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Creating a File Server is a task that requires knowledge and experience, but over time and with the advancement of technology, programs have been created that literally play this process. Hfs (HTTP File Server) will help us with this. It is a free program with a size of only 600 kb and you can use it for sending and downloading files. Its function is a bit different from that of the classic file sharing because it uses Web technology to be more compatible with the internet. It also differs from classic web servers. The operation of the program is extremely simple and here you will see its most basic settings. Most importantly perhaps this is a very small (Potable) application which means you do not need to install anything. The second perhaps most important element is the fact that it requires some minimal basic settings that even the most novice user can make. But let's start from the beginning and see how easily we can set up our own HTTP File Server.
STEPS
1. After downloading the program we run it from the program menu the folders or files we want to share. So I select Select Add folder from disk and click the folder or folders I want to add.
2. When selecting the folders and in the dialog menu that the program will show us, we select Real Folders and we should prefer this method, especially if the files to be shared are very large.
3. When we are done, we choose who will be the ones we want to have access to our files, if of course we want everyone to see them we bypass this field. Right-click on the folder we created and put our files in and select Properties. From there we add the users we want by specifying in each separately username and password. Now, only those who now have the username you set and know the password will be able to access our files.
4. Let's now look at some other sub-settings that will help us better share our content. From the program menu and selecting spid limit we determine whether those who will download our content will have a limit or not in the download speed. With the next option Max Simoultaneous we determine if we want to have and to what extent a limit on the number of downloads that will be made simultaneously.
5. Finally, by checking the ip address option from the same menu, we must define the ip that we want our server to have. From what you see, the program automatically recognizes our external ip, that is, the one that connects us to the internet and the ip of our internal network. The ip we will choose now depends on where and to whom we want to share the files. For example, if we want to share files with a friend or anyone far away, we will choose the external ip, if we now want to share files through our network in our office or at home, we choose the router ip, without this meaning that we can not do the same with our external ip.
6. I should note that if our ip is dynamic (which is true in most cases) this ip will probably change over time, but enough to do our job. For example, my ip changes about every 24 hours, a fact that depends on many factors and of course depends on the policy of each provider. This of course does not apply if you have a static ip that is fixed. There are of course some methods to ΄΄ convert ΄΄ our dynamic ip to static but it is not current and we will probably analyze it in a new article. Now it's time for the final test, and we have to see if everything goes well, click on Open in Browser (we see it in the photo below) and test how a third party will see the HTTP File Server we just set up.
7. We're almost done, by default HTTP File Server runs on port 80, so to see your folders from any other computer, type in the address bar of the Browser you use the IP of the computer running the application on your PC's local network 192.168.1.5 .XNUMX. or enter 192.168.1.5:80.If we now assume that the IP on the internet is for example 85.00.00.96 then you have to type in the Browser bar 85.00.00.96:80
A small detail, for the purposes of the test I added the photo folders with the Real Folders method, but with this setting your friends can download from you and not upload their own files. So if you want to give them the ability to upload their own files, add a folder from your computer and select a virtual folder, so you will be able to see the files uploaded by your friends in a separate folder. In general, you should not have any problems. The only problem one might encounter is that some routers have some doors locked for security reasons and one of them may be 80. However, the problem can be solved very easily simply by adding this door as an exception. on the router.
However, because each router has different settings we can not provide specific solutions. However, the general rule is to add this port to the Port Forwarding option of our router where in the LAN Host IP Address option you have to enter the IP of the computer running the HTTP File Server as you can see in the photos below.
Finally I should point out the following: Although using the application on an internal network will work perfectly, however with external Ip it may not work properly on some routers even with the settings I suggest.
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows
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