I am trying to buy a rack storage for network backup and the units I've seen come with Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 or Windows Storage Server 2012.  I have 2 questions.  Can I use the rack storage to set up ftp sites and can I connect a monitor and keyboard to set up the ftp or do I have to access it via the network? Also, is there a difference between Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows STORAGE Server 2008 R2?

Your two questions can be anawered with yes, you can.

Windows Storage Server is a OEM (atm) Product wich only is selled with hardware, hp sells a storage version of the dl360 g7 with storage Server 2008 R2.

Under the hood, the Storage Server Version can be compared with a Server 2008 R2 / 2012 Standard.

More: http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/what-windows-storage-server-21