In Windows Server 2012 R2 with IIS 8.5, I have an FTP site working fine with anonymous access, as long as no host name is specified in the site's bindings. As soon as I enter a value for the host name, the client browser (tested in Chrome) displays the "Authentication Required" prompt, asking for a user name and password.
I need to bind a host name because this server will host multiple FTP sites, but this issue is effectively preventing the use of a host name binding. I can't think of how the host name would affect authentication. Not using SSL.
To test for permissions problems I granted "Everyone" access to the physical path, with no change in behavior.
One setting I have that might be relevant is under the site's FTP Authentication > Anonymous Authentication > Edit > Anonymous user identity, I have a domain account specified. Using "View Effective Access" in Windows shows that this account has sufficient permissions in the physical path, and of course like I said it works fine without the host name specified.
How can I have anonymous access to an FTP site in IIS while also binding a host name for that site?
Best Answer
Referring the following blog here.
IIS FTP hosts provides two methods in which a client can tell the intended host.
For anonymous access with FTP host binding, I'd believe only option 2 is available to you. Otherwise, you can try binding to different ports or IP Addresses.
By using different ports, there would be no need for hosts and by using different IP addresses, you can make DNS entries map to each IP address.