Windows Server 2003 FAQ - How to create FTP sites

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over an Internet Protocol computer network, such as the Internet. In this article, we will walk you through the steps of creating FTP sites in Windows Server 2003 using both Internet Information Servics and command-line interface.

First, you need to install the FTP service:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel Add or Remove Programs.
2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3. Select the checkbox for Application Server and click Details.
4. Select the checkbox for Internet Information Services (IIS) and click Details.
5. Select the checkbox for File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Service, click OK twice, and then Next.
6. Click Finish after the wizard completes.

To create a new FTP site from scratch using a wizard, do the following:

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In the left pane, expand the server node in the console tree.
3. Right-click on the FTP Sites node, select New FTP Site to start the FTP Site Creation Wizard, and click Next.
4. Type a descriptive name for your site and click Next.
5. Assign an IP address to your site and click Next.
6. Select the option Do not isolate users and click Next.
7. Specify the path to the FTP home directory for your site and click Next.
8. Specify access permissions to control access to your site and click Next then Finish.

To create a new FTP site using a previously saved configuration file, do the following:

1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In the left pane, expand the server node in the console tree.
3. Right-click on the FTP Sites node and select New FTP Site (from file).
4. Specify the path to the XML file containing your saved IIS configuration, click Read File, select the FTP site you want to import, and click OK.
5. If prompted for a password, enter it and click OK.
6. In the left pane, right-click on the new FTP site and select Start.

Using a command-line interface

The following command creates a new FTP site named My FTP Site with root directory C:\ftpstuff and IP address 172.16.12.50, and leaves the site in a stopped state:

> iisftp /create C:\ftpstuff "My FTP Site" /i 172.16.12.50 /dontstart

To start the new site, do the following:

> iisftp /start "My FTP Site"

You can also stop and start all FTP sites on your server using the following commands:
> net stop msftpsvc > net start msftpsvc

To display a list of all FTP sites on your server, use the following command:

> iisftp /query