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FtpMax is arguably the best FTP server for situations where system administrators want a high level of control over what users upload and download — or, rather, exactly how much users upload and download. FtpMax lets you establish upload/download ratios for all users — including anonymous users — and allows you to specify exactly how much a user can store on your FTP server.
FtpMax excels in other areas as well. In our testing, FtpMax responded quickly to simultaneous download and upload requests. This is partially due to how FtpMax was developed: from the ground up as a native 32-bit multithreaded Windows application. (We tested it under Windows 98.)
FtpMax lets you establish upload/download ratios for all users — including anonymous users — and allows you to specify exactly how much a user can store on your FTP server.
Administration tools in FtpMax are particularly strong as well. You can use a tree-like interface to display all the directories and files in a given domain and drag and drop files (as well as groups and directories) from anywhere on your desktop, from Windows Explorer, or on the network directly onto the directory trees. Notably, FtpMax supports multiple domains, each with a file tree and unique files, groups and users. You can administer all the domains from a single administrative screen. If you don’t like the standard port 21 for FTP access, you can specify another port on your server. The only thing that we would like to see are remote browser-based administration capabilities, instead of the current workstation-based administration application.
User settings are extensive. After setting up a user’s password, you can specify a long list of personalized settings, including file limits, a starting directory, permissions (whether the user can delete, overwrite, or rename their own uploaded files), space limits, and ratios of uploads to downloads. Groups are easy to administer, thanks to shared group directories. Users can now be assigned to groups, and each user in the group is assigned a default tree. In addition, ownership of directories can be assigned to a specific user simply by dragging and dropping the directory onto the user entry.
When running, FtpMax displays the current connections (by domain, name, when first connected, downloaded and uploaded files, and current activities). Records generated by FtpMax are stored in an OBDC compliant database, using Microsoft Access or SQL Server. There’s also a wide range of reporting capabilities, including the ability to view disk usage in graph form.
In a nice touch, SmartMax Software offers 30 days of free technical support upon the purchase of a FtpMax license. If 30 days won’t suffice, $79 will buy eight additional technical-support incidents and a years’ worth of free upgrades. At $99, FtpMax is one of the more expensive FTP servers on the market (especially relative to the freeware champ War FTP Daemon), but if you’re in need of a powerful FTP server with upload/download ratio settings, FtpMax makes for a solid choice.
Pros: 7 Top-notch admin tools, 7 Most tasks can be achieved using drag & drop, 7 Flexibility when assigning ports, 7 Good reporting capabilities, 7 Ability to “snoop” on current connections
Cons: 7 No Unix version, 7 No browser-based administration
New in v4.03:
Shared group directories, ability to configure your own listening port, full multi-domain support, drag and drop file maintenance, directory ownership capabilities; Release Notes
Upgrade Meter: 5
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Version Reviewed: 4.03 Reviewed by: Kevin Reichard |
Last Updated: 1/20/99 Date of Original Review: 1/20/99 |
Operating Systems:
Windows NT – Intel (NT 4.0 SP3 or SP4). Windows 95/98
