Configure FTP Server in Windows Server 2012MustBeGeek

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FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a very popular protocol that allows users to upload and download files easily. Windows Server 2012 is packed up with FTP features. You can configure FTP server in Windows Server 2012 by installing FTP server role. In this article, I will show you step by step process of installing and configuring FTP server role in Windows Server 2012.

Configure FTP Server in Windows Server 2012

At first, install the FTP server role. In Server 2012, you can install FTP server role under the IIS server role. So, let’s get started. Open Server Manager. On the menu, click Manage and click Add Roles and Features.

Click Next on Before You Begin window. Click Role-based or feature based installation and click Next.

Select the server and click Next again.

Now, expand the web server (IIS) role. Select the FTP server and click Next. Please note you have to install IIS role if you do not see FTP Server role option.

We don’t need to add any features, so click Next again. Click Finish on the Confirmation window.

After installing FTP server role, open the Internet Information Services (IIS) console. Connect to the local server. Expand the local server.

Right-click the sites and click Add FTP Site.

Now type the name for the FTP site. Configure the folder where the files will be stored. Create some files in the folder for test purpose. I will create a file and a folder. These files will be accessed via FTP client by users. Now click Next.

Configure the IP address of this server. The IP address must match the address configured in the network adapter of this server. This IP address will be used by client to access the FTP server. Check the start FTP site automatically. Choose No SSL and click Next.

Choose Basic for authentication. Basic authentication doesn’t use encryption mechanism so username/password are sent in clear text. By default, basic authentication matches username/password from Active Directory database or you can create user accounts in IIS. You can create users in IIS after installing Management Server under Management Tools which is in Web Server (IIS) role. Under authorization, select all users to allow FTP access to all users of the domain. Check both read and write under permissions.

Now browse FTP server from the client machine. Type the IP address on the browser as ftp://192.168.1.1/. It will show the following page.

Now, press ALT key in you keyboard which will show the menu bar. Then click View and click Open FTP site in File Explorer.

Now the FTP server will ask for username and password. Enter the username and password which was created in AD Users and Computers. Then click Log On. Here, I had already created username called JCorner in active directory.

After clicking the Log On button you can see the files in the FTP server.

You can see the file and folder in the FTP server. You can also use FTP client like, FileZilla to access the FTP server from client machine. So, this is how you install and configure FTP server.