If your TP-LINK router has a USB connector, then most likely you can run an FTP server on it to access files from the local network, or from the Internet. I will enter access to those files that are on the drive that is connected to the router.
Very comfortably. We connect a USB flash drive or an external hard drive to the router, launch the FTP server, and get access to this drive from all devices that are connected to the router. And not only from computers, but also from mobile devices. To be honest, I don’t know how it is with iOS devices, but mobile devices on Android can easily connect to the FTP server and get access to files.
Access to the files that are on the drive connected to the TP-LINK router can be obtained not only from the local network, but also remotely via the Internet. All you need is to know your external IP-address (which is issued by the provider). That is, you can, from anywhere with an Internet connection, access files on a USB flash drive that is connected to your home router. Unfortunately, I currently have no way to demonstrate access to an FTP server from the Internet. As soon as such an opportunity arises, I will definitely supplement this instruction.
Note. We will be setting up an FTP server, not just a shared drive. Many people confuse these two functions, but they are completely different. I will prepare a separate article on setting up sharing.
We connect the USB flash drive to the TP-LINK router and configure the FTP server
I will show on the example of a TP-LINK Archer C20i router. I connected an ordinary USB flash drive to it. You will also plug your drive into the USB port of the router. I got it like this:
The router must be turned on. And the device from which you will configure must be connected to the router via Wi-Fi, or via a network cable.
Next, open any browser and go to tplinklogin.net, 192.168.1.1, or 192.168.0.1. The exact address is on a sticker on the bottom of the router. On the authorization page, specify the username and password. If you haven't changed them, then these are admin and admin. If it doesn't work, then see the detailed instructions.
Go directly to the "USB Settings" - "USB Mass Storage" tab. This page will display the USB drive that we have connected to the router.
We made sure that the drive is there and it is working. Further, I would advise turning off the sharing of this drive, since for some reason it is enabled by default. Whatever it is displayed on devices in the local network. It was used only for FTP server. To do this, open the "Storage Sharing" tab and click on the "Disable" button.
Go to the tab "FTP Server"... It must be enabled, in the "Enabled" status. By default, I had it enabled.
By default, a "volume" directory has already been created with access to the entire drive. And with administrator rights. I'll explain now. The server itself is already running and can be accessed. By default, access is configured to the entire drive. And with "Super User" administrator rights. Administrator rights give full access to files on the drive. Including their change.
This means that we can already access the FTP server from any device that is connected to our router. To do this, on the "USB Settings" - "FTP Server" tab, on the right (where the instructions are), copy the ftp address (or just remember, we will need it):
To gain access, we will need provide username and password... This is the same data that we specified when entering the router settings (factory settings are admin and admin).
If you want FTP access to the entire drive (and not to a specific folder), and access was only with administrator rights (with all rights), then you can immediately proceed to connect to the server on the computer.
And if you need to configure access only to a specific folder, and create other users (with different access rights), then I will tell you how to do this at the end of this article.
Another important point: as I wrote above, by default, access to the FTP server running on the TP-LINK router is provided with administrator rights. Under the username and password of the administrator. If you have not changed the default admin password, which is used to enter the router settings, then I highly recommend doing this. Since this password and standard username (which is also admin) will be used to connect to the FTP server. I already wrote about how to change the factory password of a router. On TP-LINK, this is done under the "System Tools" - "Password" tab.
Connect to a running FTP server on your computer
Just open the "My Computer" or "This Computer" (Windows 10) explorer, and go to the address specified in the router settings. I have this "ftp://192.168.0.1". If you have a router's IP address 192.168.1.1, then the address will be "ftp://192.168.1.1".
Next, you will be prompted for a username and password. I wrote about this above. Here you need to specify the same data that you use to enter the settings of the TP-LINK router (standard admin and admin). You can tick the "Save password" checkbox and click "Login".
After that, you will see the files that are on the USB flash drive that is connected to the router. If you had any files on your drive, they will be in the "volume" folder.
You can create new folders, copy files there, or browse them. Everything works regardless of the Windows version. Tested on Windows 10 and Windows 7.
To connect to the created server, you can also use third-party programs. Such as "FileZilla". Or you can get by with the standard Windows tool.
Configuring FTP connection to a network drive
I think you will agree that it is not very convenient to enter the address in the explorer every time. Therefore, I propose to create a connection in order to simply go into the folder, which will be in the explorer all the time.
To do this, go to "My Computer" (do not forget that in Windows 10, this is "This Computer"), and click on the item "Map network drive"... If you have Windows 10, then first click on "File" - "Map network drive".
A window will appear in which we click on "Connect to a site where you can store documents and images." And in the next window, click "Next".
Double click on "Select another network location", specify the address of our server, and click "Next".
Uncheck the "Anonymous login" checkbox, and enter the username in the "User" field (remember that the standard admin, if you haven't changed it). The password request should appear already at the entrance to the server (standard is also admin).
And in the next window, we come up with and write down any name for our connection. Click "Next".
In the last window, press the "Finish" button, and the folder with the files will open immediately. If prompted for a password, enter it.
This folder will always appear in Explorer, under the "Computer" tab.
By opening this folder, you immediately get access to the USB drive. We know the server address, username and password (which can be changed in the router settings), therefore, we can connect to the server from any device in the local network. On Android devices, I recommend connecting via the "ES Explorer" file manager. I will write a separate article about this later.
Connecting to TP-Link FTP Server via Internet
The FTP server configured on the TP-Link router can be accessed via the Internet. This means that from any device that is connected to the Internet, you can go to the USB flash drive (which is connected to the router) and access files.
To access the FTP server, the external IP address is used, which the router receives from the provider. If your ISP issues a white, static external IP address (WAN IP), then after setting up FTP (activating the "Access to the Internet" function), you can access files from anywhere at this address. It is enough to find out your IP-address (for example, on the website 2ip.ru) and go to it in the browser, adding ftp: // at the beginning
However, ISPs usually issue dynamic IP addresses that can change. In this case, there are two options: either order a "static IP address" service from the provider, or configure DDNS (I will write more about this below and give a link to the instructions).
But even worse is when the ISP issues a gray IP address. Then even DDNS won't help. Read more in the article: DDNS (dynamic DNS) on a router: what it is, how it works and how to use it. You need to ask the provider for a white, public IP address and set up DDNS, or order the "static IP address" service right away.
In order for the FTP server to be remotely accessible, you need to enable the "Internet Access" function in the FTP settings on your TP-Link router.
The line "Internet address" will indicate the IP address by which you can access the FTP server (I wrote about this above and showed it in the screenshot).
We have already figured out how to access the FTP server through an external, static IP address. If the router receives a dynamic IP address from the provider, then access to the server will also be available. But the provider will give the router a new IP address and access will be lost (and it is not very convenient to look at this address every time, and it is not always possible). In this case, the problem is solved by configuring DDNS on the TP-Link router.
We configure DDNS, get a permanent address and use it to remotely log into the FTP server. Having written ftp: // at the beginning of the address
Important! Since our FTP server is accessible from the Internet, you need to create a good password for the administrator account and other accounts (if created). It is also desirable to change the admin username to something else. Read about setting up accounts below.
You can access the FTP server not only through a browser, but also through special FTP clients. They can be installed both on computers with Windows and Mac OS, and on mobile devices. On Windows, I am using FileZilla Client. You need to create a new connection and specify the host (server address), username and password.
The fact is that through the browser you can only read files. You will not be able to copy files to the server, delete them and modify them through the browser. Even if you (in the account under which you log in) have the rights to do so. And through the FTP client, you can perform any operations with files.
Account and folder settings for FTP server on TP-LINK
These settings are optional. And they are only needed if you want to configure access for specific users, with different access rights.
To begin with, you can create multiple accounts. For example, an account for guests, for which you deny full access to the drive, but only to a specific folder, and only with certain rights. Or, prohibit changing files, but only reading them.
First, we need to create a user. In the router settings, open the "USB Settings" - "User Accounts" tab.
By default, there will be user admin *. To create a new user, fill in the fields below:
- Choose Index - choose a number for the user.
- New Username - specify a name for the new user.
- And we specify the password for this user twice.
Click on the "Set" button and the new user will appear in the table. There you can also disable, delete, or edit it.
Then again go to the "FTP Server" tab. The most confusing part. It is somehow difficult and not clear all this was done at TP-LINK. You need to be some kind of system administrator to figure it out.
This means that on the "FTP Server" tab we see a table in which by default there is already one "volume" resource. This is access to the entire drive (to the root folder of the drive). We can create another folder to which to allow access, for example, for the created user (user group), and with certain rights. Or, change the access rights to the entire drive for the created account.
Now I'll show you everything. Let's create another share first. Click on the "Add New Folder" button.
In the "Share Name" field, specify the name of the folder. Click on the "Browse" button.
We select our drive and indicate the directory to which access will be. But, please note that the router will not let you select a folder whose name is spelled out NOT in English letters. You need to rename first.
After we have selected the directory, we can set the access rights for the user we created. Just in the table, opposite the user, set the required access rights to this folder. There are three options: Full Access, Read Only, No-Access. I put in read only. Click on the "Apply" button.
This folder will appear in the table, where you can see the access rights for each account, to a specific directory. Access rights can be changed for each folder by clicking on the "Edit" link opposite it.
For example: in my screenshot below, the admin user (he is number 1) has access to both folders. Go to "volume" and "test2". The table contains the letters F.
And the user "guest" (which is number 2) does not have access to the "volume" directory (to the root of the drive), but has access to the "test2" resource. And this is the "/ Music" directory. Therefore, when we go to ftp://192.168.0.1 and specify the username guest and password for this account, we will only get access to the / Music directory (we will not be able to view the entire drive). And this access will be read-only. That is, we will not be able to delete files and create new ones.
It's really hard to figure it out. But if you understand how all this works, then you can very finely configure access to different directories and for different accounts.
Afterword
At first glance, everything is very complicated, and there are a lot of settings. But, if you do not need all these permissions, directory access, etc. (which is usually not needed for home use), then everything can be configured very quickly.
Everything works well and stably. Very handy if you need to share files across multiple devices on the network. And so that these files are not on one of the devices, but on a USB drive connected to the TP-LINK router.
You can ask questions in the comments. Also, do not forget to share your experience and interesting advice on this topic. Good luck!
