MyFTP: The Beginner’s Guide to Fast, Secure File Transfers

Who this guide is for

This guide is for:

Individuals who need a reliable way to move files between devices.
Small teams needing shared access to a central file repository.
IT administrators deploying MyFTP in an organization.

It assumes basic familiarity with networking concepts (IP addresses, ports) and comfort using a command line for some steps. Where possible, both GUI and CLI instructions are provided.

1. Planning your MyFTP deployment

Before installing, decide:

Deployment model: cloud-hosted vs self-hosted. Cloud-hosted offers easier maintenance; self-hosted gives you full control of data and compliance.
Authentication: local user accounts, LDAP/Active Directory, or OAuth/SAML for single sign-on.
Storage backend: local disk, network-attached storage (NAS), or object storage (S3-compatible).
Encryption: TLS for transport; at-rest encryption if required.
Network topology: internal-only for private use, or public with firewalls and reverse proxy for secure external access.
Backup and disaster recovery: schedule backups, define retention, and test restores.

2. System requirements

Minimum recommended:

CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 4 GB
Disk: 20 GB (more depending on storage needs)
OS: Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 10+ / CentOS 8+ / Windows Server 2019+
Network: static IP or dynamic DNS for remote access

For production, scale resources according to expected concurrent users, throughput, and storage volume.

3. Installing MyFTP

Note: replace commands and package names with those provided by your MyFTP distribution if they differ.

On Ubuntu/Debian (DEB package)

Update packages:


sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install dependencies:


sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Add MyFTP repository (example):


curl -fsSL https://repo.myftp.example/gpg.key | sudo gpg --dearmour -o /usr/share/keyrings/myftp-archive-keyring.gpg echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/myftp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://repo.myftp.example/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/myftp.list sudo apt update

Install MyFTP:
```
sudo apt install -y myftp 
```

Start and enable service:


sudo systemctl enable --now myftp sudo systemctl status myftp

On CentOS/RHEL (RPM)

sudo yum install -y yum-utils sudo rpm --import https://repo.myftp.example/gpg.key sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/myftp.repo https://repo.myftp.example/myftp.repo sudo yum install -y myftp sudo systemctl enable --now myftp

On Windows

Download the installer from the MyFTP website.
Run the installer as Administrator.
Configure service account and start the MyFTP service via Services.msc.

4. Initial configuration

MyFTP’s main configuration file is typically located at /etc/myftp/myftp.conf (paths may vary).

Key settings to edit:

server.address — bind IP or 0.0.0.0
server.port — default port (change from standard FTP 21 if exposing publicly)
tls.enabled — true/false
tls.cert_path / tls.key_path — paths to your TLS certificate and key
storage.type — local | s3 | nas
auth.backend — local | ldap | oauth

Example TLS snippet:

[tls] enabled = true cert_path = /etc/ssl/certs/myftp.crt key_path = /etc/ssl/private/myftp.key

After editing, restart MyFTP:

sudo systemctl restart myftp

5. Creating users and setting permissions

MyFTP supports local accounts and external auth. For local users:

Create a user directory:


sudo mkdir -p /srv/myftp/users/alice sudo chown alice:myftp /srv/myftp/users/alice sudo chmod 750 /srv/myftp/users/alice

Add a user (example CLI):


sudo myftpctl user add alice --home /srv/myftp/users/alice --quota 10G sudo myftpctl user set-password alice

Assign roles or groups for shared folders:


sudo myftpctl group add editors sudo myftpctl group add-user editors alice sudo myftpctl acl set /shared/docs editors:rw

If using LDAP/AD, configure the auth.backend section with your LDAP URI, bind DN, and search base, then test with an LDAP account.

6. Securing MyFTP

Enable TLS and use a certificate from a trusted CA (Let’s Encrypt is a free option).
Disable plain FTP if possible; prefer FTPS (FTP over TLS) or SFTP if supported.
Use strong ciphers and disable obsolete protocols (e.g., TLS 1.0/1.1).

Configure fail2ban to block repeated failed logins:

sudo apt install fail2ban # Add a jail for myftp in /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/myftp.local

Limit user permissions and use chroot jails to restrict directories.
Keep the server OS and MyFTP updated.

7. Reverse proxy and load balancing (optional)

When exposing MyFTP to the internet, place a reverse proxy (nginx, HAProxy) or load balancer in front to:

Terminate TLS
Rate limit and mitigate DDoS
Provide health checks and distribute load

Example nginx stream config for FTPS passthrough:

stream {     upstream myftp_up {         server 10.0.0.10:21;     }     server {         listen 21;         proxy_pass myftp_up;     } }

For HTTP-based management consoles, use standard nginx proxy_pass with TLS termination.

8. Storage backends and scaling

Local disk: simple, fast for single-server setups.
NAS: suitable for shared storage across servers (use NFS/SMB).
Object storage: S3-compatible backends scale well; ensure you configure multipart uploads and lifecycle policies.

When scaling horizontally, ensure:

Shared user metadata store (database) or replicated config.
Centralized authentication (LDAP/OAuth).
Sticky sessions if session state exists, or a session store (Redis).

9. Monitoring and logging

Enable verbose logging during initial deployment to troubleshoot, then tune to info/error levels.
Export metrics to Prometheus and visualize with Grafana (look for metrics: active_connections, transfer_rate, auth_failures).
Monitor disk usage, CPU, memory, network throughput, and error rates.
Rotate logs with logrotate and archive long-term.

10. Backup and disaster recovery

Back up user files, configuration files (/etc/myftp), and the metadata database.
Test restores regularly.
For object storage backends, use cross-region replication and lifecycle rules.
Maintain an incident runbook for common failure scenarios (disk full, cert expiry, DB corruption).

11. Common troubleshooting

Cannot connect: check firewall, port forwarding, and bind address.
Login failures: check auth backend logs and time synchronization (LDAP/SAML often requires synced clocks).
Slow transfers: inspect network, MTU, and disk I/O; consider enabling parallel transfers.
Permission errors: verify file ownership, ACLs, and chroot settings.

12. Example: Quick start (5-minute setup)

Install MyFTP on a small Ubuntu VM.

Generate a self-signed cert for testing:


sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/myftp.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/myftp.crt -subj "/CN=myftp.example"

Configure myftp.conf to enable TLS and set storage to local.
Add a test user and upload a file via an FTP client using FTPS.
Confirm logs show a successful connection and file transfer.

13. Advanced features

Event webhooks for file uploads/downloads.
Pre-signed temporary URLs for direct object storage access.
Automated virus scanning of uploaded files via ClamAV integration.
Quotas and tiered storage policies.

14. Maintenance checklist

Apply OS and MyFTP updates monthly (or sooner for critical patches).
Renew TLS certificates before expiry.
Review user accounts quarterly and remove inactive users.
Test backups and disaster recovery annually.

15. Resources and next steps

Read MyFTP official docs for feature-specific configuration.
Set up monitoring and alerts based on your organizational SLAs.
Consider integrating MyFTP with your CI/CD or automation tooling for repeatable deployments.

Setting up MyFTP is largely about balancing ease-of-use with security and scalability. Start small with secure defaults (TLS, limited user rights), then expand storage, authentication, and monitoring as needs grow.