mp3 file transfer

[gmrox]

e-mail attachments are unable to send out large files such as mp3 music files which are several megabytes - does anybody know of any software for Fedora 10 which can send mp3 files over the internet to another computer user?

 

Cheers, GM

[znx]

If both machines are Linux, then an SFTP client would provide a good method (for instance Filezilla). If it is to a Windows machine then reverse the connection, using WinSCP.

 

These will work on LAN or across the Internet but you will need the IP address of the machine you are connecting to and you will need to open an SSH port.

[Dungeon-Dave]

If you're looking to "push out" from your side to theirs, then there are a number of options. The simplest one would be for them to create an SSH account on their machine and you copy them using SFTP or SCP, as mentioned above.

 

An alternative is to place them in a location for them to "pull off" - this can be done using SFTP/SCP as above, requiring you to create an account and give credentials out to the requester. However this could allow those connecting to traverse through other directories, unless you can create a chrooted account.

 

Alternative methods are for you to configure an FTP server and they obtain it via FTP (using an anonymous account). Most FTP servers have the ability to chroot the user - I know VSFTPD, ProFTPD and Pure-FTPD all do - and that way you can keep your FTP users separate from your SSH users.

 

I've gone a stage further by setting up a hidden area on my webserver; people can then use a browser to connect, view and download as they see fit. It requires the least effort from my end-users (they just click a link in an email).

 

In ease case, the easier you make the method for the requester, the more effort is required on your part, and the less secure it will turn out to be.

 

Your choices will probably revolve around the knowledge levels (read: "technical ability") of the requester, as well whether this is a one-off or going to be a repeatable exercise.

[gmrox]

If you're looking to "push out" from your side to theirs, then there are a number of options. ...

 

I've gone a stage further by setting up a hidden area on my webserver; people can then use a browser to connect, view and download as they see fit. It requires the least effort from my end-users (they just click a link in an email).

...

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I like the idea of setting up an area on the webserver although I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to work out how to do it. I was hoping there might be some e-mailing package which would transfer larger mp3 files, as the upload and download of these files is straightforward enough on public music blog web-sites.

 

Cheers, GM.

[Dungeon-Dave]

Firstly, remember that email is a communication tool, not a deployment tool. The everyday practise of appending large files as attachments to emails was never its original intention, so don't be surprised if some mail servers have imposed limitations upon the size of message[1] - no email client at your sending end will make any difference if the mail server refuses an attachment larger than the postmaster's imposed threshold.

 

Secondly, setting up a webserver isn't too difficult, but leaving it with all defaults on and not monitoring logfiles can be a route to joining a botnet without even noticing. However, if you want to go down this route, learning a bit about Apache can be quite valuable - and remember that for safety, you can move the port number to non-default (port 8800, for instance) and leave this blocked at your firewall until you feel comfortable to open it to the outside world. There should be plenty of help here (hell, I teach Apache courses and run 3-6 webservers) but don't expect successful results quickly; it DOES take some doing and learning to get it right. It's not difficult, just time-consuming to understand all of the different directives and their meanings.

 

For the moment, proceeding with the SFTP over SSH route may be the quickest. If the connecting recipient is a windows user, look at WinSCP - it's a graphical SFTP client which they can use to drag/drop files off your storage.

 

[1] my mail server has this limit imposed also, which has successfully blocked viral attachments and bloated HTML spam.