Installing FTP Server on UBuntu 10.10

It’s pretty simple to install and to a basic configuration of an FTP server on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat. By default Ubuntu uses a package called vsftpd as an FTP server, which is currently the most popular FTP package for Linux systems. To install the vsftpd package, use the following command at the Terminal:

sudo apt-get install vsftpd

Follow the default prompts, and the vsftpd server will be installed on your computer. Generally, the default configuration for vsftpd is pretty secure. Anonymous users are blocked, and no one can write files to the server. If you want to change any settings, the configuration file for vsftpd is /etc/vsftpd.conf. You can edit with this command:

sudo gedit /etc/vsftpd.conf

(New users will probably find gedit the easiest to use due the graphical interface, but more experienced users can opt for vi or emacs instead.)

If you want users to be able to write files to your FTP server, change this directive:

#write_enable=YES

To this:

write_enable=YES

If you make any changes to the file, save them, and then restart the vsftpd server so it reads its new directives:

sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart

You can then test your Ubuntu machine’s FTP service from the local command line:

ftp 127.0.0.1

You should be able to log into the FTP server using your local Ubuntu system account.