Project 2-4: Set Up an FTP Server

In this project, using the small network you created in Chapter 1 in Project 1-1,

you install and use FTP, which is a client-server application. Designate one

computer as computer A, the server, and the other computer as computer B,

the client. Do the following using computer A:

1. Create a folder named Normal Users and create a file in the folder named Normal Users.txt.

Later, any files or folders you want on your FTP site can be stored in this folder.

2. Go to filezilla-project.org and download the free FTP FileZilla Server software to your

desktop and install the software. As you do so, be sure to not accept other free software

the site offers. You might need to restart the installation as you reject other software.

3. When the FileZilla server installs, accept all default settings, which places a shortcut on

your desktop and sets the FTP service to start automatically.

4. During the installation, the Connect to Server dialog box appears (see Figure 2-32).

Enter an administration password and be sure to write down this password. Because

youre running only one FTP server on computer A, check the Always connect to this

server check box. Also note the Server Address is 127.0.0.1, which is your loopback IP

address. When you click OK, the FileZilla Server admin window opens. You can also

open the admin window by using the shortcut on your desktop.

5. Youre now ready to configure your FTP server. To set up a user group, click Edit,

Groups. In the right pane under Groups, click Add. In the Add user group dialog box,

type Normal Users and click OK.

6. Under Directories, click Add. Point to the Normal Users folder and click OK. The

folder is listed under Directories. Under Directories, select the Normal Users directory

and then click Set as home dir. Click OK.

7. Next, click Edit, Users, and create a new user named User1. Put the user in the Normal

Users group.

2

Figure 2-32 Enter the admin password used to log on and manage the FileZilla FTP server

Source: Microsoft LLC

8. In the Account settings pane, check Password and assign the password password. Click

OK.

9. To verify the service is working, lets use the FTP client commands embedded in

Windows. As you work, watch the dialogue recorded in the FileZilla Server window

(see Figure 2-33). Open a Command Prompt window and enter the following:

Command to connect to the FTP service: ftp 127.0.0.1

Enter your user ID: User1

Enter the password: password

Command to list the contents of the shared

folder:

dir

Command to close the FTP session: quit

Figure 2-32 Enter the admin password used to log on and manage the FileZilla FTP server

Source: Microsoft LLC

Monitor FTP server

activity in real time

FTP client commands

and responses

Figure 2-33 Use the FileZilla Server window to monitor real-time activity on the FTP server

Source: Microsoft LLC

10. In the FileZilla Server window, click Edit, Settings. Under General settings, note that

the server is listening at port 21. You can now close the window.

11. The server software is still running as a background service, listening at port 21 for clients

to initiate a session. To see the service running, open the Windows Services console.

To do so, right-click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and press Enter. In the

Services console, verify that the FileZilla service is running and set to start automatically

each time the computer starts. Close the Services console.

12. To find out the IP address of computer A, in the Command Prompt window, enter

ipconfig. What is the IP address?

Using computer B, youre now ready to test the FTP client. Do the following:

13. Open a Command Prompt window and ping computer A. The ping should give replies

from computer A, indicating connectivity.

14. Now try the same commands as in step 8 above, using the IP address of computer A in

the first command line. Most likely, you will not be able to connect because the firewall

on computer A blocks incoming connections on port 21 by default.

On computer A, do the following to open port 21:

15. In the Network and Sharing Center, click Windows Firewall. In the Windows Firewall

window, click Advanced settings. In the left pane, click Inbound Rules and then click

New Rule in the right pane. Create a new rule that opens the TCP local port 21.

On computer B, you should now be able to open an FTP session with computer A. Do the

following:

16. Using the entries listed in step 8 and the IP address of computer A, open the session

and verify you can see the contents of the shared folder. Quit the session and close the

Command Prompt window.