configure ftp server in ubuntu

How to Configure FTP Server in Ubuntu

FTP server allows you to transfer files from and to remote machines over a network in a secure manner. In this article, we will see how to configure FTP server in Ubuntu. VSFTPD (Very Secure File Transfer Protocol Daemon) is the most popular FTP service used in Ubuntu/Debian systems. We will look at how to install and set VSFTPD server in Ubuntu.


How to Configure FTP Server in Ubuntu

Here are the steps to configure FTP server in Ubuntu.


1. Update Ubuntu

Open terminal and run the following command.

$ sudo apt-get update

Also read : How to Install Erlang in Ubuntu


2. Install VSFTPD

Run the following command to install VSFTD

$ sudo apt-get install vsftpd

Also read : How to Install Fail2ban in Ubuntu


3. Start & Enable VSFTPD

VSFTPD will be disabled by default. We need to start and enable VSFTPD with the following commands.

$ systemctl start vsftpd 
$ systemctl enable vsftpd

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4. Open required posts

FTP servers run on ports 20 & 21 by default. We need to open them using UFW firewall. These ports are used to download and upload files to & from FTP server.

$ sudo ufw allow 20/tcp 
$ sudo ufw allow 21/tcp

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5. Create FTP user

Run the following commands to create an FTP user that can access your system. Change the username below from ubuntu to what you want.

$ sudo useradd –m ubuntu
$ sudo password ubuntu

You will be asked for a password for this new user. Enter it and note it down as you will need it every time to log into FTP server.

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6. Test FTP connection

Now you should be able to log into FTP server. Use the following command from a remote machine. Replace 54.34.21.12 with the name or IP or your FTP server

$ sudo ftp 54.34.21.12

You will be asked for username and password. Enter ubuntu and its password that you entered in the previous step.

You should be able to successfully log into your FTP server.

Also Read : How to Create Remote Git Repository


6. Secure VSFTPD

It is important to secure your FTP server against unauthorized access. You can easily do that by modifying a few settings in its configuration file. VSFTPD comes with a default configuration file /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf. First, we will take its backup.

$ sudo cp /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.bkp

Next, open the original configuration file using a text editor

$ sudo vi /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf

Please note, although you can log into FTP server, you will not be able to transfer any files with it.

So change the following line

write_enable=NO

to

write_enable=YES

Similarly, to avoid numerous security exploits it is advisable to restrict each user’s access to their home directory. You can do so by uncommenting and changing the following lines to read

chroot_local_user=YES
allow_writeable_chroot=YES

Also read : How to Enable Keep Alive in NGINX

Further, we create a user list /etc/vsftpd.chroot_list and limit FTP access to only those users listed in that file.

So add the following line in VSFTPD configuration file to specify the location of user list file that we will be creating next.

chroot_list_file=/etc/vsftpd.chroot_list

Save and close the file.

Now create a user list file at /etc/vsftpd.chroot_list

$ sudo vi /etc/vsftpd.chroot_list

Add 1 user per line. Save and close the file

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7. Restart VSFTPD service

Restart VSFTPD service to apply changes.

$ sudo systemctl restart vsftpd.service

That’s it! You should be able to securely log into your FTP server. Also any user not mentioned in your user list will be unable to log in. If you want to secure your FTP server even more, then you can refer to their detailed documentation.


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