# 2.2. Windows Installation

## 2.2.1. Overview

For Microsoft Windows systems, SFTPPlus is distributed as an installation package.

To install SFTPPlus, you will have to launch the server installer as a Windows Administrator.

An installation log file will be generated and stored inside the installation folder. The name of the file is install.log.

On Windows systems, the server runs as a single service and by default it will run under the SYSTEM account.

When launched, the server will log the privileges enabled for the account used for running SFTPPlus. This can be used for debugging privilege-related issues.

The automatic installation process will generate a new configuration file, together with the associated SSH keys and the SSL self-signed certificate.

Note

The server must be installed on a local drive. Installing the server on a network mapped drive is not supported. However, SFTPPlus can serve files stored on network mapped drivers to its clients.

## 2.2.2. Manual installation of SFTPPlus

A ZIP archive of the server installation package can be provided on request.

To install the server, copy the server folder to your preferred install location, e.g. C:\Program Files.

For Windows systems, the following BAT files are provided to install and uninstall the service. These must be executed as an administrator:

    CMD> service-install.bat
    CMD> service-start.bat
    CMD> service-uninstall.bat

After the service is installed, regular Windows Services management tools can be used for starting, stopping, restarting, or removing it.

## 2.2.3. Multi-instance/parallel SFTPPlus installations

Multiple SFTPPlus instances can be installed and operated in parallel on the same machine or VM.

For example, you can use one instance for the testing/staging environment and another one for the production environment.

During the installation process, you will need to choose for each installation a unique instance name and a unique installation paths.

When running on the same system, parallel SFTPPlus instances can't use the same port numbers.

To manage parallel SFTPPlus instances, after installing the first SFTPPlus instance, connect to the Web Manager web-based console and change the management port from the default value of `10020` to a different one. For example, you can use the following port convention for their management ports:

- 10031 - for the first instance

- 10032 - for the second instance

- 10033 - for the third instance

## 2.2.4. Silent installation of SFTPPlus

In order to perform a silent installation of SFTPPlus, open a command line with full administrator access rights (Run As Administrator).

Then go to the SFTPPlus' distributable location and run the following command:

    CMD> sftpplus-win-x64-VERSION.exe /S [/D=c:\path\to\install folder]

Note that:

- `VERSION` is the SFTPPlus distributable version.

- `/S` makes the installation process silent.

- `/D` defines the installation directory. If no value is defined for it, it will install the server in the default location such as C:\Program Files\SFTPPlus for x64 environments.

- If a custom `/D` installation path is desired, the parameter `/D=Custom\\installation\\path` can be used. It must be the last parameter used in the command line and must not contain any quotes, even if the path contains spaces. Only absolute paths are supported.

Note

When installing in silent mode, the installation log file will not be generated.

## 2.2.5. Post-installation considerations

For security reasons, creating a dedicated service account is recommended. Use the newly created service account to run the SFTPPlus service after completing the installation.

The following is a list of explicit steps to configure the service successfully.

- Create a new standard Windows user account via Control Panel. Go to User Accounts then Manage Account and select the Create new Standard account option.

- Alternatively, use the Computer Management administrative tool. Go to Local Users and Groups, then Users and select New User.

- Open Windows Services, select the SFTPPlus service and stop it. In its Properties window, select the Logon tab and set the Log on as to be the newly created OS account.

- Open the Registry Editor and navigate to:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\ Application\sftpplus-service

- Access the Permission windows for the `sftpplus-service` registry key and grant full control for the dedicated OS account.

- Ensure that the service account has the appropriate rights to modify/write/read the `log` and `configuration` folders.

- To allow the server to create missing home folders under a Windows system, the account used for running SFTPPlus will require backup and restore privileges. In the Local Security Policy administrative tool, go to Local Policies, then User Rights Assignment, and add the account to Back up files and directories and Restore files and directories policy settings.

- Alternatively, you can use the Computer Management administrative tool. Go to Local Users and Groups, Groups and add the user to the Backup operators group.

- Start the SFTPPlus service.

## 2.2.6. Server folders hierarchy and permissions

Once installed, SFTPPlus should have the following hierarchical folder structure on disk.

The following also describes the permissions required for the service account.

- .\ - read-only - Contains server administration commands and the init script.

- .\configuration - read-only Stores all data related to SFTPPlus configuration.

- .\configuration\server.ini - read-and-write Stores the main configuration.

- .\doc - read-only - Contains server documentation and release notes.

- .\extension - read-only Contains custom extensions implemented using the SFTPPlus API.

- .\include - read-only - This folder is for developers interested in extending the functionality of the server. May be missing on some releases.

- .\lib - read-only - This folder is for internal server use.

- .\log - read, write, create file and delete file - Stores all SFTPPlus log messages. SFTPPlus will write log entries into the log files. When log rotation is enabled, it will also create new rotated files and delete old rotated files.

## 2.2.7. First Steps

After starting SFTPPlus, the Web Manager is a good way to visualize the current configuration that is available, and is even configurable itself.

We highly recommend going through the Getting Started on Windows guide or Getting Started on Linux guide first as it contains additional tips for new SFTPPlus installations.

There is also an FAQ section if you have an idea, but are in search of answers.

If you want to skip ahead, the Configuration Instructions or the Usage Instructions will contain detailed information to configure and operate SFTPPlus.

2.1. System Requirements
2.3. Linux Installation