Network error: Software caused connection abort, File transfer failed

Question

First, I did saw other forum post on same error. However I didn’t find a definate solution for it, and hence posting my own.

I am having this issue with Filezilla, when trying to use SFTP to Ubuntu 16.04 based server. I have 3-4 different ubuntu server from Digital Ocean that are causing this error.
I try to connect from more than one network at my end, and all give error. This doesn’t happen to my other server which are not from digital ocean. That is strange thing.
Suppose I try to sftp 100 files, 70-80 give this error, but 20-30 gets uploaded, that suggest there is no actual Network issue, but some policy is stopping it.
I see lot of user get this error when using putty, but I am able to use putty just fine, even can connect through putty for hours without break or issue. Only Filezilla file transfer is an issue.

Any help is appreciated, I do not install FTP software in my server, only install apache, git, let’s encrypt prerequesties and php there to default Ubuntu. Even has mysql on different server.

Bobby · Answer

Hi there,

Here are some troubleshooting steps to help you diagnose and potentially resolve the issue:

Update Filezilla and server software: Ensure you’re using the latest version of Filezilla and that your Ubuntu servers are up-to-date with the latest patches.
Increase timeout settings: In Filezilla, go to Edit > Settings > Connection > Timeout, and try increasing the timeout value to a higher number, such as 60 or 120 seconds.
Check server logs: Examine the SSH and system logs on your Ubuntu servers for any relevant information or error messages related to the SFTP connections. The logs can be found at /var/log/auth.log and /var/log/syslog.
Test with another SFTP client: Try using another SFTP client, such as WinSCP, to see if the issue is specific to Filezilla or a more general problem.
Limit concurrent connections: In Filezilla, go to Edit > Settings > Transfers > Concurrent transfers, and try reducing the maximum number of concurrent transfers to a lower number, such as 1 or 2.
Check firewall settings: Ensure that there are no firewall settings on your server or client-side that could be blocking or throttling SFTP connections. On Ubuntu, you can check the ‘ufw’ status with sudo ufw status and the ‘iptables’ rules with sudo iptables -L.
Restart SSH service: Restart the SSH service on your Ubuntu server by running sudo systemctl restart ssh.

If you still face issues after trying these steps, also make sure to check out the status page here for any ongoing problems:

https://status.digitalocean.com/

Best,

Bobby

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Network error: Software caused connection abort, File transfer failed

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