10 Best File Server Software for Windows

File servers are increasingly becoming the norm as it gives a location for shared disk access whereby various files such as media documents, databases folders, and files. You need a file server so as to store your files.

Sometimes, file servers help to reduce the stress of copying folders or documents from one computer to another as a network of computers can access shared information in the file server simultaneously. The file server can be run through several programs. In this article, we have compiled some best file server software for Windows PC.

Apache HTTP Server for Windows

The Apache HTTP Server Project is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source HTTP server for modern operating systems including UNIX and Windows NT. The main goal of Apache HTTP Server is to provide an efficient, secure and extensible server that provides HTTP services in sync with the current HTTP standards. Apache has been the most popular web server on the Internet since 1996. The Apache HTTP Server Project is a collaborative software development effort aimed at creating a robust, commercial-grade, featureful, and freely-available source code implementation of an HTTP (Web) server.

FileZilla Server

FileZilla is an FTP program for file uploading and downloading to and from your FTP site, server, or host. The program lets you transfer files and navigate among folders, Web sites, and your computer. This software enables you to perform multiple file transfers simultaneously.

Cerberus FTP Server (64-bit)

Cerberus FTP Server (64-bit) transfers data securely and easily. It blocks FXP and reserved ports for PASV connections. It gives full access to the UI when running as a service. It features low memory utilization, file transfer integrity checking, resumes failed file transfers, rolling log files with configurable size limits, and connections limit, and timeout controls.

Home Media Center (64-Bit)

Home Media Center (64-Bit) is a server application for UPnP / DLNA compatible devices. It supports streaming and transcoding media files, Windows desktop, and video from webcams. Home Media Center (64-Bit) is developed in C#, C++ and uses DirectShow, Media Foundation. It supports output media types like MPEG2 (up to 1080p), WMV, WebM, MP4, and FLV, subtitles integration, Windows desktop and webcam streaming, and web (HTML) and UPnP (DLNA) interface.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a place where all your team's content comes together. Where you can use the tools you love. Where we help you cut through the clutter and surface what matters most. It's the world's first smart workspace. Scattered content, constant interruptions, difficulty coordinating--there's a smarter way to work. Dropbox helps people be organized, stay focused, and get in sync with their teams. Bring traditional files, cloud content, Dropbox Paper docs, and web shortcuts together in one place, so you can organize and tackle your work efficiently. Prioritize your day and free up time with personalized content suggestions when you need them, so you spend less time searching. Keep projects moving forward with your team in sync and connected to the tools you use every day--including Slack and Zoom--without ever leaving Dropbox. With new Dropbox admin features, you can simplify team management, support data security and compliance, and gain actionable insights into team activity. Focus on the work that matters!

If you're not already using Dropbox, we have to ask: What are you waiting for? This popular service lets you easily sync files between computers, share with them others, and create backups. Best of all, it integrates so seamlessly with Windows -- and other platforms -- that you're barely even aware that you're using it. This program is a must-have for anyone who needs to make their files readily available to multiple users or computers.

Once installed, Dropbox appears as an icon in the system tray. It doesn't have an interface, exactly; it turns up as a folder in My Documents, and it functions just as any other folder would. The magical thing about this folder, however, is that its contents are stored both locally and in the cloud. Any files or folders that you place inside the Dropbox folder can be easily shared: simply right-click, select Dropbox from the context menu, then select Share Link. This will open your default browser and provide you with the opportunity to share the selected file or folder via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter, or to simply copy its Dropbox URL. The folder contents will also be automatically synced, so anyone who has access to a folder will immediately have the most up-to-date files. You can forget about using USB drives or e-mailing documents to yourself; Dropbox lets you keep everything you need in My Documents on multiple computers, or simply log into the Web interface if you're not on a machine that has Dropbox installed. Dropbox requires users to create an account; the service provides users with 2 GB of space for free, but paid upgrades are available if you need more. A thorough online Help center, as well as brief text instructions within the Dropbox folder, provide plenty of well-written documentation.

Dropbox is incredibly easy to use and will change the way you store and share files. We highly recommend it.

Plex Media Server

Plex Media Server connects your Plex clients with all of your local and online media. The combination of centralized library management, streaming of online content, and transcoding functionality provides flexibility and ease of use. Plex Media Server runs on your Mac, PC, or compatible NAS device and serves your media to all of your Plex clients including Plex-enabled mobile devices and 2011 LG Smart TVs.

Plex is media-playing software that can stream a file from one device to another over your local network. The base product is available for free on Windows without ads. Or you can subscribe to the Plex Pass, which adds features such as DVR recording, syncing files to mobile devices, and coordinating with cloud storage services to stream media from the cloud to your device.

Advantages of this Windows file server:

The base version is very capable: If you just want to stream a video from your computer to your TV or a mobile device, the free version of Plex doesn't put up many roadblocks. It will encourage you to create a Plex account, but you can ignore that and just tell it to scan your PC for media to share locally. You can also create and manually add other folders, and Plex will add integrate that media and track those folders for future changes.

Plex is everywhere: You need a Plex app on both ends of your stream, so it needs to be available on a variety of platforms for everything to go smoothly. Thankfully, it's one of the most widely distributed apps on the planet: You can get it for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, game consoles, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast. It's not free on every one of these platforms, but the price tag is less than you'd pay for a deli sandwich and helps to fund future development.

Easily scales to your environment: If you're trying to stream media over a spotty Wi-Fi connection, you can tell Plex to reduce the quality level, which reduces the network speed that you need for smooth playback. Or, if you have a fast and reliable connection, you can scale back those network optimizations and keep the video looking as good as possible.

Some drawbacks of this Windows file server:

Adding media to your library can take a while: Your media library is easier to visually scan if you're using cover art instead of navigating by file name. Plex can also provide the year of release, the names of actors and directors, and other parameters for sorting and searching more easily. The flip side is that this added functionality requires processing time. If you have a sizeable amount of MP3s and whatnot, be prepared to do something else to occupy your time until Plex is ready to stream it all.

Serviio

Serviio uses a priority-based metadata extraction so that you can choose what metadata should describe your media files (audio track name, DVD cover, TV series and episodes names). These include metadata embedded into the media files themselves, locally stored metadata files (images, Swisscenter, XBMC, MyMovies) and metadata that can be obtained online. With this powerful tool you will be able to build your Serviio media library easily and effectively. Serviio enables playback of online resources like RSS feeds, live streams or web site content so that you can listen to your favourite podcasts or watch latest TV programmes published online. Serviio works with many devices from your connected home (TV, Playstation 3, XBox 360, smart phones, tablets). It supports profiles for particular devices so that it can be tuned to maximise the device's potential and/or minimize lack of media format playback support (via transcoding).

Home Media Center (32-Bit)

Home Media Center (32-Bit) is a server application for UPnP / DLNA compatible devices. It supports streaming and transcoding media files, Windows desktop, and video from webcams. Home Media Center (32-Bit) is developed in C#, C++ and uses DirectShow, Media Foundation. It supports output media types like MPEG2 (up to 1080p), WMV, WebM, MP4, and FLV, subtitles integration, Windows desktop and webcam streaming, and web (HTML) and UPnP (DLNA) interface.

Cerberus FTP Server (32-Bit)

Cerberus FTP Server provides a secure and reliable file transfer solution for both the demanding IT professional and the casual file sharer. The server is able to authenticate against Active Directory or LDAP, run as an NT service, has native x64 support, includes a robust set of integrity and security features, can resume failed file transfers, and offers an easy-to-use manager for controlling user access to files and file operations.

PS3 Media Server

PS3 Media Server is a DLNA compliant Upnp Media Server for the PS3, written in Java, with the purpose of streaming or transcoding any kind of media files, with minimum configuration. It is backed up with the Mplayer or FFmpeg packages.

It features no codec packs to install, no folder configuration and pre-parsing or this kind of annoying thing, all your folders are directly browsed by the PS3, there is an automatic refresh, and real-time video transcoding via MEncoder.