With FileZilla’s free FTP solution, it is super simple to setup a
home “FTP” server. Why would you want to setup a FTP home server in the
first place? If you are mobile, you can use a home server to remain
connected to your home PC from anywhere. Yes, it’s sort of like VNC or DropBox. The FileZilla client-server application is Open Source and currently Windows only, but the FTP client itself can be installed on any platform.
The step by step installation
shows how easy it is to configure the home server. Installation is like
any Windows software. Initial options set how the server starts up as a
Windows service. Next, the default settings for the server address and
port is good enough.
User permissions and selecting the ‘shared folders’ for access is one
thing you have to customize. You can configure the level of access for
each user individually and even create user groups. A user group makes
server access easier to manage.
With the server address, user name and password, any FTP client can
be used to exchange files with the home server. It also is neat backup solution.
With a home server, the only requirement is to always keep the PC on.
But…one could argue that’s a small price to pay for reaching your online
home from any location.