How to Install Pure-FTPd on AlmaLinux 8

Find out how you can install Pure-FTPd on AlmaLinux 8. Pure-FTPd is a free, secure, production-quality and standard-conformant FTP server. It focuses on efficiency and ease of use. Therefore, it is an ideal FTP server for your VPS cloud server or dedicated servers. In fact, installing Pure-FTPd on Storage VPS is the easiest and free method to store your backup files onto the cloud securely.

Summary

• Create a Scalable VPS with AlmaLinux 8 
• Connect to your VPS Cloud Server via SSH
• Install Pure-FTPd
• Enable Port 21 & 22 for Pure-FTPd
• FTP vs SFTP

Install Pure-FTPd

1. Install Pure-FTPd using the following command:

   dnf install pure-ftpd

2. After installation, edit the configuration file:

   nano /etc/pure-ftpd/pure-ftpd.conf

3. Uncomment these lines within the configuration file then save and exit Nano.

   PAMAuthentication yes
   
   PureDB @sysconfigdir@/pureftpd.pdb

4. Allow Pure-FTPd to start automatically after system reboot and start Pure-FTPd using the following commands:

   systemctl enable pure-ftpd
   
   systemctl start pure-ftpd

5. Create an FTP user with the username ftpuser within the ftp system user & group and grant this user access to /home directory:

   pure-pw useradd ftpuser -u ftp -g ftp -d /home

6. Save Pure-FTPd user database and restart Pure-FTPd service:

   pure-pw mkdb
   
   systemctl restart pure-ftpd

Enable Port 21 & 22 for Pure-FTPd

If you are using firewalld, simply run the following command to enable Port 21 (FTP) and Port 22 (SFTP) for Pure-FTPd:

firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=ftp

If you are using CSF Firewall, edit the configuration file using the following command:

nano /etc/csf/csf.conf

And ensure that Port 21 and 22 are both added within both TCP_IN and TCP_OUT.

Remember to restart either firewalld or CSF Firewall after the changes.

FTP vs SFTP

SFTP (or Secure FTP) is an alternative to FTP that also allows you to transfer files, but adds a layer of security to the process. SFTP uses SSH encryption to protect data as it is being transferred. This means data is not exposed to outside entities on the Internet when it is sent to another party. Therefore, SFTP is more secured than FTP.

Conclusions

This article summarises how you can install Pure-FTPd on AlmaLinux 8. We hope you find this article useful in setting up your own FTP server within your ExpertVM cloud server.