Install FTP Server in Ubuntu for Cloud Computing

Use an old PC as an FTP server for Cloud

Do you have a desktop that is left on all 24/7? Do you have an old computer lying around with an outdated processor you think is useless? Are you looking for some way to repurpose your old outdated desktop or laptop? All you need is a desktop computer with available hard drive space and you can set up your own, personal and secure cloud server. There are a few IP protocols that can be used for this. In this post you will learn how to set up an FTP based cloud server using your old and outdated desktop or laptop. The reasons to use an outdated PC are numerous however, the main reason being that serving data to only a few users does not require nearly as many system resources as running applications as a single user with a GUI front-end.

--> File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a TCP protocol for uploading and downloading files between computers. FTP works on a client/server model. The server component is called an FTP daemon. It continuously listens for FTP requests from remote clients. When a request is received, it manages the login and sets up the connection. For the duration of the session it executes any of commands sent by the FTP client.

FTP Server Installation - VSFTPD

vsftpd is an FTP daemon available in Ubuntu. It is easy to install, set up, and maintain. To install vsftpd you can run the following command:

sudo apt-get install vsftpd

Anonymous FTP Configuration

By default vsftpd is configured to only allow anonymous download. During installation a ftp user is created with a home directory of /home/ftp. This is the default FTP directory. If you wish to change this location, to /srv/ftp for example, simply create a directory in another location and change the ftp user's home directory:

sudo mkdir /srv/ftp
sudo usermod -d /srv/ftp ftp

After making the change restart vsftpd:

sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart

Finally, copy any files and directories you would like to make available through anonymous FTP to /srv/ftp.

Configure FTP Server

• FTP Server configuration is done by editing the /etc/vsftpd.conf file.
• To edit this file type the following command in Terminal:

gksu gedit /etc/vsftpd.conf

Disable Anonymous FTP

Change the line:

anonymous_enable=YES

to:

anonymous_enable=NO

Allow Local Users to Connect

Add:

local_enable=YES

Allow Users to Upload files

Add:

write_enable=YES

Open port on Router

Now all you need to do is open up port 21 in your router so that your ftp server will be available to users outside your local network. It can be accessed using the IP address assigned to you by your ISP.