How Can I Use SFTP to Transfer Files Between a Local Linux Computer and a Linux ECS?

Scenarios

You want to use SFTP to transfer files between a local Linux computer and a Linux ECS. The following uses CentOS as an example.

Procedure

1. Log in to the ECS as user root.
2. Run the following command to check the OpenSSH version, which is expected to be 4.8p1 or later:

   ssh -V

   Information similar to the following is displayed:

   # OpenSSH_7.4p1, OpenSSL 1.0.2k-fips 26 Jan 2017

3. Create a user group and a user (for example, user1).

   groupadd sftp

   useradd -g sftp -s /sbin/nologin user1

4. Set a password for the user.

   passwd user1

   Figure 1 Setting a password
   
5. Assign permissions to directories.

   chown root:sftp /home/user1

   chmod 755 -R /home/user1

   mkdir /home/user1/upload

   chown -R user1:sftp /home/user1/upload

   chmod -R 755 /home/user1/upload

6. Run the following command to edit the sshd_config configuration file:

   vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config

   Comment out the following information:

   #Subsystem sftp /usr/libexec/openssh/sftp-server

   Add the following information:

   Subsystem sftp internal-sftp
   Match Group sftp
   ChrootDirectory /home/%u 
   ForceCommand internal-sftp
   AllowTcpForwarding no
   X11Forwarding no

   Figure 2 sshd_config file with the added information
   
7. Run the following command to restart the ECS:

   service sshd restart

   Alternatively, run the following command to restart sshd:

   systemctl restart sshd

8. Run the following command on the local computer to set up the connection:

   sftp root@IP address

9. Run the sftp command to check the connection.

   

10. Transfer files or folders.

    To upload files or folders, run the put -r command.

    

    To download files or folders, run the get -r command.