Introduction to FTP Server
In current times if you want to transfer a file to a friend, you can just attach it in an
email and send it off. With high speed bandwidth being so cheap and plentiful to the
home user, transferring a file in this manner is usually more than adequate. What if
you needed to transfer the file to someone immediately; there could be no delays, it
has to be fast, and the files you are transferring may be very large. In a scenario like
this, email will most likely not be adequate. This is because most email providers
limit the size of your mailbox on their servers, the size of attachments you may
receive, and that there is no guarantee when you send email how long it will take for
the recipient to receive it or if it will even get there. This is where FTP comes in.
What is FTP
FTP stands for the File transfer protocol and is used to transfer files between an FTP
server and another computer. In the past, FTP was much more common than it is
today and was the dominant file transfer mechanism on the Internet. If you needed to
transfer files between two computers, you would use FTP to do so. FTP is still very
popular today when a service requires that a lot of files be hosted for other to people
to download. FTP also tends to be faster than other contemporary methods of
transferring files because it was designed to do so.
Even more important, FTP support Automatic Resume. This means that if you are
downloading the latest new game demo that is over 600 megs, and for some reason
the download stops in the middle of the transfer, the ftp client will attempt to on the
next download of the same file, to continue from where you left off. This feature can
save you a huge amount of time but is generally only found in specialized FTP client
software and not in your browser software.
How to Connect to an FTP Server
There are two approaches to allowing users to connect to an FTP Server. The first is
to make it so anyone can log in anonymously, otherwise known as anonymous FTP,
or you can assign user names and passwords to people that they must use to log in to
the server.
The two most common ways to connect to an FTP server is with your Web Browser
or with a FTP client such as FileZilla. To connect to a FTP server with your browser
you would prefix the hostname you are connecting to with the ftp:// protocol
statement. For example, ftp://www.bleepingcomputer.com. It would then try to
connect anonymously. If the server you are trying to connect to requires a username
and password, you can do so in the following format:
ftp://username:password@ftp.somedomain.com
It is recommended when you do connect with a username and a password that you
do not put the password in as well, otherwise it will show up in your browser's
history. Instead do this:
ftp://username@ftp.somedomain.com
This way your browser will prompt you for a password and you do not have to worry
about it being stored in your history list, which can potentially be a security risk.
The other method is to use a FTP client that is designed specifically to connect to
FTP servers. These types of software are generally the best as they have been
streamlined for speed and support a lot of the advanced features like automatic
resume. You should browse through the list of FTP Clients and find one you like.
How to Transfer Files
Whether you are connected to an FTP server via your web browser or an FTP client,
you will be presented with a list of folders and documents that have files you can
download to your computer. If you are using a web browser, you will click on the
file you would like to download and it will prompt you to save it or open it. Unless
you really know what it is you are downloading, you should save it to a directory that
you will know how to find later, and open it from there.
If you are using an FTP Client, you will be presented a list of the files that you can
download. You should first specify where you would like downloads to save to, and
then you can double click on the file to start the download. When you are done
downloading, you can shut the FTP client and open the file from where it was stored.
Instalation of Windows Server 2008 R2
First of all install Windows Server 2008 R2 on your computer. Microsoft Windows
Server 2008 R2, built with Web and virtualization technologies, is the most
robust, secure, and reliable foundation on which to develop, deliver, and
manage rich user experiences and applications.
Overview
Windows Server 2008 R2, builds on the award-winning foundation of
Windows Server 2008, expanding existing technology and adding new
features to enable IT professionals to increase the reliability and flexibility
of their server infrastructures. New virtualization tools, Web resources,
management enhancements, and exciting Windows 7 integration help save
time, reduce costs, and provide a platform for a dynamic and efficiently
managed data center. Powerful tools such as Internet Information Services
(IIS) version 7.0, updated Server Manager and Hyper-V™ platforms.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware Requirements
Before investing time and resources into downloading and installing Windows
Server 2008 R2, an important first step is to gain an appreciation of the hardware
requirements necessary to effectively run the operating system. The following table
provides an overview of Microsoft's recommended minimum hardware
requirements:
Category Minimum / Recommended Requirements
Processor • Minimum: 1.4GHz (x64 processor)
• Recommended: 2GHz or faster
Note: For Itanium based systems an Intel Itanium 2 processor is required.
Memory • Minimum: 512MB RAM
• Recommended: 2GB RAM or greater
• Maximum (32-bit systems): 4GB (Standard) or 64GB (Enterprise and
Datacenter)
• Maximum: 8GB (Foundation) 32GB (Standard) or 2TB (Enterprise,
Datacenter and Itanium-Based Systems)
Available Disk • Minimum: 10GB
Space • Recommended: 40GB or greater
Note: Systems with RAM in excess of 16GB will require greater amounts of
disk space to accommodate paging, hibernation, and dump files
Drive DVD-ROM drive
Display and • Super VGA or greater-resolution monitor (800x600)
Peripherals • Keyboard
• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
As with the specified system requirements for all Windows systems, it is best to aim
for the Recommended values rather than the Minimum values to ensure acceptable
levels of performance. For example, whilst it is possible to run Windows Server
2008 R2 in 512MB of RAM it is unlikely that performance levels will be optimal
with such a configuration.
Configure IP Address
First of all we configure the IP address of our server. To do this first of all click
on the START button in your windows server.
And then click on the control panel.
When control panel open. Click on the Network and sharing center in your
control panel.
When you click on the Network and sharing center a new window will
open. In this click on the Manage network connections.
Then a new window will open, here you will see the Local Area Connection
(LAN).
Then right click on the Local Area Connection (LAN) form your mouse and
click on the properties of LAN.
Then the properties of LAN open. Here double click on the TCP/IPv4 and a
new window opens.
In this window there are two options
1. Obtain an IP address automatically
2. Use the following IP address
Click on the 2nd option which is for manual IP address. Set the new IP
address for your server.
And then click on OK to apply changes.
Your IP has been configured.
.
Steps to creating ftp server.
Now first of all click on the start button, and then go to Administrative
Tools.
After clicking on the Administrative Tools, many tools will open, click on the
Server Manager.
In the Server Manager hierarchy pane, Click on the Roles.
In the Role Services section, click Add Role Services. To add the roles in server
manager.
After clicking on the Add Role Services, a new window will open. Here click on
the NEXT button.
Here click on the Web Server (IIS).
Click Next.
On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install.
On the Results page, click Close.
The roles are added.
.
Now necessary roles are added.
In the Server Manager Hierarchy pane, expand Roles
And then click Web Server (IIS) and expand it.
Now click on the Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager. And here
click on the connection icon; here click on the Connect to a site option, to
create a new FTP site.
And then add a new FTP site. And name it as u want. Here we named it
KCFTP.
Now expand the KCFTP. And you will see three options in it.
From the three options now click on the FTP sites.
When you click on the FTP sites, you see an option Click here to launch on
the right side.
Click on it.
Then a new window will open and you see the local computer option and
your site name.
Expand it further.
When you expand the KCFTP (local computer), you see a new option
FTP Sites, Expand the FTP Sites.
.
Then here you see the FTP sites.
Now click on the KC ftp site.
Then right click on the KC from your mouse, and go to its properties.
Then the properties will open. Now here you can set the home directory of
your FTP site. Which can client access.
To do this click on the Home directory tab and set your home directory.
And then press OK button to apply changes.
Permissions to the users
Now your ftp server is almost ready. You can set permissions to the user for
access.
To do this again right click on the KC from your mouse, and then go to the
Permissions.
Here u can set the permissions to the users. To do this click on the user
name for which you want to edit or set permissions and the click on the EDIT
button at the right side.
After clicking on the EDIT button you will see the permission types below,
that are.
Full Control
Modify
Read & Execute
List folder contents
Read
These all are the permission which u can set for your users.
When you click on the Full control, your user can get full control, means they
can edit, they can read, write, modify.
And then press Ok button to save changes.
Now your FTP server is ready, now you can transfer the files to the clients,
which are connected to your server.
You can transfer the files with Filezilla software.
Client Side
Here is client side to get the files from the server. To do this You can use the
Filezilla software as I mention above, but if you u don’t have filezlla you can
use another method.
First of all open the My computer on the client side computer.
And then in the address bar write “ftp:// ip address of your server”.
For example ftp://192.168.4.18 and press enter.
You will get the home directory of your server computer which you set above.
Steps.
Now you can you can transfer files to the clients and clients can acces those
files and use them according to their permissions.