Web vs. File: What’s the Difference?

Although a web server is capable of hosting files, it does not always host them as efficiently as a file server would. The primary protocol of the web is HTTP, and the primary protocol of file servers is FTP. HTTP was designed with HTML files in mind, and therefore does not serve files as well as an FTP server.

Downloading and Installing an FTP Server

My personal favorite FTP server is again an open-source solution, known as FileZilla. FileZilla (FZ) can handle all FTP requests and is easy to administrate. FZ can be found at http://filezilla.sourceforge.net. Make sure that when you go to Downloads, choose the SERVER release. FileZilla and FileZilla Server are two different programs. The server release is beneath the FileZilla releases.

Once FZ has been downloaded, run the install program. You will soon see a screen similar to this. Click “I Agree,” unless you do not.
Next, another screen with the option to choose components will come on. Just press “Next.”
The next screen will allow you to choose a destination folder for the server program. Unless you feel a need to change this, press “Next.”
The next screen will come on with startup settings. Don’t mess with these unless you have a good reason to do so (i.e. your “server” has multiple users or is located in a public place, etc.). Generally, most people will just press “Install.”

Once setup completes, the “Connect to Server” dialogue box will appear. Press “OK.”

Click the little icon as indicated in the screenshot. It is the icon for the settings menu, which can also be edited through the Edit button located at the top.
Next, the settings screen will appear. Go to the “Admin Interface settings” button and type in a new password. You will probably never need to use this (it applies to remote access only) but it will prevent hackers from entering your computer.
Next, click the “Add” button. This enables you to add a new user whose rights are definable.

Type in a new name for the user. Don’t worry about groups. Press “OK.”

Press “Add” under the Access Rights column. This will enable you to add a new directory that the user has the right to do things in.

Next, choose a folder for the user to access.

OK. Now, choose access rights for the User, add a password, and press “OK.” If you do not understand how Access Rights work or why you need a password, this will be explained on the next page.

You have now successfully setup a one-user FTP server. On the next page, we will learn how Web and FTP servers can be used.