Setting up an FTP?

[Weecutz]

Hey folks, this aint really the right place but I just thought I'd ask incase any of you can help me out...

Firstly, I know there are FTP Programs out there which are simple to use, I have and use Filezilla all the time and its great, so I'm only asking this to find out how to do it, for my own curiosity really... so here goes!

ok, I have a web address which I host files on from time to time and that web address is also my username for signing into my ftp, I noticed that if you type into a web browser bar "ftp://" and then whatever the webaddress is it ask for a username and password, so I entered mines to see what happens (should open up like a file to allow drag and drop) however it says there was a login error...

Now, I'm taking it that this is because I don't have the backend set up... e.g. a file that this goes to or something... can someone tell me, what else I need to do to get this working so I can simply open a browser, type in the ftp thijng, sign in and drag and drop files onto my server???

Any ideas?... I know this does actually work because I've seen it work, just not sure what needs done on the server side of things.

Thanks

[Drazan]

Are you asking about setting up and FTP server itself?

Or just accessing it through the FTP protocols in a browser?

[urstwile]

What operating system are you trying this from Weecutz?

I've had mixed success on Mac OS X Tiger getting at FTP sites through a browser like Safari, so I generally use dedicated FTP software to to do it.

[Weecutz]

sorry folks.. actually I'd be looking to set up a server.. is this too complicated?

[Silence04]

what OS are you on?
i don't know how to do it on windows, but on mac you can setup a FTP server in three clicks. System Prefs>Sharing>FTP On

[Weecutz]

Im on Windows XP

[ecsyle]

Good luck :)

Maybe check out BPFTP, bullet proof ftp server (http://www.bpftpserver.com/)

what OS are you on?
i don't know how to do it on windows, but on mac you can setup a FTP server in three clicks. System Prefs>Sharing>FTP On
Also need to make sure ports are forwarded correctly if you are behind a router, but yeah, Macs are super easy.

[Drazan]

1) if you are only going to use your windows box as a non-public server then there are programs you can get as was posted

2) if you wanted to make a public ftp/ web server there are several steps that you need to take to make your content viewable on a browser. Make sure your ISP is agreeable to have a server in your home. Most are not - unless you are a business customers. To be effective even on a limited range you need a 512 mb upload constant.

If your ISP says yes, or gets you upgraded then you need to make your box work.

The main program that servers use to manage the system interface is Apache. It has several modules that allows certain things to run/not run and what level of heirarchy and permissions the folders are set to. This is also the program that "serves" the pages to be viewable.

PHP is another program that you can install on your server. This enables you to code and run php scripts.

Mysql is for database structuring and usually runs in a partitioned area of the drive or on a seperate drive.

IF you want to make a windows server public - DON'T - unless you know how to secure it for the internet. And I'm not talking about an antivirus here. You need to know firewalls, security scripting and a huge amount of headaches to keep people from hacking.

If you have secondary computer that you want to use for storage and server then use Linux/Unix/ or FreeBSD (*nix family os). These are the best platform to use as a server. The nix family is also what Mac OSX is built off of.

Once you have gotten that far... then you are able to configure it to use with FTP and view websites off of it.

There's tons and tons of help on the net to get started with your "server at home". And although I work extensively with servers, I have two admins who actually do the installation and configuration for me.

Apache, PHP and MYSQL are all free, and FreeBSD is also (as the name states) free. The learning curve however is a wicked one.

If you need help getting pointed in the right direction. I'll gladly get you some links. But in truth google is your best friend on this one.

Good Luck
Jade