I've attempted to configure a nginx / vsftpd server on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (via amazon ec2) a couple times now, but I seem to keep making a mistake along the way.

Currently, when I try to connect to my ftp server it takes a minute or so before it connects. Then when I issue a command, they all timeout with an operation failed error. Aside from these issues, I'm not completely confident with the file ownership & permissions or the configuration / settings. So, I think it's best if I just re-install and re-configure correctly.

I believe the nginx installation comes with a default user of www-data:www-data and web root directory ownership by root:root. Vsftpd, however, needs to have a user created with the same group as the nginx user (www-data), and the same home directory as the nginx server (/usr/share/nginx/www), with g+w chmod permissions granted on that directory. The vsftpd.conf file should disable anonymous logins and enable local logins, file writing, and chroot local users.

In my previous config, I had /bin/false set for the ftp user's shell and pam_shells.so disabled. I also had local_umask set to 0027.

So, starting with a fresh ec2 instance, I've got:

sudo apt-get install vsftpd
sudo apt-get install nginx

For the firewall I issued the command (not sure if necessary):

sudo ufw allow ftp

Which commands / config is recommended from here? I only need 1 ftp user that I can use to login with my ftp client to modify the single nginx web domain, which will need php & sql for WordPress.