Setting Up Your Own FTP Server:
For starters, you have to be ready for starting a server. It is sometimes not an easy task at all, but it can be a very rewarding experience. As a server things are different than when you were just a user on another FTP. This is a decision you should put some thought into.
Putting together a FTP server is relatively easy, but running one is another thing all together. So I’m gonna give a few tips on what I’ve learned over the course of 10 years of running a FTP server myself. Hopefully you will benefit from my experience in the meantime.
Putting Together An FTP Server:
1) First use a program for the server that is stable and gives you less headache in the end. I suggest Bulletproof G6 FTP server Version 2.15 or higher. Its the best server program that I have found in my 10 years to use for running an FTP. If you are running Windows 7 you will need to find a more recent version of the BulletProof G6 Server. With this program you can use periods in your file names and the files will still be allowed to be downloaded by your users. With most other programs you are screwed in that department and its a big headache to go and rename everything that has dots in it so users can download the file. For Example: You have a folder on your FTP called "I.D.E." with other FTP programs your users WILL NOT be able to download from that folder because of the periods, but with this program they will have no problems getting the files they want in the end. You can find this program with most FTP servers out there and I have a copy if you need it.
2) Getting your files together: A big part of running an FTP is knowing what files you want to offer for your users. There are all kinds of things out there that you can offer for other people. Your best bet is to choose things that others may not have on their FTP servers. This will ensure you some new users at all times and keep them interested. If they see the same files all the time then they get bored with your FTP and move on. If you don’t have alot of files to offer for download then put what you have, you will be amazed on how fast it grows once you get the server in place and people start logging in and uploading stuff to you.
You need to make a decision as to what kind of server you are going to run. If you want a mixture then make sure you put a good mixture of stuff on your hard drive(s) for others to download. And I can’t stress enough to make sure you put things online that may be hard to find on your average FTP server. There are tons of FTP servers with the same old stuff on them.
The important thing is that you decide what you are going to have online BEFORE you start your own server. You need to be somewhat organized going into the server game, because an unorganized server confuses other people and they will be less likely to deal with that in the end.
Get all the files you want to serve on your hard drive(s). A really good way to set it up to where you’re other files are not shown that you don’t want people to see when they log in is to have a folder set aside for your server on a pretty blank hard drive or area in your hard drive. For example: my server was named "FTPServer" so I had a folder on my main drive (because I have 4 drives) called [[FTPSERVER]] and I put all my files INSIDE that folder that I would serve off that particular drive. That was my main drive, the drive that you see when you log in first thing. By creating a folder to put your files into for your server you will eliminate the possibilities of your "hidden" files showing to someone when they login to your server, which is a dangerous thing to show the public. It leaves your PC and server venerable to outside attack or hackers. The best thing to do is come up with a name for your server and then name the folder that and put your files inside.
Coming up with a name for your server: This is important, mainly because you want to pick something catchy that people will take interest in. Come up with your own name based on what you are serving.
3) Getting a no-ip address for your server: After you have come up with a name for your server its important to get a no-ip address. There are several reasons for this. a) If you have a IP Address that changes every time you reboot, it can be a BIG pain in the ass to tell your users every time you reboot what your new IP address is. b) It will stick in the minds of your users if you have picked a catchy server name. c) It just plain easier in the long run.
For those of you who have IP Addresses that change frequently or when you reboot:
Get a DNS updater THAT WORKS! and is reliable. I have found in my experience that MOST of them DO NOT work! Your best bet is to go to no-ip.com when your IP Address changes and change it manually, that way you KNOW it works. Nothing is more annoying than trying to log into a server that is down because the DNS updater did not do its job!
Setting up a no-ip address:
a) Go to http://www.no-ip.com and sign up for your account. This is a completely FREE service and requires you to do nothing on the account after its set up unless something changes with your IP address or any other information on your server.
b) After you sign up log in to your account and choose "Hosts & Redirects" then choose "Add".
c) Where it says host name, put your newly picked server name in.
d) Pick what ending you want; no-ip.com, no-ip.info, myftp.org, etc. Whichever one you want to be at the end of your server name.
e) Check to make sure the IP Address is correct. If not change it to the correct Ip address or add your IP address in the box.
f) Then click "Create Host"
g) You should see a page that says it will take up to 5 minutes for the host to work.
Setting up the FTP server program:
a) Install the program to your C drive. Allow it to install to the default drive, DO NOT install it to another drive. This may cause you severe problems in the future if you install to another drive other than the one the program wants to run from.
b) After installation of the program, close it out and then move the registration key to the Programs Folder where the Bulletproof G6 folder is.
c) Double click on the registration key and it will ask you if you want it to change your registry. Tell it YES. Then close out the folder and open Bulletproof G6 from the start menu, a desktop icon, or the task bar below.
d) Now you are ready to modify your G6 program to your server needs.
Setting Up The Server Itself:
a) Open the program up.
b) Click on "Setup" on the top menu then choose "Main" then choose "General"
c) On the General Tab: Put your server name in the box that asks for the server name. This name will show when your users login to your server so they know where they are. Most people download from more than one FTP at a time and this makes it easier for your user to know who’s server they are looking at.
d) Under connection: Where it says "listen on Port Number" you can either leave it at the default port 21 or create your own port. Port 21 is the standard port that most FTP servers run, but if you want to be not as easy to track then use another port number instead of 21. You can use a program to determine what ports are open on your machine or just try some ports and see if they work. Where it says "Max number of users" make it 4 or 6. That is probably the best way to do it. Any more and it cuts down on bandwidth for all users any less and people get annoyed when they cannot login on a constant basis. NOTE: IT IS IMPORTANT TO SET SOME SORT OF NUMBER THERE, IF NOT THEN EVERYONE CAN LOGIN AND YOU WILL HAVE ZERO BANDWIDTH!
e) Under System: Check the following boxes: Launch with windows (9x version only) [This will only work with windows 95 & 98, so if you are running the OS 95 or 98 then check this box], Activate FTP server on start up, put into tray on startup, allow multiple instances [only check this if you plan on using more than one server at the same time], show "loading" status at start up, scan drives at start up, confirm exit.
f) Now click on the options tab to the left.
g) Under Server Options: Check the following boxes: Protect FTP server directory, and sub directories (right next to the first one), Encrypt account passwords, Login check, & Show Pre-Logins. You ALWAYS encrypt the password, this will keep your users passwords safe from the public. You can refrain from checking "Login Check", but I do not recommend it because this allows for the case sensitive option. It makes the login and password case sensitive and this will also further your protection of your accounts from outsiders.
h) Under IP Options: This is totally up to you on what you check here. i will explain what these things mean. "Refuse multiple connections from the same IP" = this means if you check it your server WILL NOT allow more than one connection from the same IP address. Its best to check this when you have MANY users on your FTP so you allow everyone to get a shot at getting online and doing what they want to do. "blocked banned IP instead of notifying user" = this means your server will block their IP address if they are banned from your server. "Resolve hostname", I’ve personally NEVER checked this box.
i) Now click on Stat Generator to the left: Use this option only if you want the program to keep up with stats on your FTP. I’ve always used it because if you have ratio accounts then it will keep up with them. Click enable Stat Generator and click every box of your users once you get them on your server.
j) Now Click OK.
6) Setting up Accounts for your server:
a) Click Setup at the top menu and then choose Group accounts. Its best to set up a group account even if you don’t have many users and you don’t have many group accounts. Choosing Groups Accounts will open a new box.
b) Right click inside the Group Accounts box and choose "Add"
c) Give the account a name
d) In the Access Rights box right click and choose "Add" – add your folder you made for your server first, this will be your Group Home Directory. Make sure you pick your main folder for this and pick that folder ONLY.
e) To the side of the Access Rights, click once on the folder you just added and you will see the check marks come up to the side. Make sure the following are checked: Under Files ;Read, Append, Under Directories; List, +Subdirs
f) Now click on the Miscellaneous Tab to the left.
g) under Misc Setup make sure the following boxes are checked: Enable Account, Enable Time Out, Max Number of Connections (only if you are limiting the number of times one user can connect from one IP address), Under Files: Show relative path (only if you have one hard drive you are sharing on your server), Allow NOOP Command, (only if you want to allow this command)
h) If you are setting up a server with multiple hard drives click the Links & Messages tab to the left.
i) Under Virtual File System: Click the Links to add to directories box. then click treat as virtual directories, then click the add links from this file box and choose the file you are adding the links from.
j) The links file is important that you get it correct. in order to not show the links directories in your server when people log in set up your links file this way: 1) make a new text document through windows, open the text file. Your text file should look similar to this when its done:
Drive 1 | I:\Drive 1
Drive 2 | H:\Drive 2
Drive 3| J:\Drive 3
Drive 4| K:\Drive 4
I will explain this: First the first part where it says Drive 1, that is what shows to the people that login to your server. The | I:/Drive 1 is the directory the link is pointing to. As you did with the one hard drive its best to do with all your hard drives, make a folder with the name of the stuff on that hard drive. So you must type it in this way:
My Drive (then a space) | (then another space) C:\My Drive (then hit enter for the next drive)
After you finish making this text file save it and call it "e_links" this name I found works the best. Put this text file in your G6 folder or where ever you want, just make sure that when you set up the groups you click the box and choose that file.
If you are adding more than one hard drive make sure to go back to the Setup tab in the Groups account box and add the hard drives you are using there by following the instructions above. Right click, choose add, and then click the read, append, list, & +subdirs boxes.
k) Setting up your uploads folder: On the Setup tab to the left click it and "Add" another – Choose your upload folder you wish for people to upload files to. This is still in the Groups Accounts box. Check the following boxes for upload folders: write, append, make, list, +subdirs. DO NOT check read! This will allow people to download from your upload folder and that’s a BIG pain in the ass! You may check the delete boxes if you want to, this allows your users to delete files out of the upload folder on their own, but its not recommended, because they could delete everything in your uploads folder if they get pissed off at you for some reason.
l) Now Click OK
m) Now click on Setup at the top menu and choose User Accounts.
n) in the box to the right, right click and choose "Add"
o) put in the new users nick name and click OK
p) Under Access Right click the box below that says "Use group as home directory"
q) Check the login, password and group name boxes under Setup.
r) in the password box highlight the password already there and delete it and put in the new password for your user.
s) Home IP should look like this: -=All IP Homes=-
t) Group name: pick the group you want this user to be a part of.
u) Click on the Miscellaneous Tab to the left: Check the following boxes: Enable Account, Enable Time-Out, you may check the other things depending upon if you want to or not.
v) If you are setting up a user who HAS to upload (they are going to be on a ratio account) then click the Ratio, Quota, Bps Tab to the left. Click the Enable Ratio box and choose what best suits you in the stuff below it. i recommend that you choose a 1:1 and then choose counts all bytes all sessions. This enables the person to keep a running count on all that they have uploaded and it doesn’t stop if they get disconnected for some reason. The most annoying thing in the world is to be on a ratio account that only counts the bytes each session and then get cut off for some reason and when you reconnect you have NO credit! That sucks! Now Click OK and you are done!
Its now time to test to see if you have set the server up correctly! Get your user to try and login at this point.
It is a good idea to set up an account for your self (if you are not on a router) so you can login to your account and see what your server will look like to others when they login.
Some Helpful Hints:
1) Make individual accounts for each user.
2) DO NOT allow anonymous access to your server! Anon access allows just anyone to login to you server and you don’t have alot of control on what they do when you are not there or what they do to your server period.
3) Make individual passwords for each user.
4) Make sure your server is organized and looks neat and easy to navigate.
Some Ideas On Organization Of Your Server:
1) Keep all like files together in one place, EX: , videos, programs, etc. And make folders for these files. (put all mp3 albums in the mp3 folder, put all programs in the programs folder etc.)
2) If you have alot of stuff, break everything down to separate folders for things such as: A, B, C, D, Etc. and then put all the bands that start with those letters in the corresponding folders.
3) Put all items into individual folders. Its annoying to have to wait forever for the folder to open up when there are files just scattered all over the place! For Example: The pathways should look basically like this:
My Drive/A/AC-DC/Back In Black
Its easier for people to find stuff that way. Each one is a separate folder inside the other.
4) DO NOT put links inside every fucking folder in your FTP, THIS SUCKS and is VERY ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!! Some servers think that since they cannot get people to upload to their server they should put a link to the uploads folder in every freaking folder on the FTP. The only thing this does is ANNOY the HELL out of the users! Because when you pick an entire directory to download, your FTP client does one or two things, either a) it downloads everything on the drive! or b) it won’t download anything and tell you that its not found and the user has to queue each files separately. This is HIGHLY ANNOYING!!! If you want people to upload to your server, PUT THEM ON A RATIO ACCOUNT!!!!
5) Set up rules of conduct on your FTP. This will be very important for you when you get alot of people on your FTP. This way your users know where they stand when they are on your server.
6) Put a text file on your server that has your contact info in case a user has a problem that needs to be attended to.
That’s about it! You are now ready to be a FTP server! Good luck and most of all Have Fun!
Helpful FTP Server Information Links:
Bulletproof G6: http://www.bpftpserver.com/
Serv-U FTP Server: http://www.serv-u.com/
Cerberus: http://www.cerberusftp.com/
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