MOSIS FAQ: Design File FTP Server
The recommended way to transfer design files to MOSIS is via Secure Web Form Upload (HTTPS). This page describes an alternate method of design file upload: the MOSIS Design File FTP Server.
1.0 What is the MOSIS Design File FTP server?
2.0 Do I have to do anything special before I can send my design to MOSIS via the design file ftp server?
3.0 Are there any restrictions on the host name specified in the Fabricate request?
4.0 What happens if I forget to send a Fabricate request before I try to login to the server?
5.0 After I send the Fabricate request, how do I connect to the server?
6.0 Who can login to the design file ftp server?
7.0 How can I see the server's error response when my login attempt fails?
8.0 Does the server allow anonymous logins?
9.0 I can't login to the server. What could be wrong?
10.0 My site is behind a firewall. How do I connect to the design file ftp server through my proxy server?
11.0 My site is behind a firewall. I can login to the design file ftp server, but when I try to send my file the transfer never starts. What could be wrong?
12.0 I want to connect to the design file ftp server through my ISP. What IP address should I specify in the Fabricate request?
13.0 I sent my design file, but I included the wrong checksum. How can I correct this?
14.0 How long do I have to send my design file to the ftp server, after I send the Fabricate request?
15.0 What security does the design file FTP server provide for to prevent someone from retrieving my design file?
1.0 What is the MOSIS Design File FTP server?
The MOSIS Design File FTP server is an ftp server that can be used by customers to send a design file to MOSIS. It implements the File Transfer Protocol described in RFC 959. Only customers who have a MOSIS account can use the server. The server will only accept customer design files. There are no files that can be retrieved from the server.
2.0 Do I have to do anything special before I can send my design to MOSIS via the design file ftp server?
Yes. Before you attempt to send your design file to MOSIS, you must announce your intention to do so by submitting a Fabricate request to the MOSIS automated request processor (via a web form or via e-mail). If the Fabricate is submitted via the web, you must fill in the section titled "To Send Your Design to MOSIS". If the Fabricate request is submitted via e-mail, you include the Layout-Ftp-Send-Auth parameter.
In either case, you tell us the host name or IP address from which you will login to the ftp server, the password you will use to login and the name of the design file you will put on the server. You can also optionally specify a time limit (default is 8 hours). A successful Fabricate request authorizes the ftp server to accept your design file, but only from the particular host or IP address you specified.
3.0 Are there any restrictions on the host name specified in the Fabricate request?
Yes. The server must be able to translate the host name into
an IP address, which means that the host name must be in the
DNS (Domain Name System).
4.0 What happens if I forget to send a Fabricate request before I try to login to the server?
You will be unable to login to the server.
5.0 After I send the Fabricate request, how do I connect to the server?
You must run an FTP client program on the host (IP address) you specified in the Fabricate request. If you run it on a different host, you will not be able to login to the server.
When you run the FTP client program, connect to ftp.design.mosis.com as the remote host. Use your design number as the user name and the "ftp send" password you gave in the Fabricate request as the password. Do NOT use your account password or design password as the password.
6.0 Who can login to the design file ftp server?
Only customers who authorized the server to accept a design file (via a Fabricate request) are allowed to login to the server. Even those customers can only login from the host or IP address they specified in the Fabricate request.
7.0 How can I see the server's error response when my login attempt fails?
Server responses can be very helpful in determining what is wrong. You should always configure your client to display server responses, if possible.
If you are using a non-graphical FTP client program, the server's responses will probably be visible to you. If they are not, you may need to include a command line switch to tell the program to display server responses.
If you are using a graphical FTP client program, you may not see responses from the server. If the client program is well written, there should be a way to tell it to display server responses. Some programs keep a log of the entire client/server dialog and can display it if configured properly.
8.0 Does the server allow anonymous logins?
No, anonymous logins are not accepted.
9.0 I can't login to the server. What could be wrong?
There are a number of possibilities:
- You did not send a successful Fabricate request that authorized the design file ftp server to accept your design file.
- You are not using your design number as the user name.
- You are using your account password or design password to login, instead of the "ftp send" password you provided in the Fabricate request.
- You are connecting to the ftp server from the wrong host (i.e., from a host that is not the one you authorized to send the file in your Fabricate request).
- Your Fabricate request provided a host name that cannot be translated to an IP address. In this case, the server's response will indicate that there was a host lookup error.
- Your host may be behind a firewall. See firewall-related questions elsewhere in this document.
10.0 My site is behind a firewall. How do I connect to the design file ftp server through my proxy server?
Depending on the type of firewall, your firewall may use Network Address Translation (NAT). It will translate internal IP addresses (inside the firewall) to public external IP addresses. This means that the IP address of the host where your ftp client runs is NOT the same as the IP address used to connect to our server.
If you have another type of firewall, your FTP client may be configured to use an ftp proxy. Instead of making a connection directly to our ftp server, your client connects to your proxy ftp server, which then establishes a connection to the design file ftp server.
In either case, the result is that the connection appears (to the design file ftp server) to be coming from the firewall's external IP address rather than from the client's internal IP address.
In these cases, your Fabricate request must specify the external IP address. If you don't know this IP address, you can simply try to login to ftp.design.mosis.com. The design file server's greeting will tell you what IP address the connection was from. Simply use that IP address as the "authorized" IP address in your Fabricate request. Note that your client must be configured to display server responses or you won't see the greeting message.
11.0 My site is behind a firewall. I can login to the design file ftp server, but when I try to send my file the transfer never starts. What could be wrong?
Your firewall may not allow incoming connections from outside the firewall. By default, when an ftp connection is opened to transfer data, the server initiates the connection and contacts the client at the port number provided by the client. From the server's point of view, this is an active transfer because the server initiates the connection to the client. Most firewalls block incoming connections initiated from outside the firewall.
There is another data transfer mode called passive mode, which can be used to tell the server to permit the client to initiate the data connection. The client can request this mode via the PASV command if it supports passive transfers. Not all ftp clients support passive mode - in particular, the standard Solaris ftp client does not support it and other Unix ftp client programs may not either.
If your ftp client supports passive mode, you should configure it to
use this mode. This will cause our server to wait for the client to
initiate the data connection. Since most firewalls allow outgoing
connections through the firewall, this should allow the transfer to
begin.
12.0 I want to connect to the design file ftp server through my ISP. What IP address should I specify in the Fabricate request?
If you have a static IP address (always the same), you can just use that address.
If your ISP assigns you a different IP address for each session, you must find out the IP address assigned to your session. You can then specify this IP address in your Fabricate request and send your design file from the same session. A simple way to discover your IP address is to try to login to ftp.design.mosis.com. The design file server's greeting will tell you what IP address the connection was from. Note that your client must be configured to display server responses or you won't see the greeting message.
If your ISP assigns you a different IP address for each FTP
connection, the procedure is more complicated. First, fill in
a Fabricate web form with all information except the sending
IP address. Then connect to ftp.design.mosis.com, but do not
login (don't give user or password yet). The design file
server's greeting will tell you what IP address the connection
was from. (Note that your client must be configured to
display server responses or you won't see the greeting
message.) Copy this IP address into the Fabricate web form
and submit the form. When the web form response comes back
indicating success, complete the design file ftp server login
by providing your design number and "ftp send" password. The
login must be completed promptly or the ftp server will time
out.
13.0 I sent my design file, but I included the wrong checksum. How can I correct this?
When there is a checksum mismatch, the ftp server assumes you sent the wrong file and it is still waiting for the correct one. A checksum mismatch does NOT cancel a pending ftp transfer request. To change the checksum, you must cancel fabrication and then resubmit your Fabricate request with the new checksum values.
14.0 How long do I have to send my design file to the ftp server, after I send the Fabricate request?
A design file ftp server authorization to accept a design file lasts until either:
- The file is successfully transferred
- Fabrication is cancelled
- The time limit for the transfer is reached
Fabrication will be automatically cancelled for expired ftp transfers.
15.0 What security does the design file FTP server provide for to prevent someone from retrieving my design file?
The server does not implement the RETRieve command, so it is not possible to retrieve any files from it. Even a designer who just sent a design file to the server in the same FTP session cannot retrieve the file.