ftpshut - close down the ftp servers at a given time

ftpshut [ -V ] [ -l min] [ -d min] time [ warning-message ... ]

The ftpshut command provides an automated shutdown procedure that a superuser can use to notify ftp users when the ftp server is shutting down.

The -V option causes the program to display copyright and version information, then terminate.

The time is the time at which ftpshut will bring the ftp servers down. It may be the word `now', indicating an immediate shutdown, or specify a future time in one of two formats: + number or HHMM. The first form brings the ftp servers down in number minutes. The second brings the ftp servers down at the time of day indicated, using a 24-hour clock format.

Ten minutes before shutdown, or immediately if ftpshut is timed for less than ten minutes, new ftp access will be disabled. This time may be adjusted through the -l flag.

Five minutes before shutdown, or immediately if ftpshut is timed for less than five minutes, all current ftp connections will be disconnected. This time may be adjusted through the -d flag.

The [ warning-message ... ] will be formatted to be 75 characters wide. ftpshut knows about the actual string length of the magic cookies.

Running this command will create a file that the server will use to determine when to shutdown. Once the shutdown has occured, the server will continue to refuse connections until this file is removed. The location of this file is specified by the shutdown stanza in the ftpaccess file.

The following magic cookies are available:

    Cookie      Description
      %s      time system is going to shut down
      %r      time new connections will be denied
      %d      time current connections will be dropped
      %C      current working directory
      %E      the maintainer's email address as defined in ftpaccess
      %F      free space in partition of CWD (kbytes)
              [not currently supported on all systems]
      %L      local host name
      %M      maximum allowed number of users in this class
      %N      current number of users in this class
      %R      remote host name
      %T      local time (form Thu Nov 15 17:12:42 1990)
      %U      username given at login time

You can kill the servers only between now and 23:59, if you use the absolute time.

shutdown(1), ftpaccess(5), ftprestart(8)