Listing of a directory with more than 20000 files via FTP takes a long time

Symptoms

• When listing a directory with more than 20000 files in it via FTP, it takes more than 2 minutes to complete.

• ProFTPd version 1.3.6 is installed:

  # proftpd -v
  ProFTPD Version 1.3.6

Possible consequences

• High CPU usage 100% maybe observed on the server.

Cause

This is caused by ProFTPD bug/issue described in upstream bug #863 and ProFTPd bug 4360

The issue is also registered as a Plesk bug with ID PPPM-9486, to track down when the issue will be resolved on ProFTPd side

Note: Consider subscribing to this article in order to get notified when the fix is released or check for the ID in our changelog

Resolution

As a workaround, setup the following additional configuration file:

1. Connect to the server via SSH

2. Create the following file:

   # touch /etc/proftpd.d/70-disable-fs-cache.conf

3. Add the following text:

   FSCachePolicy off

4. Restart the service:

   # service xinetd restart