Fetch Softworks

SFTP Connection could not be opened... (8 posts)

• Started 2 years ago by mflight
• Latest reply 1 year ago from Jim Matthews

• mflight Member

  I keep on getting this message when trying to connect:

  “SFTP connection to 70.42.33.4 could not be opened because the connection to the SFTP server could not be established or was lost.

  Try again, or contact the server administrator to verify that you can have the correct hostname, username, password, and authentication method, and that the server is running.”

  I'm putting in all the correct information according to the server administrator, so I really have no idea what's going wrong.

  Any insight?

  Posted 2 years ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  Hi,

  When I try to connect to 70.42.33.4 I get a connection refused error. It could be that the ssh server (which handles SFTP) has crashed or been turned off. I would talk to the system administrator again.

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 2 years ago #

• Deborah Member

  I repeatedly get this same error message, and system admin for the SFTP tells me it's on my end. Any suggestions for what to check? I am on Mac Powerbook G4, OS 10.4.11.

  Thanks.

  Posted 2 years ago #

• Scott McGuire Administrator

  Hi Deborah,

  Each SFTP server has an "SSH host key" that enables secure transfers. When you connect to an SFTP server, Mac OS X stores that server's key for future use. If the server's key changes and no longer matches the one stored on your Macintosh, this could indicate a security problem. Some programs ignore the error; Fetch instead refuses to make the connection.

  So, one possibility is that your server's key may have changed, and that is the reason Fetch won't connect. You should try clearing your Mac's store of SSH keys, so that you can get a fresh key from the server.

  Please do the following to clear your SSH keys:

  * In Fetch, choose Fetch Help from the Help menu.
  * In the help window, search for "known hosts".
  * Double-click on the "RSA host key differs warning" help topic (it should be the one at the top of the list).
  * A help topic opens in the help window.
  * Scroll down to the "Delete the known_hosts file for me" link.
  * Click the link, and follow the instructions.

  Once that's done, try connecting to your server using SFTP again. If you're warned that "the authenticity of the host can't be established" (you may or may not be), that is normal and you should continue.

  Please let us know if this fixes the problem or not.

  Thanks,

  Scott McGuire
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 2 years ago #

• Deborah Member

  Hello Scott,

  Worked like a charm! Thanks so much. I'll pass the info onto my client, too, so they can troubleshoot that end. (They keep pushing Cyberduck, which is loaded with trouble, so I hope this will encourage them to support Fetch, which my colleagues and I agree is the only way to go.) Thanks again!

  Deborah

  Posted 2 years ago #

• Scott McGuire Administrator

  Hi Deborah,

  You're welcome, we're glad to hear the problem is fixed.

  And thanks for your support!

  Best,

  Scott McGuire
  Fetch Softworks

  Edited 2 years ago #

• Bob Member

  Fetch still has the problem I reported close to a year ago. I have a ubuntu server at work I connect to. I can successfully ssh/sftp from terminal anytime. When I use fetch with sftp I have to connect/reconnect MANY times until I get a connection. The ubuntu system has been upgraded to the latest version, I think this is a mac or fetch issue.

  Bob Sica

  Posted 1 year ago #

• Jim Matthews Administrator

  Hi Bob,

  We'd like to help figure out what's going on with your ubuntu server. After trying to connect could you send the contents of the Fetch Transcript window to bugs@fetchsoftworks.com ?

  Thanks,

  Jim Matthews
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 1 year ago #