Download Ubuntu from http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

I use the desktop version rather than server as it can be easier to use

Connecting to your server via FTP

Install the FTP server code

Connecting from Windows to your server

 There are various approaches:

1. Connect via VNC
2. Connect via Telnet
3. Connect via ssh via Cygwin or PutTy

 Of these choices,  I used to use realVNC but now prefer ssh using CygWin

Allow telnet e.g. from Windows machines:  

sudo apt-get install telnetd

This will complete the installation.Now you Restart inetd service using the following command

sudo /etc/init.d/inetd restart

Then you can run telnet and log in. Telnetis insecure, as the data is sent in plain text, so ssh can be a better choice

Install SSH server in Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

This will complete the installation.the package will take care of creating the initial RSA and DSA keys you need, as well as providing you with a default SSH config.

Connecting to the server

Now you can connect to the server from other machines using the following command

ssh serveripaddress