DebianLinuxTutorials

How To Install FTP Server on Debian 10

Install FTP Server on Debian 10

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install FTP Server on Debian 10. For those of you who didn’t know, FTP stands for “file transfer protocol”, and it allows you to transfer files to a remote computer. The most common FTP server software for Ubuntu is the vsftpd package, which stands for “very secure FTP daemon.” It’s the default FTP package for Ubuntu, and most other Linux distributions as well.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you through the step-by-step installation FTP Server on a Debian 10 (Buster).

Prerequisites

  • A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 10.
  • It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues
  • A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install FTP Server on Debian 10 Buster

Step 1. Before we install any software, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt commands in the terminal:

sudo apt update

Step 2. Installing the FTP server on Debian systems.

The vsftpd package is available in the Debian repositories. Let’s start by updating our package list and installing the vsftpd daemon:

sudo apt install vsftpd

Once the installation is completed, you can check the version of vsftpd package by running the following command in Terminal:

sudo systemctl status vsftpd

Step 3. Configure the FTP server.

Now we will perform some configurations required for setting up the FTP server in our Debian OS:

sudo cp /etc/vsftpd.conf /etc/vsftpd.conf.bak
sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

Add/modify the following options with these values:

listen=NO
listen_ipv6=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
local_umask=022
dirmessage_enable=YES
use_localtime=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/var/run/vsftpd/empty
pam_service_name=vsftpd
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
rsa_private_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
ssl_enable=NO
pasv_enable=Yes
pasv_min_port=10000
pasv_max_port=10100
allow_writeable_chroot=YES

With the configuration file saved, restart vsftpd apply the new changes:

sudo systemctl restart vsftpd

Step 4. Configure Firewall.

To open port 21 (FTP command port), port 20 (FTP data port) and 30000-31000 (Passive ports range), run the following commands:

sudo ufw allow 20:21/tcp
sudo ufw allow 30000:31000/tcp

Reload the UFW rules by disabling and re-enabling UFW:

sudo ufw disable
sudo ufw enable

Step 5. Create FTP User.

We will now create a new user that we will use to log into FTP. In this example, we will create a new user called chedelics:

$ sudo useradd -m chedelics
$ sudo passwd radiks
New password: 
Retype new password: 
passwd: password updated successfully

In order to verify that everything’s working properly, you should store at least one file in chedelics’s home directory. This file should be visible when we log in to FTP in the next steps:

sudo bash -c "echo FTP TESTING > /home/ftpuser/FTP-TEST"

Step 6. Test the FTP server on Debian 10.

To test the FTP connection, you will need to install an FTP client in the same or a separate system from where you want to access the FTP server. In our case, we are using FileZilla as an FTP client.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed FTP Server. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing FTP Server on your Debian 10 Bustersystem. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official vsftpd website.

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r00t

r00t is a seasoned Linux system administrator with a wealth of experience in the field. Known for his contributions to idroot.us, r00t has authored numerous tutorials and guides, helping users navigate the complexities of Linux systems. His expertise spans across various Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian. r00t's work is characterized by his ability to simplify complex concepts, making Linux more accessible to users of all skill levels. His dedication to the Linux community and his commitment to sharing knowledge makes him a respected figure in the field.
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