I want my own FTP server (dammit).

April 9, 2009 1:00 PM

I want my own FTP server. Looking for advice on possible solutions.

Some requirements:

a) I need to be able to create users and give them different levels of access. Each user has his own private upload area, but he also has access to specific other areas that I've given multipe users access to. So if you're a user, you have your own private (except from me) upload area, and then you also have access to upload areas for certain groups. You may have read-only access in some cases.

b) I need to be able to map a directory from my own domain to it.

c) Some directories within it need to be viewable via a web browser, so that stuff can be uploaded directly to a staging area, and then viewed in a browser.

d) Some say the FTP is a dinosaur. I am not opposed to similar solutions with other protocols. But at the end of the day, I need something that allows people with low to mid level technical knowledge to upload and download files in an environment that I control. I am not afraid of using the command line stuff myself, but my users have to be able to do everything with a GUI.

e) I am willing to consider solutions that are already hosted, and I'm also willing to consider solutions that I have to install myself... but then I would have to also find the right place to host them. My site is hosted on Dreamhost, where I do have FTP access, but not at the level of customizability described above.


Happy to answer any questions. Thanks!

posted by bingo to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Are you looking for hosted yourself or by another company? I use FileZilla as a FTP server on my home machine.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:14 PM on April 9

The tough part of your list is that you want some directories that are accessible via FTP to also show up on your live website, which is hosted with a provider that does not offer you the level of customization over their own FTP service that you require.

To get the control you require, you'll need to be able to run your own FTP server. This means either doing it on a box you control or getting a virtual private server (VPS) that gives you this control while taking care of all the hardware and networking for you.

From there, one of two options regarding the website:

Move it all to the new server that you control.
Create a DNS subdomain that points to the new server, leaving the rest of your site where it currently is at Dreamhost.

I would recommend the second option.
posted by odinsdream at 1:27 PM on April 9

wongcorgi: Well, certainly not hosted on my personal computer. It would have to be up on a robust server that will be running all the time.

odinsdream: Yes, mapping a subdomain or directory to the new server is what I have in mind. But I have no experience with VPS, so I'm looking for advice in that area as well. Surely this is a common problem, and there are turnkey solutions?
posted by bingo at 1:50 PM on April 9

If you want it to be easy for people to use, FTP will probably give you a lot of headaches. It's protocol is NAT-hostile and most hosts these days are behind NAT. Good firewalls can do the rewrites necessary for NAT, bad ones can't. FTP also has the passive vs. active mode issue which may require your end users to either understand the issue and poke holes in their firewalls. You might have better luck looking into WebDAV solutions.
posted by chairface at 2:09 PM on April 9

Most of what you describe is pretty turnkey for an ftp server configured correctly. It will work fine though WebDAV is another solution.

VPS essentially gives you your own "server" you must install and maintain the software on it (note its not actually your own box, but a dedicated "slice" of a shared machine) It will do what you want but you'll have to maintain it. I do this with slicehost I actually then use google domains still for mail. It would take a while to set up but you get free reign on the box.
posted by bitdamaged at 2:25 PM on April 9

I understand how far this strays from the specifics you'd like, but recently when I was looking into creating a personal FTP server (which I was planning to base in Amazon S3), I settled with Dropbox and have been highly content since. Damn easy, functional, etc.
posted by gbinal at 2:29 PM on April 9

The only thing that you can't do from Dreamhost's panel is A, and I wonder if you could do that with symbolic links from the command line?
posted by fnerg at 2:37 PM on April 9

fnerg, not sure. I asked Dreamhost support if there was a way to do it, and they said no.
posted by bingo at 2:39 PM on April 9

Yahoo's $10/month basic web hosting has the ftp capability you want, although you have to configure permissions for each user and folder (they have a gui interface for doing so). Here's their general ftp overview and specifically, assigning permissions at the user level.

If you want to leave the rest of your site at Dreamhost go to zoneedit and set up web forwarding or cloaking. From what I've read, web cloaking will hurt search engine results just fyi.

If you want the turnkey solution (dns, hosting, ftp altogether, without much fuss) you'll probably need to move everything to one provider. Also if you want or need to assign permissions at the site level (e.g., you don't want to set up one login for your users at your main web site and then another at the ftp site), one provider would probably be best.

All that said - I really agree with chairface. ftp, even through a browser, is not very intuitive for most users and you will get a lot of support calls.

I've never used this so take this with a grain of salt - I wonder if wordpress mu would be of use to you?
posted by txvtchick at 2:55 PM on April 9

One thing I would like to point out is Windows Explorer (NOT Internet Explorer) has a built in FTP client that is very easy to use. All you need to do is type ftp://[username]@ftpserver.address.com and you will be prompted for a password. You can also do ftp://[username]:[password]@ftpserver.address.com if you don't want to be prompted for your password, or you want to make a Favorite to the FTP folder. Once connected, everything works just like you were in explorer. It is pretty sweet.

My solution involves setting something up on a home computer. If you aren't anticipating a whole lot of users, I would recommend using a spare computer and a home internet connection to host the FTP server (if you have enough bandwidth and don't have to worry about download/upload caps from your ISP). You have already stated no interest in this, but in case you change your mind I would look into:
1. FileZilla FTP Server
2. Dyndns dynamic domain name service
posted by nickerbocker at 3:55 PM on April 9

FTP sends everything in plain text by default that inculdes usenames and passwords. Bad idea. A better protocol (however you choose to do it) would be SFTP (or SCP) that use SSH (Secure Shell) encryption. Easy to set up - 'scponly' shell is available on all *nixes, so any server you have root on. Freeware GUI clients available; very simple on both Mac (Fugu) and Windows (WinSCP)
posted by dirm at 12:23 AM on April 10

You could use something like drop.io. You can create a separate drop for each person and a shared drop for the shared stuff. They have a management console, which might have a cost involved. However, if you set up individual drops and each is under 100MB, they are free.
posted by reddot at 4:42 PM on April 12

Thanks everyone for answering. I'm not sure how I'm going to move forward with yet, but will post any updates.
posted by bingo at 10:47 AM on May 15