What are the basic steps to set up an FTP server?

Question

I have been trying to setup an ftp server in windows XP. I would like to know about its configuration. What domain/Ip should I use, so that other system on internet can connect to it. Please provide detail steps so that I would easily do this.

Answer 1

First, understand that this is not a simple process and you will need to learn some technical details to make it work.

You would need to:

• purchase a domain name (e.g. godaddy.com) or use one of the 'free sub-domain name' services

• if you have a static IP address, configure the domain to use that IP

• if you have a dynamic IP address, first check that your ISP service agreement permits FTP servers to be run. If so, use one of the dynamic IP DNS services (e.g. dtdns.com) to keep your IP synchronized with your domain name

• configure your router to pass incoming traffic on port 21 to the LAN address of the machine (enter 'ipconfig' in the command window to find your LAN IP -- note that you may need to configure the router so that this IP does not change e.g. on reboot)

• configure your Windows firewall similarly (to pass traffic on port 21)

• if your users are behind firewalls, you may need to configure the router for other ports as well (see the documentation on the FTP server you selected for more information)

• for testing, first try connecting to the FTP server on the same machine as the server (e.g. ftp 127.0.0.1). Then, try connecting from another machine on the LAN to the server IP address. Lastly, connect from the internet. If the last test fails, the router may not be configured properly.

This is probably more than you wanted to know...

Answer 2

This would probably belong on superuser.com, but in the mean time, here are the things you will need to consider.

• NAT routing - As a home user, you are probably behind a DSL or cable modem, or other router that will need to have NAT configured for port forwarding. You'll want to forward port 21 from your public IP address to your private, internal IP address.

• Software Setup - There are a ton of FTP server packages for Windows, each of which has its own configuration and setup. Essentially you will want to refer to the documentation that comes with your FTP server software on its settings for security, user accounts, quotas, etc.

• Firewall - If you have the Windows firewall enabled, you will need to add an exception for incoming FTP connections on port 21.

• DNS - If you want to make your server available to the public, you could give users your public IP address (go to www.whatismyip.com to see it). You will probably be better served by a static hostname from a dynamic DNS service such as DynDNS.com or DtDNS.com. They will give you a small piece of software that will track your IP address and update a DNS name for you automatically if it changes. This will allow you to give out the hostname instead of the IP.

Answer 3

Ok, I am assuming that you want to host a FTP server from your home network link for whatever reason.

• Look at freeFTPd.org for a Windows based server.
• Look at DynDNS and OpenDNS to get the dynamic IP you get from your broadband/dialup associated to any domain name you might have reserved.