So you’d like to start sharing files across the Internet, allowing visitors to get these files at their own convenience. Where do you start?

Unless you have your FTP site outsourced to a virtual hosting company, you’ll need a computer with adequate storage space for your FTP site. This computer will become your FTP server and, similar to a Web server, will need a constant connection to the Internet (i.e. a T1, Cable, DSL or ISDN connection). This computer may or may not be the same computer that hosts your Website.

Along with a constant connection, you’ll need a ‘static IP address’. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numeric Internet address for your computer. It is a set of four numbers, each between 0 and 255, that are separated by periods (dots). For example, the IP address for my FTP site is ‘206.151.165.244’. A static IP address is one that is permanently fixed to your computer.

You will also need FTP server software which allows you to serve files over the Internet, much like a Web server software that allows you to serve Web pages.

There are a number of options when choosing FTP server software. The server that is best for you depends on your computer’s operating system and how many people you expect to access your FTP site.

For those who need a robust FTP server, I would recommend our own product, WS_FTP Server. WS_FTP Server runs on Windows NT/2000 and is a popular choice for schools, ISPs or any business organization that needs to share files with an unlimited number of users. You can download a free 30-day evaluation of WS_FTP Server from the Ipswitch Website.

As demonstrated earlier, IP addresses are not very user-friendly. As a result, FTP sites will typically use a domain name for their Internet address – just like a Website. A domain name is simple text and is much easier for visitors to remember than an IP address (ftp.FTPplanet.com vs. 206.151.165.244).

If you already have a registered domain name for your Website, you will most likely want to use the same domain for your FTP site. If you do not have a domain, you can purchase one from a number of sites including Register.com or Internic.com.

Typically, an FTP site uses the subdomain ‘ftp’ instead of the ‘www’. The DNS (Domain Name System) is like an Internet directory that controls the redirect of each domain to a site’s IP address. Once you have your domain, you will need to adjust the DNS configuration so that your domain points to the static IP address of your FTP site. If you do not have DNS capabilities internally, you can use the free DNS service ZoneEdit.

Setting up your FTP Server
Setting up an FTP server is quite simple. Some software has the ability to set passwords, directory access permissions, and a number of other FTP server functions. You can experiment with these attributes as you get more comfortable with your FTP server. For now, let’s start with the basics.

To begin, you will need to set those directories you’d like to share, or ‘host’, on your FTP site. You can select an entire drive or any subdirectory of the computer you’re using for your FTP server.

Second, you’ll need to determine how people gain access to your FTP site. There are several options for granting permission to view, download and upload to your site.

Unlike most Websites, when a user visits an FTP site they must login. By default, a public FTP site uses an ‘anonymous login’. Technically, this means the User Name is ‘anonymous’ and the Password is a user’s e-mail address. However, often with an anonymous FTP site, the user is not required to enter any login information as these values are used by default.

It’s important to keep in mind that anonymous logins should only be granted for viewing and downloading – you never want to allow public uploads to your FTP site. For uploading, you want to force a visitor to type in a unique User Name/Password in order to gain upload access to your FTP site. It’s not uncommon for an FTP site to use a combination of anonymous and password protected logins.

Most FTP server software will detect the ‘home IP’ address of your computer during the FTP server setup or in the text display when the server becomes ‘on-line’. As mentioned earlier, you will need this IP address when setting up a domain name for your FTP site.

Designing Your Site
When setting up your FTP server, the most import design element is navigation. Unlike a Website that has hyperlinks to guide you, an FTP site relies on directories and text-based help files.

I recommend taking the time to create a well organized file structure with easy-to-understand directory names. This will make it much easier to locate files on your site. For example, on my FTP site I have a directory of Web browsers. I have named this directory ‘Browsers’. Within this directory there are a number of folders that contain different types of browsers. I appropriately named these folders by the browser name and version number, i.e. Internet Explorer 5.5, Netscape 6, Opera 5, etc. The installation file for each browser is located within its relative folder. This is particularly helpful since most software file names are cryptic and next to impossible to identify.

Another helpful tool, that most sites don’t include, is a directory file. These files are located within a directory and list every file of that directory accompanied by a brief description. These files are typically plain text but can also be HTML with hyperlinks to directories and files. These files are usually named ‘index’ or ‘dirs’ with a ‘.txt’ or ‘.html’ extension.

A Few Important Tips:

• In order for people to connect to your FTP server it must be ‘running’. And don’t forget to test the server before making it public.
• Be careful not to give users permissions that they shouldn’t have. This is especially important when giving write or delete permissions. You don’t want to end up with a full hard drive or missing files.
• Most FTP servers have a setting that allows users to resume broken transfers. This feature is a real blessing to modem users who often lose connections when downloading large files.
• Keep a log of all server activity. This information can help you out in many ways. Logging can help tell you who is coming to your site and what they are doing on it.
• Make sure that you remove old accounts and organize new ones. Most FTP server software allows you to classify users in groups which can help with this task.

Your FTP server will have many other options that go beyond what is covered here. Feel free to explore these as you get more comfortable with your FTP server. For now, as long as you have taken care of the login issues, have your machine’s IP address, and haven taken the time to organize your files, you’re ready to start running your FTP server.