Unless there is a specific binary RPM for your distribution, download the source RPM and build it: rpmbuild --rebuild proftpd-1.2.10-1.src.rpm. This will produce two installable RPMs: proftpd-1.2.10-1.i586.rpm, which contains the actual software, and proftpd-inetd-1.2.10-1.i586.rpm, which contains the support files for running ProFTPD from xinetd. The proftpd-inetd RPM is optional, and we will not cover it in this book. Install the main RPM after the build completes:

# rpm -ivh /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i586/proftpd-1.2.10-1.i586.rpm

The RPMs seem to be tailored for Red Hat, so if you use SUSE, you need to do a few adjustments. The rc script installs to /etc/rc.d/init.d/proftpd, which isn’t the right location on SUSE; also, the script itself will not work. Instead, use the following replacement script and copy it to /etc/rc.d/proftpd:

#!/bin/sh
#
# Startup script for ProFTPD
#
# chkconfig: 345 85 15
# description: ProFTPD is an enhanced FTP server with \
#         a focus toward simplicity, security, and ease of configuration. \
#         It features a very Apache-like configuration syntax, \
#         and a highly customizable server infrastructure, \
#         including support for multiple 'virtual' FTP servers, \
#         anonymous FTP, and permission-based directory visibility.
# processname: proftpd
# config: /etc/proftpd.conf

PROFTPD=/usr/sbin/proftpd
PATH="$PATH:/usr/sbin"

if [ -f /etc/sysconfig/proftpd ]; then
      . /etc/sysconfig/proftpd
fi

. /etc/rc.status
rc_reset

# See how we were called.
case "$1" in
  start)
    echo -n "Starting proftpd: "
    startproc $PROFTPD $OPTIONS
    rc_status -v
    ;;
  stop)
    echo -n "Shutting down proftpd: "
    killproc -TERM $PROFTPD
    rc_status -v
    ;;
  try-restart)
    $0 status
    if test $? = 0; then
      $0 restart
    else
      rc_reset  # Not running is not a failure.
    fi
    # Remember status and be quiet
    rc_status
    ;;
  status)
    checkproc $PROFTPD
    rc_status -v
    ;;
  restart)
    $0 stop
    $0 start
    rc_status
    ;;
  reload)
    echo -n "Re-reading proftpd config: "
    killproc -HUP $PROFTPD
    rc_status -v
    ;;
  suspend)
    hash ftpshut>/dev/null 2>&1
    if [ $? = 0 ]; then
      if [ $# -gt 1 ]; then
        shift
        echo -n "Suspending with '$*' "
        ftpshut $*
      else
        echo -n "Suspending NOW "
        ftpshut now "Maintanance in progress"
      fi
    else
      echo -n "No way to suspend "
    fi
    echo
    ;;
  resume)
    if [ -f /etc/shutmsg ]; then
      echo -n "Allowing sessions again "
      rm -f /etc/shutmsg
    else
      echo -n "Was not suspended "
    fi
    echo
    ;;
  *)
    echo -n "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart|try-restart|status|reload|resume"
    hash ftpshut
    if [ $? = 1 ]; then
      echo '}'
    else
      echo '|suspend}'
      echo 'suspend accepts additional arguments which are passed to ftpshut(8)'
    fi
    exit 1
esac
rc_exit

Of course, this could be fixed in a later version.

Download the tarball, unpack, configure, and build:

$ tar xfj proftpd-1.2.10.tar.bz2
$ cd proftpd-1.2.10
$ ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/packages/proftpd
$ make

Then, as root, run make install. This will install everything to /usr/local/ packages/proftpd/.