Microsoft has created a new FTP service that has been completely rewritten for Windows Server 2008. This new FTP service incorporates many new features that enable web authors to publish content better than before, and offers web administrators more security and deployment options. For additional information, please see our documentation.

This new FTP service is only for Windows Server 2008 and Internet Information Services 7.0; it will not work on Windows Server 2003 and Internet Information Services 6.0.

This new FTP service supports a wide range of features and improvements, and the following list contains several of the improvements in this version:
Integration with IIS 7.0:

IIS 7.0 has a brand-new administration interface and configuration store, and the new FTP service is tightly integrated with this new design. The old IIS 6 metabase is gone, and a new configuration store that is based on the .NET XML-based *.config format has taken its place. In addition, IIS 7.0 has a new administration tool, and the new FTP server plugs seamlessly into that paradigm.

Support for new Internet standards:
One of the most significant features in the new FTP service is support for FTP over SSL. The new FTP service also supports other Internet improvements such as UTF8 and IPv6.

Shared hosting improvements:
By fully integrating into IIS 7.0, the new FTP service makes it possible to host FTP and Web content from the same site by simply adding an FTP binding to an existing Web site. In addition, the FTP service now has virtual host name support, making it possible to host multiple FTP sites on the same IP address. The new FTP service also has improved user isolation, now making it possible to isolate users through per-user virtual directories.

Improved logging support:
FTP logging has been enhanced to include all FTP-related traffic, unique tracking for FTP sessions, FTP sub-statuses, additional detail fields in FTP logs, and much more.

New supportability features:
IIS 7.0 has a new option to display detailed error messages for local users, and the FTP service supports this by providing detailed error responses when logging on locally to an FTP server. The FTP service also logs detailed information using Event Tracing for Windows (ETW), which provides additional detailed information for troubleshooting.