You're mincing words for some reason. It should be pretty clear that I know what an application is versus a server.
"was thinking about setting up a virtual host on one of our servers"
Meaning at first I was thinking of simply creating a sub-domain for downloads on a server.
Then I was thinking about using the phpbb APP on the server.
Anyhow, there are many apps that could be re purposed for other things. Even if something is built to be one thing doesn't mean it cannot be used in another way. The point of my question was asking if phpbb might be a good solution for serving up files. I don't really want completely anonymous downloads and prefer that people would have to sign up in order to download. I like the idea of putting files in forums because it would also allow users to comment, make suggestions, offer input etc about that particular download.
I think I'm talking myself into the idea
.