prefer not to.  In the case of
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> through firewalls, the main part of
-	  our handling consists of redirecting the traffic to a small
-	  program which is written specifically for this
-	  purpose.</para>
-
-	<para>Enabling <acronym>FTP</acronym> transfers through your
-	  gateway is amazingly simple, thanks to the
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> proxy program (called
-	  &man.ftp-proxy.8;) included in the base system on &os; and
-	  other systems which offer
-	  <application>PF</application>.</para>
-
-	<para>The <acronym>FTP</acronym> protocol being what it is,
-	  the proxy needs to dynamically insert rules in your rule
-	  set.  &man.ftp-proxy.8; interacts with your configuration
-	  via a set of anchors where the proxy inserts and deletes
-	  the rules it constructs to handle your
+	<para>All of these points present security challenges,
+	  even before considering any potential security weaknesses in client
+	  or server software.  More
+	  secure alternatives for file transfer exist, such as &man.sftp.1;
+	  or &man.scp.1;, which both feature authentication and data
+	  transfer over encrypted connections..</para>
+
+	<para>For those situations when <acronym>FTP</acronym> is
+	  required, <application>PF</application> provides
+	  redirection of <acronym>FTP</acronym> traffic to a small
+	  proxy program called
+	  &man.ftp-proxy.8;, which is included in the base system of &os;.
+	  The role of
+	  the proxy is to dynamically insert and delete rules in the ruleset, using
+	  a set of anchors, in order to correctly handle
 	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> traffic.</para>
 
-	<para>To enable &man.ftp-proxy.8;, add this line to
+	<para>To enable the <acronym>FTP</acronym> proxy, add this line to
 	    <filename>/etc/rc.conf</filename>:</para>
 
 	<programlisting>ftpproxy_enable="YES"</programlisting>
 
-	<para>Starting the proxy manually by running
-	  <command>/usr/sbin/ftp-proxy</command> allows testing of
-	  the <application>PF</application> configuration changes we
-	  are about to make.</para>
+	<para>Then start the proxy by running
+	  <command>service ftp-proxy start</command>.</para>
 
-	<para>For a basic configuration, only three elements need to
+	<para>For a basic configuration, three elements need to
 	  be added to <filename>/etc/pf.conf</filename>.  First, the
-	  anchors:</para>
+	  anchors which the proxy will use to insert the rules it generates for the
+	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> sessions:</para>
 
 	<programlisting>nat-anchor "ftp-proxy/*"
 rdr-anchor "ftp-proxy/*"</programlisting>
 
-	<para>The proxy will insert the rules it generates for the
-	  <acronym>FTP</acronym> sessions here.  A pass rule is
-	  needed to let <acronym>FTP</acronym> traffic in to the
+	<para>Second, a pass rule is
+	  needed to allow <acronym>FTP</acronym> traffic in to the
 	  proxy.</para>
 
-	<para>Now for the actual redirection.  Redirection rules and
-	  <acronym>NAT</acronym> rules fall into the same rule
-	  class.  These rules may be referenced directly by other
-	  rules, and filtering rules may depend on these rules.
-	  Logically, <literal>rdr</literal> and
-	  <literal>nat</literal> rules need to be defined before the
-	  filtering rules.</para>
-
-	<para>We insert our <literal>rdr</literal> rule immediately
-	  after the <literal>nat</literal> rule in
-	  <filename>/etc/pf.conf</filename></para>
+	<para>Third, redirection and <acronym>NAT</acronym> rules need
+	  to be defined before the
+	  filtering rules.  Insert this <literal>rdr</literal> rule immediately
+	  after the <literal>nat</literal> rule:</para>
 
 	<programlisting>rdr pass on $int_if proto tcp from any to any port ftp -&gt; 127.0.0.1 port 8021</programlisting>
 
-	<para>In addition, the redirected traffic must be allowed to
-	  pass.  We achieve this with</para>
+	<para>Finally, allow the redirected traffic to
+	  pass:</para>
 
 	<programlisting>pass out proto tcp from $proxy to any port ftp</programlisting>
 
 	<para>where <literal>$proxy</literal> expands to the address
 	  the proxy daemon is bound to.</para>
 
-	<para>Save <filename>pf.conf</filename>, then load the new
-	  rules with</para>
+	<para>Save <filename>/etc/pf.conf</filename>, load the new
+	  rules, and verify from a client that <acronym>FTP</acronym>
+	  connections are working:</para>
 
 	<screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>pfctl -f /etc/pf.conf</userinput></screen>
 
-	<para>At this point, users will probably begin noticing
-	  that <acronym>FTP</acronym> works before they have been
-	  told.</para>
-
 	<para>This example covers a basic setup where the clients in
-	  the local net need to contact <acronym>FTP</acronym>
-	  servers elsewhere.  The basic configuration here should
+	  the local network need to contact <acronym>FTP</acronym>
+	  servers elsewhere.  This basic configuration should
 	  work well with most combinations of <acronym>FTP</acronym>
-	  clients and servers.  As shown in the man page, the
+	  clients and servers.  As shown in &man.ftp-proxy.8;, the
 	  proxy's behavior can be changed in various ways by adding
 	  options to the <literal>ftpproxy_flags=</literal> line.
 	  Some clients or servers may have specific quirks that must
 	  be compensated for in the configuration, or there may be a
 	  need to integrate the proxy in specific ways such as
 	  assigning <acronym>FTP</acronym> traffic to a specific
-	  queue.  For these and other finer points of
-	  &man.ftp-proxy.8; configuration, start by studying the man
-	  page.</para>
+	  queue.</para>
 
 	<para>For ways to run an <acronym>FTP</acronym> server
 	  protected by <application>PF</application> and
-	  &man.ftp-proxy.8;, look into running a separate
-	  <command>ftp-proxy</command> in reverse mode (using
-	  <option>-R</option>), on a separate port with its own
+	  &man.ftp-proxy.8;, configure a separate
+	  <command>ftp-proxy</command> in reverse mode, using
+	  <option>-R</option>, on a separate port with its own
 	  redirecting pass rule.</para>
       </sect3>
 



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