Ability to store digital goods on another file server

[jmestep]

It would be nice to have the digital goods set up to where they can also be stored on a file server/cheaper hoster, maybe one who uses Linux. For a site that has a lot of digital goods, the storage space charge on a shared hoster can be prohibitive.

[m_plugables]

sounds good

[jmestep]

We might be able to do this already by changing the Members/download.ashx. I just don't know enough C# yet.

[sohaib]

I don't think there is any easy solution to this. Download.ashx is supposed to control how the digital goods are downloaded. When you put the files on another server Download.ashx is out of picture. You want users to be accessing file from the other server. If their downloads have to be 'routed' through the download.ashx you will be using your bandwidth twice. If you redirect the users to download from the other server directly you can't authenticate them anymore. Anyone who knows the URL would simply paste it in the browser address bar and start downloading.
Digital Goods are controlled downloads and user must be authenticated before they could download. One of the purpose of having a Download.ashx file also is to prevent users for downloading via direct links.

One solution that you could probably implement is to write another Download.ashx type file on the server on which you host large files. Lets call it your file-server. Now when request comes to your store's Download.ashx then after authentication redirect it to the download.ashx of the file-server along with a unique GUID generated at that time. When the request goes to download.ashx of the file-server it should validate the GUID by sending a request back to some page on your store... Say ValidateDownloadGUID.aspx. The validation page should validate a key only if the key was generated within last 5 seconds say. If key is validated then the download.ashx file of the file-server should start serving the file requested.

Just one of the ways to solve this ... May be there is some better and simpler approach?

[jmestep]

Thanks, I will look at it-- I'm not good at C#, but it gives some ideas.

[m_plugables]

Hmm, it means it's not that easy.

[jmestep]

No, it doesn't sound easy. We might just put the files on a file server, put a link in the person's order and not worry about the download. They're Bible courses, so we're not concerned with losing the money, we just didn't want to pay for everyone and his friend using up the bandwidth to keep re-downloading them again rather than passing them on by some other means.

[DFresh]

Has anyone had any luck with storing the file on a different server?

[jmestep]

No. I did run across a reference to a mashup that lets you do that when I was reading an Apress book on mashups, but it was a pdf and it died when I re-did my computer and I haven't looked it up again.
The guy I'm working with said he found a non-windows hoster for $6 a month that had 200GB of space. So I've just backed off. He would have to switch to another platform and I wouldn't touch anything that says you can get that for $6 a month.

[Jaz]

There is always the option of giving them a username and password and directing the to the server. It would be slow and painful to do , but may help for very large files that sell slowly.

~Jaz