What is the FTP Server Selection Interface?
The FTP Server Selection interface in WHM allows you to choose which FTP server daemon runs on your server, or disable FTP services entirely. This interface is only available when the FTP server role is enabled in WHM's Server Profile (Home » Server Configuration » Server Profile).
Steps to Select an FTP Server
- Log in to WHM as the root user.
- Navigate to Home » Service Configuration » FTP Server Selection.
- In the FTP Server column, select one of the following:
- Pure-FTPd — Lightweight FTP server with fast transfer speeds and virtual user quota support.
- ProFTPD — Full-featured FTP server with bandwidth usage reporting and statistics display.
- Disabled — Turns off FTP services on the server.
- Click Save.
The system will automatically install and configure the selected FTP daemon if it is not already installed.
Pure-FTPd vs ProFTPD
- Transfer Speed: Pure-FTPd typically provides faster FTP transfers than ProFTPD.
- Statistics: ProFTPD displays bandwidth usage in the statistics menu; Pure-FTPd does not.
- Quotas: Pure-FTPd supports virtual user quotas; ProFTPD does not.
- Access Controls: On AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, and CloudLinux, ProFTPD does not use TCP-Wrappers-based access controls. Use WHM's Host Access Control interface (Home » Security Center » Host Access Control) instead on these operating systems.
Important Notes
- cPanel disables FTP services by default because the FTP protocol sends usernames and passwords in clear text over public networks. For secure file transfers, cPanel recommends using SFTP, SCP, or cPanel's File Manager instead.
- If you enable FTP, always enforce TLS 1.2 encryption to protect credentials during transfer.
- Switching between FTP daemons will cause a brief interruption to active FTP connections on the server.
- If you set the FTP server to Disabled, cPanel users will no longer see FTP-related interfaces in their cPanel dashboard.
Troubleshooting
- FTP interfaces are missing in cPanel after disabling and re-enabling: Ensure the FTP server role is enabled in WHM's Server Profile. If your system uses an unmanaged package target, restore the FTP interfaces by following cPanel's FTP interface restoration guide.
- FTP connections fail after switching daemons: Restart the FTP service from the command line or via WHM's Service Manager (Home » Service Configuration » Service Manager).
- Cannot access the FTP Server Selection page: Verify that the FTP server role is enabled in Home » Server Configuration » Server Profile.
For official documentation, see the cPanel FTP Server Selection guide.
