How to setup anonymous FTP for file upload

Question

I want to have a FTP server setup that allows clients to upload large files (2GB+ database dumps) by SFTP. The important point is that I want clients to log into the server with a single username and password shared by all clients; but for them NOT to be able to see any other files uploaded.

I'm using SFTP because the upload needs to be secure and because of the large file size. If there is a better way to handle this; I am open to suggestions.

Answer 1

I don't recommend FTP over SSL since it's cumbersome, and can require you to purchase SSL certs. It can also be a pain to configure correctly. (Some people confuse SFTP/FTPS).

SFTP is not the same as FTP/S; the latter implements the original FTP protocol through a separately-created secure tunnel.

Go with SFTP (sometimes called SCP) it's file transfer over SSH. You can obtain free or paid clients and servers for windows, linux, and Mac for SCP - for instance WinSCP or Cyberduck.

You can install a SSH server in windows using cygwin or you can pay for one.

As far as keeping the files separate, you may want to write a Cron job (or your OS's equivalent) that checks for uploaded files and then moves them out of the folder. That's the only way I can think to do it if everyone is going to share the same log in. Otherwise, you'll have to jail everyone and give each of them their own log in.

Answer 2

The way I know this from certain academic setups is to just set your "incoming" folder write-only for the shared ftp user account and readable/writable for yourself.