FAQ and answers

Need help with FileZilla Server? Something does not work as expected? In this forum you may find an answer.

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botg
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Joined: 2004-02-23 20:49
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FAQ and answers

#1 Post by botg » 2004-08-07 08:19

This is a list of frequently asked questions and corresponding answers. Please read this topic carefully before asking any questions.
For client specific questions, please read http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/forum/ ... ic.php?t=3 instead.

General questions
  1. What do the version numbers of FileZilla mean?
    The version numbers of FileZilla (client and server) are in the following format: n.n.n[c], where n is a number and c an alphabetical character.
    The first number is the major version number followed by two minor version numbers. The character at the end is optional and indicates maintance releases, which mostly fix bugs.
    Example: 2.2.4 would be the original version, the first maintance would then get 2.2.4a as version, the next 2.2.4b and so on.
Server specific
  1. I've just installed the server and after starting the interface, it asks for a server address.
    Despite administrating the server on the local machine, the interface can also be used to administrate remote servers. But you will most likely want to administrate your local server. In this case enter 127.0.0.1 as server address. For the server port, you have to enter the same port number you did specify during installation for the admin port. (default: 14147)
  2. I'm behind a firewall and nobody can connect to my server or transfer files / directory listings
    You have to configure your firewall to allow incoming connections on the ftp port (default: 21), as well as allowing outgoing connections from the server. FileZilla Server tries to use a port one less than the ftp port for outgoing connections. If that fails it tries to use a port one larger than the ftp port and after that it requests a port from windows. It may be best to allow all outgoing connections from the server.
    Further you have to allow a port range for incoming connections for passive mode transfers. You can specify this port range on the "passive mode settings" page in the settings dialog in the server interface. In most cases, a range like 5000-5100 is sufficient.
    With certain firewalls, it may be possible that FileZilla can't determinate the external IP address. In this case you have to enter the IP address (or your host name) on the passive mode page in the settings dialog. In case you've a dynamic IP (most dialup users), you can also chose to retrieve the ip address from a website.
  3. I'm behind a router and nobody can connect to my server or transfer files / directory listings
    You have to configure your router to forward the ftp port (default: 21) to the server machine.
    Further you have to forward a port range for passive mode transfers. You can specify this port range on the "passive mode settings" page in the settings dialog in the server interface. In most cases, a range like 5000-5100 is sufficient.
    Most likely, FileZilla can't determinate the external IP address if behind a router. In this case you have to enter the IP address (or your host name) on the passive mode page in the settings dialog. In case you've a dynamic IP (most dialup users), you can also chose to retrieve the ip address from a website.
  4. Normal FTP works, but why do directory listings and file transfers fail if using SSL?
    Please read the previous two items and properly configure FileZilla Server as well as all routers/firewalls involved.
    As long as SSL mode does not work, you have some error in your configuration. Normal FTP only works because you have a malicious router or firewall that sniffs your FTP traffic and transparently forwards ports and potentially modifies the data even. This calls forth lots of problems and obviously won't work if the connection is encrypted using SSL.
  5. How can I enable anonymous logins?
    Just create an account with the name anonymous and make sure the password box isn't checked on that account.
  6. How can I test that my server can be reached from the internet?
    It's not possible to check the accessability of the server by connecting from inside the local network (or even localhost) by entering the external IP in a client. Reason is that most firewalls and/or routers only forward ports for requests coming from outside the internal network.
    So you would have to connect to your server from an external machine.
    You can test the accessability of your server using the free service from https://www.ftptest.net/
  7. How do aliases work?
    Let's assume you have two shared folders: c:\ftproot is your homedir and d:\myfiles is the second one.
    In order to display an alias to d:\myfiles in your homedir, add /myalias as alias in the second column to the right of d:\myfiles. A new folder with the name myalias will appear in your homedir with the contents of d:\myfiles
  8. How can I share network drives?
    Generally sharing network drives is not recommened, as all data has to be transferred twice. Just install FileZilla Server on the other machine instead.
    If you still want to share a network drives with FileZilla Server, make sure the account FileZilla Server runs under has access to the network drive. You can change the account FileZilla Server uses on the service page in the management console of Windows.
    However, even then sharing drives might not work since Windows networking has some bugs.

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