Answered FTP on Lab plans?

We will not be allowing SSH on Lab plans for security reasons - allowing SSH access to people who can signup and immediately start running malignant processes on hosting accounts is not a smart idea.

We are looking into ways of allowing FTP only for Lab Accounts. This is going to take a bit to develop however, so we would appreciate patience.

I think this is related to a more generic issue of Cloud (even paid plans) lacking standard features that to a lamen it seems like are supported because of all the Cloud-specific features being marketed. For example, if you look at MODX Cloud websites and read about snapshots and backups and all this automation, it's a smart fancy server that can obviously tell time.

But it doesn't support CRON, or any sort of scheduling features to do things like run a script of yours every so often.

JP,

We understand. Let's clear up some FUD though - Lab Accounts only have two restrictions currently - they will only get 1 daily backup as opposed to the last 7, and they will not get SSH/SFTP (like I said, we're working on FTP). Lab Accounts still get all the snapshot ability, backups, automation, etc.

CRON is a known feature request that we are working on. We have lots on our plate, and lots to build, and CRON is on the list. All in good time.

Quote from: rethrash at Mar 06, 2013, 03:16 PM

I just confirmed this with the team responsible for Cloud. It is intended and a limitation they've put into place.

Why??

Ah. That makes sense. FTP is, indeed, a totally different server than SSH/SFTP, and SFTP is a lot harder to "sandbox" than FTP is. I can see not providing cron or some other more chancy options for these free accounts, it's just that no file management at all (except for what the Manager provides) was a bit over the top.

So maybe actually coming up with a file manager extension that allows multiple file uploads (similar to Gallery's) and/or an unzip function would be a better choice than fussing around with an FTP server.

That makes sense. Maybe FTP only will be a good medium considering to get SSH access on any other host it's not free, but pay now backed with some sort of 30 day trial.

Quote from: splittingred at Mar 06, 2013, 04:16 PM

We will not be allowing SSH on Lab plans for security reasons - allowing SSH access to people who can signup and immediately start running malignant processes on hosting accounts is not a smart idea.

We are looking into ways of allowing FTP only for Lab Accounts. This is going to take a bit to develop however, so we would appreciate patience.

To add another thought, maybe the announcement of these Lab accounts should be edited to mention this limitation. Otherwise, as the several posts already on the forums illustrates, it can come as something of a shock.

Thank you for all your feedback. As Shaun mentioned, we have specific reasons for withholding certain features. Our goal with the Lab account is to provide a 'sandbox' for new and existing MODX'rs to test Cloud and learn the CMS too, and take their time to learn the processes and functionality in the Dashboard. We cannot afford at this time to provide a fully featured solution for free. However, we understand the specific requirements around file uploads and the team are looking at what we can do to release this feature without causing security concerns to the platform itself.

For those interested in trialling a fully featured cloud, would having the choice between a Lab account AND a free trial on the Standard or Professional plan be more interesting?

I'm a happy Professional Plan Cloud member myself so I can't really say, but my thoughts are more along the lines of for students. How much of a deal breaker no SSH would be to them I'm not sure, but these kids are pretty crafty these days!

Quote from: jbohanpitt at Mar 06, 2013, 04:38 PM

Thank you for all your feedback. As Shaun mentioned, we have specific reasons for withholding certain features. Our goal with the Lab account is to provide a 'sandbox' for new and existing MODX'rs to test Cloud and learn the CMS too, and take their time to learn the processes and functionality in the Dashboard. We cannot afford at this time to provide a fully featured solution for free. However, we understand the specific requirements around file uploads and the team are looking at what we can do to release this feature without causing security concerns to the platform itself.

For those interested in trialling a fully featured cloud, would having the choice between a Lab account AND a free trial on the Standard or Professional plan be more interesting?

Thanks JP. We also know it will be attractive for Students and I am confident there is a middle ground here that we will resolve in time.