'dir' Command Hanging When Running the 'ftp' Command in MATLAB

I am attempting to connect using the 'ftp' command to a remote Linux server, and MATLAB hangs when I run the 'dir' command on the FTP object. The 'ftp' and 'dir' commands work for a different computer, so it only hangs on that specific server.

How do I prevent MATLAB from hanging for this workflow?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The correct way to eliminate the hang is to ensure the 'LocalDataConnectionMethod' field of the FTP object is set to 'active' in MATLAB like so:

ip_addr = 'XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX';  % example IP

password='XXXXXX'; % example password

username= 'example'; % example username

ftpobj = ftp(ip_addr,username,password);

ftpobj.LocalDataConnectionMethod = "active";

This is because the 'active' mode establishes a channel for commands and the FTP server establishes a channel for data. For more information about the 'ftp' object and its options, please see the following documentation page:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/ftp.html#mw_cd4b1f53-b851-421a-9bd1-ea99a0d2ee12