Your own ftp server

ary but this will have to be more than one topic it laggs up the browsers if u have it in one


STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR HOW TO SET UP YOUR OWN FTP SERVER USING SERV-U

I decided to make this guide because I was getting a lot of mails about how to set up a FTP server... So now... here it is... And please show a little gratitude for all the time I used, by joining the "Private FTP" section here on whereisit? when your server is up and running!
N'joy
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Content:

A bit of info!
Chapter/Post One - Find your LAN (Local Area Network IP)
Chapter/Post Two - Port forwarding
Chapter/Post Three - Choosing, downloading and installing the software
Chapter/Post Four - Start up the FTP server and create the first user by using the Wizard!
Chapter/Post Five - Virtual Path Mapping/Linking To Different Folders
Chapter/Post Six - Creating Groups and adding user to it
Chapter/Post Seven - Different User and Server Settings
Chapter/Post Eight - Creating Another User
Chapter/Post Nine - Making Private Upload Folders For Your Users
Chapter/Post Ten - Welcome/Login Messages
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Before you start, please think about a few things:

1. If you use a dial up modem you might as well leave right away!
2. Your FTP should be online as often and long as possible! (this means more than 3 hours a week)
3. A FTP will use A LOT of your upload bandwidth when a user is downloading from you!
To make your very own FTP Server is very very easy and can be done 100% free! This step-by-step guide will walk you through everything right from port forwarding (the hardest part) to the creation of a user on your FTP!
You properly won't understand the text on some of the pictures (print screens) since I'm Danish and my operating system is on Danish, but don't mind that.
A last piece of info before you start... When you gotta write something (like in Chapter One, part 5 and part 6) NEVER INCLUDE THE "" OR [] UNLESS TOLD TO!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Chapter One - Find your LAN (Local Area Network) IP


The first think you need to do is find out what your LAN IP is if you don't know that already. If you do know, skip this chapter!


1. Go to your desktop and right click on "My computer" and select "Properties" (If you don't have a shortcut on your desktop to "My Computer", then click "Start" and right click "My computer" there


2. Hit the "Computer Name" tab

3. This is the name of your computer (if you can't remember it, write it down)


4. Now close down that window so you're back at your desktop. Click "Start" and then click "Run"


5. Type in "cmd" and hit the "ok" button


6. Now you'll have a black window in front of you. Type: "ping [your computers name goes here]"


7. It will now execute the command and you'll be able to see your LAN IP! Your LAN IP is the 4 numbers shown right after "Answer from"! If you can't remember your LAN IP, write it down!

Chapter Two - Port forwarding


This is the hardest part, so make sure to read very carefully... Also, the pictures in this section is based on MY router so they might not look anything like what you get shown on your computer...
The router port and IP is as well based on MY router so typing in the exact same thing as me might not work.
To find out how to access your router (and maybe even how to port forward) look in the manual for your router or visit your ISP's (Internet Service Providers) webpage and search for "config [you routers name]" or "setup [your routers name]"... If you didn't get your router from your ISP, try visit the manufacture of your router's webpage and search there!


1. Open Internet Explorer and type: ht tp://[your ROUTERS IP goes here]:[your ROUTERS port goes here]
(REMOVE ALL SPACES FROM ABOVE!)

2. You'll now get a screen that looks like this where you gotta enter a username and a password. The username and password you gotta enter is the one you got from your ISP in a letter back when you got your internet connection! Enter the information and hit "ok"


3. From here on, the pictures might not look like what you have on your screen, but in general, it's the exact same things you gotta do! Click somewhere where it says "Firewall" or "NAT" - It's usually located under "Advanced Settings"!


4. Now, if it's available, select "SUA Only" and click "edit" - If that's not the case, try and find a place under your Firewall/NAT settings that reminds a bit of the picture below this one!


5. Now for the port forwarding itself. This will show you how to forward ports so PASV (passive mode) will be available on your FTP! I've written a little info about it you can skip if you like (though I strongly recommend using the time to read this), but if you wanna know what you're doing, I suggest reading this!

INFO: You can choose almost whatever port you desire... Just don't go below 50 unless you use port 21 (standard ftp port) and don't go any higher than a 99999... That way you're sure you won't get any conflicts with ports that's already used...
If you wanna increase security a bit, select a port other than 21, course this is the most common port to scan when looking for FTP's! You also gotta forward 2 ports (ex. if you want to use port 6510 for connecting, you gotta forward 6509 as well). That's because 1 of the ports is used for the connection and the other is used for the file transfer! Further more I recommend forwarding a range of about 500 ports which will be used for PASV mode (passive mode). These 500 ports don't have to be even close to your connection and transfer ports... They can be anything within the limit described before... For instance 2000 - 2500!
In this guide I'll be using port 250 as the port people will connect to which forces port 249 to be the transfer port. And I'll be using port 5000 to 5500 as ports for PASV mode, but you can choose whatever you desire!

Under "Start Port Number" in the first box available, type in "249"
Under "End Port Number" in the same horizontal line, type in "250"
Under "IP Address" in the same horizontal line, type in your "LAN IP" (the one you found when going through chapter one)
In the next available box under "Start Port Number" type in: "5000"
In the same horizontal line under "End Port Number" type in: "5500"
Under "IP Address" in the same horizontal line, type in your "LAN IP"


6. That's it... you're done with the port forwarding! Press "Save" and close Internet Explorer

Chapter Three - Choosing, downloading and installing the software


Now you gotta find out which software you wanna use!
There's plenty of good FTP Server software on the net... Even free ones! If you want a 100% free FTP Server, I recommend Guildftpd which can be downloaded here.
However, in this tutorial I'll be using Serv-U which is one of the most popular, powerful and easy to use FTP server software available... A cracked version can be downloaded here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're using Panda as firewall/antivirus, it WILL detect Serv-U as a hacking tool. Disable Panda before download and install, and when the program is installed and patched, open (DO NOT ENABLE) the antivirus part of Panda, enter the settings and exclude ALL Serv-U files from scanning... After that, enter the firewall part of Panda and allow ServUAdmin.exe and ServUDeamon.exe ALL access to the internet... When this is done, it should be safe to run Panda again with Serv-U installed!

If you know how to unrar, install and apply the patch included, you can skip the rest of this chapter!

1. Right click here and choose "Save as" - Just save it to your desktop by browsing to your desktop and click "Save"

2. If you don't have WinRar installed already, download it here and install it before continuing (just download, double click the file and follow the install instructions)

3. Now... Right click the file you downloaded from step 1 and choose "Extract to [name of the file you downloaded]"

4. A folder has now been created on your desktop that has the same name as the file you just clicked. Enter that folder. In that folder you'll have a file called "Serv-U FTP Server v6.0.0.2 Corporate Edition" and a folder named "fix". Double click the file named "Serv-U FTP Server v6.0.0.2 Corporate Edition" and the installation will start

5. I'll just run briefly through the installation itself just in case there's some totally retarded n00bz out there :P
5.1: Click "next"
5.2: READ IF YOU USE THE CRAPPY ANTIVIRUS McAfee, check the box "I have checked my McAfee settings or don't use it"
and click "next"
5.3: Click "next"
5.4: Check the box "I have read and accepted the above license agreement" and click "next"
5.5: Choose the folder where you want the program to be installed by hitting "Browse" - When selected, click "next"
5.6: Make sure everything is checked and then click "next"
5.7: Click "next"
5.8: Click "next" and the software will start to install
5.9: Click "close"
5.10: Uncheck "Start Serv-U Administrator program" and click finish
5.11: Press "cancel" so you DON'T reboot yet!

6. Now the software is installed, you just need to patch it. I'll run through this briefly as well.
6.1: Go the to directory from where you run the install file
6.2: Enter the directory called "fix"
6.3: Copy the file in that folder by right clicking it and select copy
6.4: Go to the directory where you installed Serv-U, right click on an empty place and select "paste"
6.5: Now, double click the file you just copied and click "patch"
6.6: Click "ok", close everything and reboot your computer

Chapter Four - Start up the FTP server and create the first user by using the Wizard!


Now you've reached the fun part, but also the longest... I won't go through all the features of Serv-U, but I will go through most of them :)

1. Double click the shortcut for Serv-U on your desktop to start the server. The Setup Wizard for Serv-U should now automatically start. I'll guide you through what you should do the different places, but I strongly recommend reading the text in the different boxes in the Wizard, so you know what you're doing.

2. First you'll get a welcome message from the Wizard where you can choose if you wanna use it or not. We're going to use it, so click "next"


3. Now you'll be asked if you wanna use small images with the item menu. Select "yes" and click "next"


4. Here Serv-U will automatically detect a few settings for the server itself. Just click "next" and wait a few seconds


5. Here Serv-U asks for your LAN IP. I recommend leaving this box blank and just click "next" course Serv-U will then use any LAN IP available and the only available LAN IP should be the one you port forwarded


6. Time to name your server. This is because you can run several servers with Serv-U, so this is only for you to easy identify which server it is! Type in whatever you like and click "next"


7. You can choose to let the server start each time you start windows. I recommend enabling this so your server will be online as much as possible! Select "yes" and click "next"


8. Now you can choose if anonymous users should have access to your FTP. Anonymous access means that they just gotta type in your IP address and your port number and then they are able to connect and download from you. I recommend not to allow anonymous access for security reasons. Select "no" and click "next"


9. Now you're going to create an account. Here I'll create an account called "whereisit" which will be available for people with access to the Private FTP section on the forum... You can also get access to this part of the forum if you make an account and post the login info on whereisit? For more information, go to "FT: Information" on the forum and read! Select "yes" and click "next"


10. Enter the name of the user you wanna create. The username you write here is the one used for login on the account/your FTP. Click "next" after typing in a "username"


11. Type in the password for the user. The password you write here is the one used with the username for login in to this account on your FTP. Click "next" after entering a "password"


12. Now you gotta choose which folder that should be the users "Home directory". This means that when the user login he/she will start in this folder. Now, if you (like me) don't have all what you wanna share in 1 folder, but placed different places on your harddisk(s), I'll recommend you minimize this and create a new folder on the root of your harddisk (the root is where you are standing after entering "My computer" and then your harddisk). You can name the folder whatever you want, but I'm going to call it "ftproot".
Maximize Serv-U again and select the folder "ftproot" as your "Home directory" and click "next". You can selcet the folder by clicking the yellow icon to the right of the white box and browse to it!


13. Lock the user in his home directory. You definitely wanna do this. If you say no, the user will be able to browse through all of your computer! Select "yes" and click "next"


14. Here you can set privileges for the user, but since this is just a normal user, just select "No Privileges" and click "next"


15. Congratulations. Your FTP should now be running and have 1 user login. Click "finish"

Chapter Five - Virtual Path Mapping/Linking To Different Folders


Since we choose to lock our user in the home directory for security reasons, we need to make "Virtual Path Mappings" for him so he can access all the stuff we wanna share. Here you gotta add EVERYTHING you wanna share, even if some of it isn't supposed to be available for the user we created. We will be setting his restrictions to the folders later! This feature is also good for making a FTP server that's very easy to navigate in and looks good! I will only show how to add a single directory since the procedure is the same every time... Just add EVERYTHING you want to be on your server. Just remember not to add every single sub directory... When you add a folder all the sub folders in it will be mapped automatically as well!

1. From here on, make sure your FTP tree is fully expanded so you can see everything... Expand your FTP tree by clicking all the small "+" there might be in the tree in the left window!

2. Select the settings tab "Settings" under your "Domain" (the second settings tab) and click the "Add" button


3. Find the folder you want on your FTP by clicking the little yellow icon at the end of the white box and browsing to it.


4. Select the main folder you wanna share and click "ok" Everything inside the folder you select will be added to the FTP - Including sub folders!


5. Now you should see something like this... Just click "next"


6. Here you choose where the virtual path for the folder should be placed. I recommend placing all your virtual paths in the home directory... That's no doubt the easiest! To do this, simply type "%HOME%" and click "next"


7. Now you can name the folder whatever you like... This is a good feature to make your FTP look fancy instead of just boring folders with regular names. Since I added one of my movie directories, I'm gonna name this folder "-= MoVieZ =-" Click "Finish" after naming your virtual path!


8. Now you can see the directory is added... The server now knows that the folder and all of it's content should be placed in the home directory of the user if we allow the user access to it... Now add all the other folders you have which you want to be on your FTP the exact same way!

9. When you're done, remember to click "Apply" and you'll now have something that looks similar to this:

Chapter Six - Creating Groups and adding user to it


This is indeed a very handy and time saving feature for creating new users on your FTP! If you have some users who may only access - let's say you Mp3's - and some may access everything, then you could make a group called "Mp3" and just add you mp3 folder(s) to the Dir Access list. After that you just gotta link the mp3 users and the mp3 group together and then the mp3 users will only be able to access your mp3. And it makes it easy and for you to make new mp3 users. Sounds confusing? Well, let's go through it step by step then.

1. Click on "Groups" tab and then right click in the empty window to your right and select "New Group"


2. Enter a name for the Group so you can remember which directory's your allowing this group access to... Here I'm going to make a group which has access to everything on my server. I'm gonna call it "Leech" so type in "Leech" in the box and click finish.


3. Now to add the directories you want this group to have access to. First of all, add the "home directory" of your FTP - the one I made and choose to call "ftproot". Do this by selecting the Group named "Leech" in the FTP tree to you left, and then select the "Dir Access" tab in the right window at the top. Now click the "Add" button


4. Browse to the "ftproot" folder, select it and click "ok". Now click "finish" and the dir is added.


5. Since this group is made for users with leech accounts, I'm gonna give them access to everything on my server. This is done by adding ALL the directories, which I also made virtual paths for, to the group. If you're making a group where the users in it won't have access to (for instance: games) just don't add those directories to the group! When you're done adding folders, it should look a bit like this:


6. Now we gotta set the permissions for the different folders... For instance, you don't want people to have delete rights to your folders with your stuff in... That way you'll just risk a retard deletes everything! When you select one of the folders you've added, the 9 options to your right becomes available...

Read = Download access
Write = Upload access
Append = Allow resume of upload/download
Delete = Allow to delete or change files
Execute = Allow to run a file
List = Allow to list/see the content of a folder
Create = Allow to create folders
Remove = Allow to delete folders
Inherit = Apply the same rules for sub folders

I recommend these boxes to be checked for all folders "Read", "List" and "Inherit"
But don't check the "Inherit" box for the home directory "ftproot"... If you do this, you won't be able to make private upload folders for your users which I will explain how to do in chapter nine!

When you're done, click "Apply"... It should look like this:


7. Now where going to add our "whereisit" user to the group we just created. Select the "whereisit" user and click the "Account" tab. Now click the icon at the end of the "Group(s)" box


8. Select the "Leech" group and click "ok"


9. Now click "Apply" and the user is now in the "Leech" group

Chapter Seven - Different User and Server Settings


It's time to set the restrictions for the user... I'm going to run briefly through the different settings since you might not choose the same as me... I'll just explain what they do...! I've set some simple settings... If you do like me is up to you!

1. Click on the "whereisit" user and then click the "General" tab

Require secure connection: I strongly recommend not enabling this
Hide 'hidden' files: Hide hidden files for a user
Always allow login: Allows the user to login to your server even though it's full
Allow only [X] login(s) from same IP address: Limits how many times the same person can login to your server at the same time
Allow user to change password: Allows the user to change his password himself
Max. upload speed: Sets a maximum speed for how fast a user can send files to you (upload)
Max. download speed: Sets a maximum speed for how fast the user can download from you
Idle time-out: Kicks a user after a period of time where the user has been inactive
Session time-out: Kicks the user no matter what after a period of time
Max. no. of users: Sets limit for how many different users that can access the account at the same time
Login message file: I will return to this feature in chapter ten
Password type: I recommend not changing this setting! It should be set to "Regular password"


2. Click the "IP Access" tab... Here you can simple decide which IP or IP range should be banned or accepted for this user ONLY... I won't get any further in to this!

3. Click the "UL/DL Ratios" tab
Here you can set a ratio for the user... A ratio means that the user will have to upload before he'll be able to download... I'll just explain briefly what the different settings are. It will be explained as if the ratio was set to 1/1
Count files per session: The user will be able to download as many files as he has uploaded no matter what the size of any of the file is. When he logs off, the number of files (not the files themselves) he has uploaded will not be saved!
Count bytes per session: The exact same thing as above except this options count the size of what's being upload/downloaded and doesn't care about the number of files!
Count files over all sessions: The same as "files per session" except here the number of files uploaded will be saved an available untill they're used!
Count bytes over all session: The same as above except this option counts the size of what's being uploaded/downloaded and and doesn't care about the number of files!
I won't go through the "Quota" settings... To be honest I don't know anything about it... I've never used it...

4. Now hit the "Settings" tab to your left right under your "Domain" - The only thing in here we will play a bit with is the "Messages" tab but we won't do that before chapter ten!

5. Click the "Settings" tab under "Local Server" and click the "General" tab
Again, I won't tell you what your settings should be, only describe what they does! If you use the same settings as me is up to you!

Max. upload speed: Set a limit for how fast people can upload to your server
Max. download speed: Set a limit for how fast people can download from your server
Max. no. of users: Set a limit for how many users there can be online at your server at the same time
Check anonymous passwords: Checks passwords for anonymous connections (not needed since you don't allow anonymous connections)
Delete partially uploaded files: Automatically deletes files send to you that's not completed
Use lower case for files/dirs: Forces file and dir names to be with small letters
Block anti-timeout schemes: Block "keep alive" commands (keep alive commands is used to stay connected to a server)
Block "FTP_bounce" attacks and FXP: Block the possibility to transfer files from one FTP server to another (know as FXP)
Block users who connect more than: Auto kick/block users that hammers your FTP


6. Click the "Advanced" tab - The only thing you gotta do here is "Allow full access" for "File uploads" and "File downloads" and enter the port range for PASV mode (passive mode) which in this guide was 5000 to 5500... Click "Apply"

Chapter Eight - Creating Another User


Since the first user we made was done by the Wizard, I'll just run through how to do it manually... I'm pretty sure you want more than one user :P

1. Click the "Users" tab in your FTP tree, right click an empty place in the window to your right and click "New User" If you already have a created user which has the exact same settings as the one you want to create (except for username and password), you can simply right click the user you already have and click "copy"... After that, select the new user, click the "Account" tab and change the username and password in the boxes simply by typing the new username and password.


2. Enter the desired username and click "next"


3. Enter a desired password and click "next"


4. Enter the complete path or browse to your ftproot folder and click "next"


5. Select "yes", click "next" and your new user is created... Now you just need to set it up :)

Chapter Nine - Making Private Upload Folders For Your Users


This I a neat little feature I came up with myself... It's actually very easy to make private upload folders, it just takes a few more minutes... Before we start, minimize everything and go to your ftproot folder on your harddisk. Enter it and create a new folder called "UploadZ". Go inside the "UploadZ" folder and create a new folder called the same as the user who should have access to it... In this case "whereisit". Now close the window again and maximize Serv-U so we can get started...

1. Select your "whereisit" user and click the "Dir Access" tab If you really followed this guide 100% your 2 first lines in the window should look exactly like this:


2. Select the very first line (the one that's gray on the picture above) and click "Edit"

3. Now browse to the directory you created before, select the folder named "UploadZ" and click "ok" - then click "finish"


4. Now, make sure that only the following boxes for this line is checked: "Read" and "List"

5. Now click the "Add" button, browse the the folder you created named "whereisit", click "ok" and then click "finish"


6. Now, make sure the only the following boxes for this line is checked: "Read", "Write", "Append", "List", "Create" and "Inherit"

7. That's it... It should look a bit like this and the user should now only be able to upload to this folder

Chapter Ten - Welcome/Login Messages


Here you'll learn how to welcome your user with a message, server info and so on... I'm getting very tired of all this writing, so I'll just tell you what to do real fast:

1. Under your "Domain" select the "Settings" tab and then select the "Messages" tab

2. In the lines where there's already written some text, you can write something else if you desire... The 4 empty bars is for loading a already created .txt document where you can write different messages in... You should be able to figure out yourself which .txt that's shown when...


3. Click the "whereisit" user and click the "General" tab... The second last option on this page is "Login message file" There you can browse for a .txt document you made with some text for the user...

4. There's a ton of commands you can use in your .txt document for informing the user how many people that are online and so on... here's a list of commands and descriptions for what they do... From here on you're on your own...
(This is copied directly from the help file)

There are several symbolic parameters that can be entered in the message text. These parameters are expanded while being sent to a client. They all begin with '%'. Here is the complete list:

Time/date

%Time - displays the current time on your PC
%Date - displays the current date on your PC

Server statistics

%ServerDays - displays the number of days the server has been running
%ServerHours - displays the number of hours the server has been running
%ServerMins - displays the number of minutes the server has been up
%ServerSecs - displays the number of seconds the server has been up
%ServerKbUp - displays the no. Kbytes uploaded to the server since server start
%ServerKbDown - displays the no. Kb downloaded from the server since server start
%ServerFilesUp - displays the no. of files uploaded to the server since server start

%ServerFilesDown - displays the no. of files downloaded from the server since server start
%LoggedInAll - displays total no. of logged in users since server start
%ServerAvg - displays the average server throughput since server start
%ServerKBps - displays current server bandwidth use

Server settings

%MaxUsers - displays the maximum no. of users, as set in 'Settings - Domain'
%MaxAnonymous - the maximum no. of anonymous users, as set in 'Settings - Domain'

User info

%Name - displays the user's login name
%IP - displays the user's IP number or name if available
%Dir - displays the user's current directory
%Disk - displays the user's current disk drive
%DFree - displays the amount of free space on the user's current disk in Mb
%FUp - displays the number of files uploaded by the current user
%FDown - displays the number of files downloaded
%FTot - displays the total number of files transferred
%BUp - displays the number of Kbytes uploaded by the user

%Bdown - displays the number of Kbytes downloaded by the user
%BTot - displays the total number of Kbytes transferred
%TconM - displays the total connect time in minutes
%TconS - displays the connect time in seconds - to be used with '%tconm'
%RatioUp - displays the 'upload' ratio part for UL/DL ratios
%RatioDown - displays the 'download' ratio part for UL/DL ratios
%RatioCredit - displays the current download credit for UL/DL ratios (Kb or 'files')
%QuotaUsed - displays how much disk quota is used in Kb

%QuotaLeft - displays how much disk quota is left in Kb
%QuotaMax - displays the maximum amount of disk space that can be used in Kb

Number of users

%UNow - displays the current number of Serv-U users connected
%UAll - displays the number of users since the server was started
%U24h - displays the number of users in the last 24 hours
%UAnonAll - all currently logged in anonymous users
%UAnonThisIP - all anonymous users logged into this IP home
%UNonAnonAll - all non-anonymous users currently logged in
%UNonAnonThisIP - all non-anonymous users logged into this IP home
%UThisName - all current users with the current user name logged into this IP home

The file upload and download message directives are for the current session only (i.e. they do not show the aggregate over multiple sessions).

The '%ServerDays', '%ServerHours', '%ServerMins', and '%ServerSecs' directives are meant for use together. The number of hours is what's left after the number of days is subtracted, and the same goes for the number of minutes and seconds.

Example Message:

Welcome to ftp.cat-soft.com, home of Serv-U!
Local time is %time, and %u24h users have visited over the last 24 hours. This server has been up for %ServerDays days, %ServerHours hours, %ServerMins min. and %ServerSecs sec.

Server stats:
Users logged in: %loggedInAll total
Current users: %Unow
Kb downloaded: %ServerKbDown Kb
Kb uploaded: %ServerKbUp Kb
Files downloaded: %ServerFilesDown
Files uploaded: %ServerFilesUp
Average througput: %ServerAvg Kb/sec
Current througput: %ServerKBps Kb/sec

Keep in mind that the average client has only 80 characters per line, and the first four are taken up by the reply code. Be brief, 70 characters should generally be considered a safe maximum.

END OF TUTORIAL