Serv-U FTP Server
Encyclopedia
Serv-U is a Windows
and Linux
-based multi-protocol FTP
, SFTP
and HTTP file server. It allows files to be shared over the Internet via unencrypted protocols like FTP and HTTP or securely via FTPS, SFTP, or HTTPS. Using a built-in web service the software can be configured remotely from any location with Internet access and a web browser, and two built-in file transfer clients allow for file management without requiring pre-installed FTP/SFTP client software.
-based FTP
, SFTP
and HTTP file server. Its main features are:
file. Its primary features include:
FTP Voyager JV's UI and functionality is intended to supplement the functionality of programs like FTP Voyager
, FileZilla
, SmartFTP
and others by providing the same transfer capabilities to users who do not have FTP software installed and lack the administrative permissions or expertise to do so. A "Save Login" feature that was recently added allows users to save a JNLP
file to their desktop containing server information so that the software can be launched from the Java cache as though it were an installed application.
In order to support Serv-U, Beckers created a small company called Cat Soft LLC, located in Durham, North Carolina. When Serv-U sales exceeded Beckers' expectations, he chose to outsource sales, marketing, and support to Deerfield Inc. This new marketing firm changed the name to "FTP Serv-U". However, with the release of version 3.0, sales, marketing, and support were moved from Deerfield Inc. to Rhino Software Inc.. Under RhinoSoft's new marketing direction, the server was renamed back to "Serv-U".
In January 2005 Beckers decided to pursue other ventures and sold the Serv-U rights to Rhino Software, Inc. The server was rewritten as a fully multithreaded application, improving performance and implementing a web-based management interface which was replicated in the remote web administration component that was also added. With the release of Serv-U 8, Serv-U also added support for custom event triggers, custom HTTP interface logos, and also reduced average CPU/RAM usage.
Today Serv-U features FTP/FTPS/SFTP/HTTP/HTTPS support, ODBC integration, Windows Active Directory authentication, virtual directories, compression, and more. Serv-U is an aggressively developed product and new versions are released regularly with fixes and new features. Serv-U was the recipient of the Software Industry "Best Internet Enhancement" award in 2008.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based multi-protocol FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
, SFTP
SSH file transfer protocol
In computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream...
and HTTP file server. It allows files to be shared over the Internet via unencrypted protocols like FTP and HTTP or securely via FTPS, SFTP, or HTTPS. Using a built-in web service the software can be configured remotely from any location with Internet access and a web browser, and two built-in file transfer clients allow for file management without requiring pre-installed FTP/SFTP client software.
Serv-U File Server Features
Serv-U is a WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
, SFTP
SSH file transfer protocol
In computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream...
and HTTP file server. Its main features are:
- Files accessible by FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP, HTTPS listeners which can be bound to any locally assigned IPv4/IPv6 address
- Full UNICODE Support
- IPv6 Support
- 32-bit and 64-bit versions
- SSH Public Key Authentication
- FIPS 140-2 Encryption (Certificate #1051)
- Domain-based collections of users/groups, accessible through the use of Virtual HostsVirtual hostingVirtual hosting is a method for hosting multiple domain names on a server using a single IP address. This allows one server to share its resources, such as memory and processor cycles, in order to use its resources more efficiently....
- Web-based server administration (locally or remotely by HTTP)
- Complete IP AddressIP addressAn Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
or FQDNFQDNA fully qualified domain name , sometimes also referred as an absolute domain name, is a domain name that specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System . It specifies all domain levels, including the top-level domain and the root domain...
-based ACLAccess control listAn access control list , with respect to a computer file system, is a list of permissions attached to an object. An ACL specifies which users or system processes are granted access to objects, as well as what operations are allowed on given objects. Each entry in a typical ACL specifies a subject...
support - User/group storage in ODBC databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s - EmailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
notifications, batch file triggering and balloon tips based on custom event triggers - File ACLs configurable for users, groups, domains or entire server
- Virtual Path support for "virtual file system"
- Statistics module to view utilization by individual users/groups
- Highly detailed and granular logging
- Customizable FTP command responses
- UTF-8UTF-8UTF-8 is a multibyte character encoding for Unicode. Like UTF-16 and UTF-32, UTF-8 can represent every character in the Unicode character set. Unlike them, it is backward-compatible with ASCII and avoids the complications of endianness and byte order marks...
support - Individual session observation support ("spy" on active sessions)
- Integration with Active DirectoryActive DirectoryActive Directory is a directory service created by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems. Server computers on which Active Directory is running are called domain controllers....
(permissions granular to Organizational Unit level) - Detailed password policyPassword policyA password policy is a set of rules designed to enhance computer security by encouraging users to employ strong passwords and use them properly. A password policy is often part of an organization's official regulations and may be taught as part of security awareness training...
enforcement - Granular traffic shaping controls
- Custom HTTP interface logos
- Automatic blocking of brute forceBrute force attackIn cryptography, a brute-force attack, or exhaustive key search, is a strategy that can, in theory, be used against any encrypted data. Such an attack might be utilized when it is not possible to take advantage of other weaknesses in an encryption system that would make the task easier...
attacks by IP address - Transfer resume support
- Automatic account expiration/deletion
- Fully Integrated API
- Multilingual Web Client, supports remote access of files via HTTP/HTTPS in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Russian, Danish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Japanese.
FTP Voyager JV
Serv-U includes the option to license a built-in Java-based file transfer client called FTP Voyager JV. The FTP Voyager JV is accessed via the HTTP listener in Serv-U, and launched via a Java Web StartJava Web Start
In computing, Java Web Start is a framework developed by Sun Microsystems that allows users to start application software for the Java Platform directly from the Internet using a web browser....
file. Its primary features include:
- Tab-based custom pane docking
- Transfer resume support
- Multiple concurrent transfer support
- Directory synchronization
FTP Voyager JV's UI and functionality is intended to supplement the functionality of programs like FTP Voyager
FTP Voyager
-FTP Voyager:FTP Voyager is an FTP/FTPS/SFTP client for Microsoft Windows with support for the following features:*FTP/FTPS/SFTP protocols*Directory synchronization*Use of multiple file transfer threads*File searching*Custom FTP commands...
, FileZilla
FileZilla
FileZilla is free, open source, cross-platform FTP software, consisting of FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server. Binaries are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. It supports FTP, SFTP, and FTPS . As of 18 April 2011, FileZilla Client was the 7th most popular download of all time from...
, SmartFTP
SmartFTP
SmartFTP is an FTP/FTPS/SFTP client for Windows, developed by SmartSoft Ltd. Features include SSL/TLS, IPv6 and FXP support, a backup tool, a transfer queue, proxy and firewall support, multiple connections, chmod features, Drag-and-drop and localization for over 20 languages, including English,...
and others by providing the same transfer capabilities to users who do not have FTP software installed and lack the administrative permissions or expertise to do so. A "Save Login" feature that was recently added allows users to save a JNLP
Java Web Start
In computing, Java Web Start is a framework developed by Sun Microsystems that allows users to start application software for the Java Platform directly from the Internet using a web browser....
file to their desktop containing server information so that the software can be launched from the Java cache as though it were an installed application.
History
Serv-U was originally developed by Rob Beckers during the first half of 1994 as an exercise to learn Windows socket programming. The first version was released on 7 February 1995, as shareware, for US $20.00 per copy.In order to support Serv-U, Beckers created a small company called Cat Soft LLC, located in Durham, North Carolina. When Serv-U sales exceeded Beckers' expectations, he chose to outsource sales, marketing, and support to Deerfield Inc. This new marketing firm changed the name to "FTP Serv-U". However, with the release of version 3.0, sales, marketing, and support were moved from Deerfield Inc. to Rhino Software Inc.. Under RhinoSoft's new marketing direction, the server was renamed back to "Serv-U".
In January 2005 Beckers decided to pursue other ventures and sold the Serv-U rights to Rhino Software, Inc. The server was rewritten as a fully multithreaded application, improving performance and implementing a web-based management interface which was replicated in the remote web administration component that was also added. With the release of Serv-U 8, Serv-U also added support for custom event triggers, custom HTTP interface logos, and also reduced average CPU/RAM usage.
Today Serv-U features FTP/FTPS/SFTP/HTTP/HTTPS support, ODBC integration, Windows Active Directory authentication, virtual directories, compression, and more. Serv-U is an aggressively developed product and new versions are released regularly with fixes and new features. Serv-U was the recipient of the Software Industry "Best Internet Enhancement" award in 2008.
Release History
- 11 - Added Linux server support, IP ACL import/export by CSV, notifications of pending password expiration, full custom web interface customization with HTML/CSS, Web Client Pro applet for multiple concurrent file transfers in browser, persistent real-time statistics tracking
- 10 - Added native 64-bit support, IPv6 support, Active Directory OU integration, logging of custom events
- 9 - Added support for thumbnail scroller to Web Client, BlackBerry mobile file access, user account list filtering, CIDR notation for ACLs, UNICODE, FIPS 140-2, user-initiated password reset, Web Client file search, folder synchronization in FTP Voyager JV
- 8 - Added support for read-only administrator accounts, UNICODE / UTF-8 passwords, CSV import/export of user accounts, custom events and email notifications, SFTP 5/6, SSL trust chains
- 7 - Added support for custom web interface, multi-threaded architecture, added FTP Voyager JV and Web Client for HTTP/HTTPS transfers, mobile support for iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/iPod TouchIPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, SFTP file transfers