How to set up your own FTP server

Post by **Andy** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:30 am

Step 1 - Know your broadband speed and bandwidth limits.

Before you even think of setting up an FTP server, you need to know if your broadband is up to the job. A slow 256Kbps download and 128Kbps upload connection will not do the job. The faster the upload is the better, and 99% of the time it is a lot lower than your download speed.

To find out what your upload speed is, you should either ask your ISP, or do a speedtest from www.speedtest.net. It might be worth doing several tests from different locations to get an average result.

Idealy you need an upload of 386Kbps or higher to have a good chance of success running your own server.

You also need an unlimited download package. Without it you can quickly use up your monthly allowance, and you may even be faced with a large overage bill if you go over the limit.

Once you know your broadband speed and bandwidth limits, move on to step 2.

Step 2 - Does your ISP allow servers?

Something else you should know before running a server is if your ISP allows the running of servers. Look in the TOS/AUP on their site to see if it mentions anything about it. If it doesnt mention anything it is usually safe to assume they do not mind the running of servers providing you keep within their AUP conditions.

Step 3 - Do you have a router?

If you have a router then you will need to setup a feature known as port forwarding. If you have no router move on to the next step, but if you do, complete this step.

You will need to logon to your router to do this step. You can find out how in the manual or you can go to www.portforward.com and find your router there. It will explain how to do it.

You need to forward port 21 at the least and also some other ports for Passive Mode on the FTP server when we install it.

Simple port fowarding tutorial: http://www.abyssunderground.co.uk/route ... arding.php

Simple static LAN IP tutorial: http://www.abyssunderground.co.uk/route ... clanip.php

Step 4 - Do you have a firewall?

The answer to this one is likely to be yes, so we need to set it up to allow the FTP connections. You will need to configure your software to allow the ports 21 and any ports you set up for passive mode on your FTP server.

You can find out how to do this in the help section of your software. If it is windows firewall then it is very simple to set up and it is mostly self explanatory.

Step 5 - The FTP software.

You need to go to http://sourceforge.net/project/showfile ... p_id=21558 and download the FileZilla FTP Server software. Install it as you would any other program and login to the FileZilla interface on localhost/127.0.0.1. This should be the default.

This page from my other website may help you to set up the software: http://www.abyssunderground.co.uk/insta ... ezilla.php

You now need to go into user settings and set up some users. I suggest using two different users for downloads and uploads. These should also go into seperate folders. File permissions for download should be the read only options only. Upload will require all permissions but you might want to disable delete if you feel users may abuse this feature.

From the link above you may want to download the FileZilla FTP Client as well so you can use this to connect to the server for testing.

Step 6 - The testing.

Now you have the server set up, you will need to ask someone to test it properly for you. Its almost impossible to tell if other people on the web can see it by testing it yourself. Get a friend who you trust to try it for you. Also get them to upload and download something to check that is working.

You can get your IP Address from: www.abyssunderground.co.uk/ip

If you get errors, tell the person testing it for you to enable or disable Passive mode in their client. A lot of the time it will only work either on or off, not both. This is the case when using residential broadband connections for FTP servers.

Step 7 - Have a dynamic IP address? Get around it with no-ip.com.

If your broadband has a dynamic IP address, which I can be almost sure it does, then you need to go to www.no-ip.com and get yourself a static dns address, and their client which you install to update your IP address to the domain name. It sounds complicated but its quite straight forward to use.

1. Register and make a dns name for yourself.
2. Download the client software from their download page and install it.
3. Set up the software to log into your account. Tick the name of your domain when it appears in the list.
4. Go into the programs options and set the check rate to 5 minutes instead of the default 30 minutes.
5. Thats it! Make sure the program loads whenever your computer is on to keep the IP updated.

Step 8 - Having problems?

If you're having problems with this tutorial, post in this thread and Ill see what I can do to help you.

If anyone notices anything I may have missed on this tutorial please let me know.

Post by **ppc_digger** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:27 pm

The TYPSoft FTP server is IMO much simpler than the FileZilla Server, and would be better for people new to FTP serving.

Post by **Andy** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:34 am

Actually FileZilla is very easy to set up with just a few clicks. The tutorial was also written by me on the link so it should be easy to follow.

Post by **Gnome** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:52 am

what if you have a web server set up then what
how will people know about it exept from here

Post by **Andy** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:12 am

This is for people who want to set up servers themselves instead of just using them.

And correct your grammar again or Ill start removing your posts.

Post by **Gnome** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:19 am

whoops

Post by **empireum** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:20 am

Nice tutorial, you could maybe add the fact that FileZilla Server is the way to go if you use Windows. If you use other OSes, there are other ftp servers such as proftpd or lukemftpd (comes with Mac OS X).

Post by **Andy** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:22 am

FileZilla is available for other OS's isnt it? Never checked to be honest but yes, it is recommended for windows.

Post by **empireum** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:23 am

I checked, at least FileZilla Server is only available for Windows.

Post by **ppc_digger** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:04 am

The new version of the server already runs on both Linux and Mac OS X (but it's still beta). I've never used FileZilla Server on Linux. though. I use vsftpd (which is also easy to configure, as the config file is well documented, so you just edit the default one to your liking).

Post by **Gnome** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:17 am

Shouldent this be un tut`s?

Post by **Andy** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:32 am

toshua123 wrote:Shouldent this be un tut`s?

Probably but its server related so its fine here. If I could duplicate topics I would...

Post by **Gnome** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:29 am

random guess
move and leave a shadow?

Post by **Andy** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:30 am

toshua123 wrote:random guess
move and leave a shadow?

Could do that I suppose.

Post by **Jeff** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:33 am

The tutorial is good, however I didn't need it to install one. What should I vote?

Post by **empireum** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:39 am

Jeff wrote:The tutorial is good, however I didn't need it to install one. What should I vote?

I'd say "No" because actually the tutorial didn't help you

Post by **Jeff** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:12 am

empireum wrote:
Jeff wrote:The tutorial is good, however I didn't need it to install one. What should I vote?
I'd say "No" because actually the tutorial didn't help you

K, that will be my vote!

Post by **rip_noob** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:31 pm

Very good guide.Been looking for one to create my own ftp server.THX

Post by **Neon Lemmy Koop** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 1:24 am

great guide. now I can make a movie server

Post by **The Distractor** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:47 pm

To test your server you can also use the G6 Online Test here.

Post by **Leon** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:20 am

Yeah, You can use G6 FTP Server too, its really professional like, it makes you feel special Of course.. you will have to "buy" it... hehehe

Post by **Cursed** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:54 pm

I'd probably have a shot at this, but my internet has a frankly terrible upload speed. Shame really

Post by **Rob Jansen** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:13 pm

Cursed wrote:I'd probably have a shot at this, but my internet has a frankly terrible upload speed. Shame really

I would advise against running an FTP from a home (or if that home has less then 512KB/s upload, real upload like downloading something at 900KB/s) otherwise if 2 persons get on it, each get about 256KB/s, and devide it again in to 4/8/16/32.

But you can off-course if you like, but then limit the use connections and maximum of users.

Post by **Cursed** » Fri Nov 07, 2008 6:52 pm

I would advise against running an FTP from a home (or if that home has less then 512KB/s upload, real upload like downloading something at 900KB/s) otherwise if 2 persons get on it, each get about 256KB/s, and devide it again in to 4/8/16/32.

But you can off-course if you like, but then limit the use connections and maximum of users.

[/quote]

I wasn't planning on having an FTP server. I don't really have anything of interest for the public, and for data storage I had an external hard drive + the use of spare machines.[/quote]

Post by **maraczil** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:59 pm

Simple, good guide!

How to set up your own FTP server

Did this tutorial help you get an FTP server working?

How to set up your own FTP server