SoftArtisans FileUp: HTTP ASP Upload Control

Secure File Uploads

by Ken Cox

Posted March 15, 2004

SoftArtisans' FileUp Enterprise Edition (FileUpEE) provides industrial-strength, secure file uploads and downloads between a Web browser and Internet Information Services (IIS). Version 5 offers a streamed, three-tier capability: When a client uploads a file to the Web server, FileUpEE streams the file immediately to your unexposed, secure storage server; the complete file never exists on disk or in memory on the Web site (see Figure 1 below). The software uses firewall-friendly Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) requests with attachments for its transfers. A client-side object allows users to resume failed uploads.

FileUp Enterprise - Upload Descriptive Data With Files

Figure 1. Upload Descriptive Data With Files.

SoftArtisans' FileUp Enterprise Edition makes it easy to associate descriptive information with an uploaded file. One of the product's sample files shows a three-tier process that sends the file and HTML form data to a secure server.

The setup kit for FileUpEE is a model for other Web server software. In a few clicks, it installs the components with a rich array of samples, sets up new ASP.NET applications, and maps its own UPLX extension. The Samples menu item lets you run the valuable Quick Start demonstrations on your localhost and view the source code (in VB.NET and C#) for the Web pages. The demonstration capabilities range from a simple two-tier upload to the three-tier resumable upload.

FileUpEE's HttpModule intercepts requests for the UPLX extension as a way of bypassing ASP.NET's size and memory limitations. FileUpEE is easy to configure when you control all the hardware in the chain. However, putting it on an ISP's server presents challenges. A big disappointment is that the critical components aren't pure .NET assemblies. You can't simply copy them into the site's /Bin directory and reference them in your ASP.NET code. Instead, you need administrator rights to register them using regsvr32. Some performance settings even require access to Registry keys.

FileUp Enterprise Edition 5.0
SoftArtisans

Web: www.softartisans.com

Phone: 877-763-8278

Price: Call for pricing.

Quick Facts: File upload and download component for IIS and back-end systems.

Pros: Excellent installation and samples; streamed three-tier upload capability; resumable uploads; secure transfers across firewalls.

Cons: Unmanaged components defeat ASP.NET deployment simplicity; might transmit user and computer information silently to SoftArtisans; pricey.

The documentation (in standalone HTML Help format) is adequate and well organized. Differences in the software's capabilities from IIS 5 to IIS 6 could be made clearer, and security precautions should be more prominent. It would also be nice if the object-model reference were integrated into the VS.NET environment.

According to its license agreement, FileUpEE transmits your username, computer name, domain name, IP address, and CPU count during installation. SoftArtisans should be up front about this by showing you the precise data it's about to send.

This excellent enterprise product advances file-transfer technology by providing robust and secure HTTP transfers. It does carry an enterprise price tag—a consideration for Web farm operators with multiple-processor machines.

About the Author

Ken Cox is a VB.NET developer in Toronto building e-commerce Web applications and XML Web services. Ken is a Microsoft MVP for ASP.NET and a former broadcast journalist. Reach him at kjopc@hotmail.com.