IIS FTP Server works locally, but cannot connect from remote

Question

I'm trying to setup an FTP server on Windows 2008 Server. I can connect locally:

C:\>ftp localhost
Connected to WebHead1
220 Microsoft FTP Service

However, when I try to connect from remote, it doesn't work:

~>ftp x.x.x.x
ftp: Can't connect to `x.x.x.x': Operation timed out
ftp: Can't connect to `x.x.x.x'

I've tried everything I can think of with the settings. The FTP server is bound to all unassigned IPs and listening on port 21. I've also checked "FTP Server" in the firewall settings. Nothing appears in the FTP log files. I'm totally out of ideas!

Gents, I've attempted the advice you had here to discover that Passive mode is enabled if you go to Firewall Support for the FTP site. If you enter the public IP address in the Firewall Support, it will enable Passive Mode for the FTP site. If you remove the IP address from Firewall Support, it will start working. You will need to make sure to check both the server level and the ftp site level. — , Apr 28 '15 at 03:27

score 43 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 06 '20 at 06:15

43

Figured it out. The issue is documented here.

Basically, you have to run:

sc sidtype ftpsvc unrestricted

And then restart the FTP service:

net stop ftpsvc & net start ftpsvc

From what I can tell, it's a bug in R2. Go figure.

edited Nov 06 '20 at 06:15

davetapley

133
7

answered Oct 15 '12 at 01:22

Mike Christensen

965
1
11
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Confirmed as working for Windows Server 2012 and IIS 8... – cederlof Jan 10 '14 at 12:46
3

I can confirm the exact same issue occurs in Server 2012 IIS and this solution fixes it. – takesides Oct 06 '14 at 15:06
1

This solution works for Windows Pro 7 FTP Server. thanks. – jacouh Oct 26 '14 at 17:52
Confirmed still necessary in Aug '15, and has worked for me. – frumbert Aug 24 '15 at 00:59
Confirmed and is working. I had this issue on Windows server 2012 and IIS 8. Used the above commands and ftp is now working fine. Thanks for sharing buddy :) – Altaf Hussain Feb 11 '16 at 07:36
This helped me as well. The link to the issue documentation isn't working, though. – dave Feb 15 '16 at 16:31
Confirmed on 2012 R2, this got it working – Brian Duke Jun 27 '16 at 23:19
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didn't solve the problem. any other advice? – Nahum Aug 22 '16 at 09:15
Wow. This is amazing. Windows Server 2016 Standard worked – Pierre Oct 08 '17 at 17:10
Confirmed worked for IIS10 on Windows Server 2016. – Alex May 08 '19 at 20:14
If you get `Set-Content : A positional parameter cannot be found that accepts argument 'unrestricted'`, use `sc.exe`, see [here](https://stackoverflow.com/a/33785483/21115). – davetapley Nov 05 '20 at 21:47
Didnt solve the problem. – AgentFire Nov 06 '20 at 22:21

IIS FTP Server works locally, but cannot connect from remote

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