Requirements

To implement a two-node failover configuration for WS_FTP Server, you need the following:

• A single license with multiple activations for WS_FTP Server (they must be the same edition; for instance, you cannot mix an FTP only edition with an SSH edition that includes the Ad Hoc Transfer module)
• Windows Server OS for each WS_FTP Server installation, also called a node. Supported operating systems for NLB failover clustering are:

Prior to WS_FTP Sever 2018 (8.6) Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit English) was supported. This server is no longer supported.

Your NLB cluster must consist of identical operating systems on each node.
For example: two Windows Server 20012 R2 Datacenter installations, or two Windows Server 2016 Standard installations.
Both nodes should have similar hardware, .NET frameworks and service packs.

• Each node requires two network adapters with dedicated IP addresses
• Microsoft Network Load Balancing (included with Windows Server 2012 R2 and 2016) for each node

The shared resources should be installed on systems that are separate from the two WS_FTP Server installations:

• User database for authentication (shared by both nodes) can be: WS_FTP Server database, Active Directory, or other LDAP or ODBC database
• Microsoft SQL Server 2014, 2016, or 2017 Standard or Enterprise, for WS_FTP Server configuration data (shared by both nodes)
• A NAS or file share for the file transfer file system and log data shared by both nodes

You must configure all shared resources completely before installing WS_FTP Server or the failover solution may not function properly.