Problem:
When you turn on Windows firewall in Microsoft Windows Server 2008/2003, FTP will only works in “Active Transfer Mode” but NOT “Passive Transfer Mode”. Some FTP clients do need passive transfer mode if they are behind a firewall. Some FTP publish services like blogger.com can only support passive ftp transfer mode as well.
Solution:
You can enable passive ftp transfer mode in Microsoft IIS server. Please follow these steps.
a. Enable direct metabase edit
Step 1: Open Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager.
Step 2: Right click “ServerName (local computer)” and choose “Properties”.
Step 3: Check on “Direct Direct MetaBase Edit” and click “OK”.
b. Add PassivePortRange
Step 1: Open C:\WINDOWS\system32\inetsrv\MetaBase.xml with NotePad or other editors.
Step 2: Add a new line ‘PassivePortRange=”5001-5008″‘ in “IisFtpService” section.
c. Disable direct metabase edit and re-start iis
C:\>iisreset
d. Open firewall ports
Step 1: Open Start > Settings > Control Panel > Firewall.
Step 2: Add the TCP ports 5001-5008 to the firewall exception list.
e. Test
Now you should be able to connect to ftp server with passive transfer mode.