IBM Support

IBM AIX : Telnet and Ftp fails with "ksh: telnet: not found" and "ksh: ftp: not found"

How To


Summary

Beginning with AIX 7.3, some of the former bundle offerings no longer exists, due to the security concerns. The below set of bos.net.tcp filesets are not installed by default.
bos.net.tcp.ftp
bos.net.tcp.ftpd
bos.net.tcp.telnet
bos.net.tcp.telnetd

Objective

Upon upgrading the AIX to version 7.3, the telnet and ftp to fails due<destination_server_IP> fails due to the fact that telnet and ftp filesets are not found on host system.

The bos.net.tcp.ftp and bos.net.tcp.telnet filesets are not installed on the system.

# telnet <remote IP address> <port number>
ksh: telnet: not found.
 
# ftp <remote IP address>
ksh: ftp: not found.

Environment

AIX 7.3

Steps

For the Telnet and FTP to function on AIX 7.3, please install the required filesets - bos.net.tcp.telnet, bos.net.tcp.telnetd, bos.net.tcp.ftp, and bos.net.tcp.ftpd.

You can download the required filesets from the base DVD images of 7.3, which would be already present in your server.
For example, on the server netlab178, images are in the below path:-
(1)[netlab178] /730images/base/LK4T-1842-03/installp/ppc
#  ls -la |grep telnet
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     system       245760 Apr 28 2023  bos.net.tcp.telnet.7.3.0.0.I
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     system        95232 Apr 28 2023  bos.net.tcp.telnetd.7.3.0.0.I

(0)[netlab178] /730images/base/LK4T-1842-03/installp/ppc
# ls -la |grep  ftp
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     system       257024 Apr 28 2023  bos.net.tcp.ftp.7.3.0.0.I
-rwxr-xr-x    1 root     system       243968 Apr 28 2023  bos.net.tcp.ftpd.7.3.1.0.I

If you do not have base DVD image for AIX 7.3, please do download the base DVD - 7.3 from the ESS Site.
=================================================================
To download the Base Image of 7.3:
-Please go to our Entitled Software Support website: http://www-304.ibm.com/servers/eserver/ess/index.wss
-Procedure: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/downloading-aix-iso-specific-oslevel
-Once, you have the iso image, please transfer it to the server via winscp or any other method. You can loopmount the iso image and then install the required filesets.

Now the telnet and ftp should work as expected.

Related Information

AIX 73 Release Notes

Document Location

Worldwide

SUPPORT:

If you require more assistance, use the following step-by-step instructions to contact IBM to open a case for software with an active and valid support contract.  

1. Document (or collect screen captures of) all symptoms, errors, and messages related to your issue.

2. Capture any logs or data relevant to the situation.

3. Contact IBM to open a case:

   -For electronic support, see the IBM Support Community:
     https://www.ibm.com/mysupport
   -If you require telephone support, see the web page:
      https://www.ibm.com/planetwide/

4. Provide a clear, concise description of the issue.

 - For more information, see: Working with IBM AIX Support: Describing the problem.

5. If the system is accessible, collect a system snap, and upload all of the details and data for your case.

 - For more information, see: Working with IBM AIX Support: Collecting snap data

 

[{"Type":"MASTER","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB08","label":"Cognitive Systems"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SWG10","label":"AIX"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m0z000000cvxSAAQ","label":"Communication Applications-\u003ENTP\/TIMED"}],"ARM Case Number":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"}],"Version":"7.3.0"}]

Document Information

Modified date:
03 April 2026

UID

ibm17268119

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