OT: setting up your own FTP server

[TotalSonic]

Hello forumsters! I was hoping that the more IT savvy among you may help me out with my dilemma.
To date I've been using my webhost's remote server to have my clients upload and download files to via FTP.

This works fine except for:
* I have uploading time (sometimes up to 3 hours or even beyond) for when I want to post the references for their album for their download
* I have downloading time for when I want to get the files they've sent me

If both of these things were made quicker - with files coming directly to me in my studio and with files posted to the client as soon as I had them on the computer and links made would be a big benefit to me as in this ever speeding up world turn time has become more and more of an issue. Since more and more work is coming (and going) from my studio as FTP'd files I'm really trying to streamline this part of my work flow as best possible.

The other issue is that I get a good number of clients who aren't FTP savvy that seem to have (usually minor) difficulties dealing with getting and using a separate FTP client app. So I'd like to have a web based interface for clients to be able to both upload and files to my server - where the client just enters their user name and password via a webpage and then can choose the files they wish to send or download directly in their web browser.

Most mastering engineers I've polled at this say their solution has been to get a cheap Mac as a server and use Rumpus - http://www.maxum.com/Rumpus/HomePage.html - to give a web based front end for it. From their second hand info it this seems like a very easy to setup solution - but seems not the cheapest solution out there.

Another suggested for PC checking out File Chucker and UserBase from http://encodable.com - while another gave a suggestion of CrushFTP - http://www.crushftp.com (whose demo ran a lot slower on my computer than the Encodable.com solutions did) - as ways of having a PC based solution that can have a web browser front end as well.

Some questions:
* for those running their own FTP servers - what are you using??
* is my one idea of using my already existing office computer as my FTP server - which has my studio's QuickBooks on it - too much of a security risk? - so that I would just be better off getting a separate computer for this?
* does the Windows 2000 sp4 built in IIS work ok as an FTP server - or is it too much of a security risk so that's it better to use 3rd party software for this? (I'm not opposed to setting up a box with Linux for this even though I've never done it)
* anyone willing to share some links / tutorials / suggestions for someone who is a newbie at configuring FTP servers?

Thanks everyone in advance for any info!!

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Cary B. Cornett]

Steve,
I don't have answers for all of your questions, but I hope my following comments will be of some help.



To date I've been using my webhost's remote server to have my clients upload and download files to via FTP.

This works fine except for:
* I have uploading time (sometimes up to 3 hours or even beyond) for when I want to post the references for their album for their download
* I have downloading time for when I want to get the files they've sent me

If both of these things were made instant - with files coming directly to me in my studio and with files posted to the client as soon as I had them on the computer and links made would be a big benefit to me ... An FTP server on your premises still has to go through your internet connection, so the actual speed of the files going each way probably won't be improved. As far as incoming files, yes, once the client's upload to you is finished, there it is. Now I think of it, an onsite FTP server would reduce that "bottleneck" to half as much each way, which could help if you or the client are really in a time crunch.

Other that that, you may want to think of this as more a matter of task management than of hardware. When you upload files, the actual time you spend starting the upload is what... maybe a minute? You select a batch of files and tell your FTP client to "send". Similarly, a multifile download is a batch operation, most of which can run unattended.



* is my one idea of using my already existing office computer as my FTP server - which has my studio's QuickBooks on it - too much of a security risk? - so that I would just be better off getting a separate computer for this? Any computer running as a web server has to be "open" to the outside world all of the time, which makes it vulnerable to attack. Even if it sits behind a hardware firewall (as my network here does), you have to leave an open "hole" in that wall for outside access to your server. I would definitely make the server a separated and dedicated machine. If I could afford it, I would probably also give it its own dedicated ISP connection, completely independent of the one you use for your network. To be further paranoid, I might even want to make sure that the only contact between my server and other machines would be "sneakernet" (a way to further limit the possible reach of any hackers).

Even the web hosting service I use has been hacked at least twice, and their security people are FAR more knowledgeable and diligent than I could ever be for my own server machine.

Apart from security, there is also the fact that, sooner or later, problems happen with any computer. The more different things that you use one machine for, the more likely it becomes that problems will develop. That is why, for example, I dedicate a computer for my telephone service rather then simply plugging Magic Jack into any old machine. When a computer DOES get glitchy, it is likely easier to fix if its functions are specifically limited.

After all, you don't do your mastering work on the machine you browse the web with, do you?

HTH

[TotalSonic]

Steve,
I don't have answers for all of your questions, but I hope my following comments will be of some help.

An FTP server on your premises still has to go through your internet connection, so the actual speed of the files going each way probably won't be improved. As far as incoming files, yes, once the client's upload to you is finished, there it is. Now I think of it, an onsite FTP server would reduce that "bottleneck" to half as much each way, which could help if you or the client are really in a time crunch.

Other that that, you may want to think of this as more a matter of task management than of hardware. When you upload files, the actual time you spend starting the upload is what... maybe a minute? You select a batch of files and tell your FTP client to "send". Similarly, a multifile download is a batch operation, most of which can run unattended.

All true. Thing is I've been in a couple attended sessions where the client has brought in the wrong file and had to have another studio ftp us the correct one - meaning the time crunch is more critical. Even with a slower upload to my own server than it might necessarilly be to a remote faster one I figure this would still be faster than their upload + my download time.

And going the other way - often I'm getting done work faily late at night. I'd love to be able to provide an email to clients saying "you're downloads are ready" at these points while their still awake than one that says "your files are uploading" meaning that they won't be able to check them out until the following day.



Any computer running as a web server has to be "open" to the outside world all of the time, which makes it vulnerable to attack. Even if it sits behind a hardware firewall (as my network here does), you have to leave an open "hole" in that wall for outside access to your server. I would definitely make the server a separated and dedicated machine. If I could afford it, I would probably also give it its own dedicated ISP connection, completely independent of the one you use for your network. To be further paranoid, I might even want to make sure that the only contact between my server and other machines would be "sneakernet" (a way to further limit the possible reach of any hackers).

Even the web hosting service I use has been hacked at least twice, and their security people are FAR more knowledgeable and diligent than I could ever be for my own server machine.

Apart from security, there is also the fact that, sooner or later, problems happen with any computer. The more different things that you use one machine for, the more likely it becomes that problems will develop. That is why, for example, I dedicate a computer for my telephone service rather then simply plugging Magic Jack into any old machine. When a computer DOES get glitchy, it is likely easier to fix if its functions are specifically limited.

After all, you don't do your mastering work on the machine you browse the web with, do you?

Nope - all my DAW's have been kept completely offline for at least the past 6 years. Good food for thought here - thinking about it I definitely am going to get a separate machine to use as an FTP server. I'm thinking Linux or Mac for the FTP might be the way to go for having less vulnerabilities. I don't think I'd be able to give it a separate ISP connection though at this point as I'm trying to lower overhead these days instead or raising it.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Wink0r]

I don't have enough knowledge or experience to give real advise, but it is an interesting topic. It is probably not a problem if you are using a business service (ISP) but you do need a static IP address to set up a server on the net. FileZilla has FTP server software as well as client software and is open source. I have used it in a local server package called Xxamp for web design work. A local Xxamp server allows you to test .php code locally.

Upload speed and download speed would not really be a factor with a local machine. The uplink and downlink are throttled by your ISP, so local transfer should be much faster. You could even load files on a local machine from a CD or Flash drive and bypass a network connection completely.

[Pedro Itriago]

Why complicate your life. Gat a NAS. All of them already come with FTP, SFTP, HTTP & HTTPS. You can create users, users groups all with access privileges, etc. Most of them run on Linux. Some of them can accept Fat32 drives but most likely you'll have to format them with the NAS with Ext2.

Some also accept extra storage by means of a USB port, so if you like to have the NAS completely separate form your network, all you have to do is put your files onto a removeable USB drive and copy them to the NAS' drive.

For most of your clients, a web browser with limited ftp services like IE or Opera can work. You just add the username in the FTP link (ftp://username@host.domain) and if it needs a password, a pop-up window will ask them for the password.

Heck, you can even create a link to an external FTP drive in windows' file explorer. That way, the link to your FTP will always be on their computer's explorer.

And Cary's right, You're limited to your ISP's up & download speeds. Get one with the fastest upload speeds, that's the one that will affect how fast your files will reach your clients. If you want extra security, you can have a separate ISP connection to the NAS but properly set, you could live without problems using the same ISP conection you have.

[Pedro Itriago]

I don't have enough knowledge or experience to give real advise, but it is an interesting topic. It is probably not a problem if you are using a business service (ISP) but you do need a static IP address to set up a server on the net. FileZilla has FTP server software as well as client software and is open source. I have used it in a local server package called Xxamp for web design work. A local Xxamp server allows you to test .php code locally.

Upload speed and download speed would not really be a factor with a local machine. The uplink and downlink are throttled by your ISP, so local transfer should be much faster. You could even load files on a local machine from a CD or Flash drive and bypass a network connection completely.

Although they're preferred, you don't need a static IP address for an FTP server. You can have a dynamic domain name server (DDNS) service. They'll redirect the traffic to your dinamic IP.

Some are free. There are even router manufaturers (like d-link, although I don't mean to sponsor them nor imply they're the only ones, just using them as example) that offer the service. Some routers can even tell the DDNS service (either theirs or third party) the change in you IP address automatically.

[Bill Park]

In my opinion, you need to keep the rest of your stuff off of this audio line. So you've got your audio box, and you are okay with using IT as your server, that is going to give you the most speed. Otherwise, you are losing time in transfers.

This means keeping a good backup of the audio box.

Then check with your ISP to see that you have the top tier of performance. Because as other have suggested, that is likely to be the bottleneck.

I don't see your situation as dire... three hours isn't so bad. And if someone is in a real hurry to check something, you can always send an MP3 in minutes. Is this a real need, or just an enhancement of service? That might make it easier to plan a practical (not budget-busting) solution. If it is a real need, then damn the budget, lets get it done. If it is an enhancement, lets poke around the possibilities and costs.

[TotalSonic]

Pedro -
Please forgive my ignorance - I had never heard of "NAS" before so just had to look it up in Wiki. It's just a PC running what is usually LINUX based package dedicated to providing files to others, correct? Anyone with other links or tutorials of how to configure these and who are good turn key providers of them are?

Anyone have a preference of systems for these? How are FreeNAS, Openfiler, NASLite, Sun Open Storage?

Again - I'm pretty much a newbie to this stuff so if replies could assume I need to be spoon fed regarding all this makes it easier for me to figure out.

Best regards,
Steve Berson



Why complicate your life. Gat a NAS. All of them already come with FTP, SFTP, HTTP & HTTPS. You can create users, users groups all with access privileges, etc. Most of them run on Linux. Some of them can accept Fat32 drives but most likely you'll have to format them with the NAS with Ext2.

Some also accept extra storage by means of a USB port, so if you like to have the NAS completely separate form your network, all you have to do is put your files onto a removeable USB drive and copy them to the NAS' drive.

For most of your clients, a web browser with limited ftp services like IE or Opera can work. You just add the username in the FTP link (ftp://username@host.domain) and if it needs a password, a pop-up window will ask them for the password.

Heck, you can even create a link to an external FTP drive in windows' file explorer. That way, the link to your FTP will always be on their computer's explorer.

And Cary's right, You're limited to your ISP's up & download speeds. Get one with the fastest upload speeds, that's the one that will affect how fast your files will reach your clients. If you want extra security, you can have a separate ISP connection to the NAS but properly set, you could live without problems using the same ISP conection you have.

[TotalSonic]

In my opinion, you need to keep the rest of your stuff off of this audio line. So you've got your audio box, and you are okay with using IT as your server, that is going to give you the most speed. Otherwise, you are losing time in transfers.

This means keeping a good backup of the audio box.

Then check with your ISP to see that you have the top tier of performance.
Because as other have suggested, that is likely to be the bottleneck.

I don't see your situation as dire... three hours isn't so bad.

3 hours is bad when I have a deadline to meet and I need a client decision on the reference in order to make it. If I get done at 8:00pm and the client download is 2 hours then it's reasonable to expect that they can listen to it that night and get back to me in the morning so I can make it. But add 3 hours upload to that time and the client needs to listen in the morning (or for a lot with day jobs not until that night) and I miss another day of getting a CD-R master made and shipped if they are in fact approving the ref - or starting on revisions if they aren't.

The amount of "need it yesterday" demands has seriously increased these days. A lot more work is going for digital only releases these days also - in which case the old luxury of "don't worry - we're still waiting for the graphics guy to get done the cover art" no longer is a mitigating factor. Meaning making turn demands is often the critical element to getting the gig and getting return business as well.



And if someone is in a real hurry to check something, you can always send an MP3 in minutes.

mp3's might be perfectly acceptable as references for mixes - but they really do not work at all when trying to ascertain subtleties of sound quality improvements that is the general goal in mastering.



Is this a real need, or just an enhancement of service? That might make it easier to plan a practical (not budget-busting) solution. If it is a real need, then damn the budget, lets get it done. If it is an enhancement, lets poke around the possibilities and costs.

Yup - it's an enhancement. My new toys budget has already been taken up with one big ticket item (have a Manley Backbone on order - having to deal with a 3 week back order for it though) - so I'm trying to keep the expense reasonable. BUT - it's something I'm serious about doing. Rumpus is looking more attractive to me as it seems just a G4 would run it fine, folks say it's ultra easy to setup, and I think having a Mac around for rare desk top publishing needs (as many printers still don't like dealing with PC fonts) might help as well.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[MMP]

I am about to do a similar thing.

First issue is do you have a static IP address or not? If so, good. If not, get a free account with dyndns.com. They essentially remap moving IP addresses to free domain names that they maintain.

Second thing is get a good router. I just bought a Belkin N+with a built in gigabit switch that can automatically notify DynDns.com of address changes. It also can route all FTP traffic to one specific computer. As an unrelated side benefit it has a nifty hotel style wireless guest capability that allows clients internet access without exposing your business network to them.

I am going to use a Mac Mini for file transfers. Mac OSX has FTP file transfer built into the user permissions and it is pretty easy to set up a guest user directory and keep them out of everything else.

Regards,

MM

[soundtrack2life]

FWIW I use a Mac Mini that is headless (no KVM). They are very very quite, small and generate next to no heat. Not to mention it is one hell of a powerful little box with the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. And you can get them realitivly cheap. Plus what can I say. . . its a Mac :)

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=mac+mini+intel&_sacat=0&_trksid=m270&_odkw=mac+mini&_osacat=0

Yes OS X has alot built into the OS but I use CrushFTP as my FTP server. It is browser based and easy to setup and use.

http://www.crushftp.com/index.html

The best part is it is availible for PC and Mac. I set up a version of it on a PC at my parents company for distribution of documents to subcontractors. Yes you will have to set up a DynDns service if you don't have a static IP. FWIW I think the free accounts can expire if you don't log in once in a while. So it was cheap enough to register for 5 years and not have to bother. The other thing you will have to do is configure your router to forward the port to your server. FWIW I use an "alternate port" becuse when I was on a standard port I was getting hit with a ton of crap from the web. Probably hackers pinging the standard port. Anyway it is not a big deal all you have to do is make sure you include it with the link you send people.
Joe

[AcousticGlue]

I am about to do a similar thing.

First issue is do you have a static IP address or not? If so, good. If not, get a free account with dyndns.com. They essentially remap moving IP addresses to free domain names that they maintain.

Second thing is get a good router. I just bought a Belkin N+with a built in gigabit switch that can automatically notify DynDns.com of address changes. It also can route all FTP traffic to one specific computer. As an unrelated side benefit it has a nifty hotel style wireless guest capability that allows clients internet access without exposing your business network to them.

I am going to use a Mac Mini for file transfers. Mac OSX has FTP file transfer built into the user permissions and it is pretty easy to set up a guest user directory and keep them out of everything else.

Regards,

MM

Steve, Pedro is on right track but using SCP (for clients or sftp) is better. On your server/PC you can set up Filezilla (free) for connections on port 22 (instead of port 21). Your upload speed (ISP)will be the main the drawback and make sure you have plenty of free disk space for stuff to cache. Then you rock on.