MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1

For ASP.Net 2.0

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What's MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1

MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1 is a free web application for file sharing. If you want to share your files maintaining control over who can access them this application is for you. This application is better than a standard FTP site for many reasons; let's see a couple of them:

  • HTTP Protocol bypasses firewall easely. Users don't have to warry about FTP passive ports, redirects or whatever. They just have to use their own browser.
  • Authentication can be performed using Kerberos; even with basic authentication a SSL protected website assures a good degree of security. Besides, HTTP SSL is easier to set up than FTP TLS :).
  • Automated logging. This application includes a fully featured logging engine, letting administrators control every single action taken by users.
  • Integrated picture thumbnail engine. This engine automatically identifies images and creates reduced-size thumbnails for faster viewing. Admins have only to share images and MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1 will process them. BTW the engine is cache-aware, so your processor(s) will create the thumbnail only once :).
  • Using NTFS you can control access at file level or at directory level.
  • Association can be performed using the front-end. You can even view the log remotely!

There is only a drawback though: users can't upload files. This is a design decision but it can change in future releases.

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Requirements

First of all this application is free. You can deploy it at will. It comes without any warranty but hey, it'free! Said that, here's the list of things you need to use MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1:

  1. An ASP.Net 2.0 enabled operating system. This means either Windows 2000, Windows 2003 or Windows XP (this one at least Professional - you must have IIS)
  2. ASP.NET 2.0 - Freely downloadable at Microsoft's website
  3. SQL Server. Yes, I know it's costly but you can probabilly use the free Microsoft's desktop engine. I may develop a PostgreSQL version (this one is free) but for the moment... ;)
  4. Active Directory. This one is used to authenticate users. This requirement means Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 somewhere.

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Usage

User view

An user entering the site will find a page similar to figure 1. He can just use the hyperlinks to access the sections available. The path is file-system like (in fact, it's a file-system! ).

Image 1 - User interface

When the user clicks on a file - instead of a directory - the download will take place. Simple as that!

Image 2 - Browsing

You'we probabilly noticed the "Thumbs" button. If you click it you will access the image thumbnail section. Here's a sample:

Image 3 - Image preview (auto thumbnails)

Enough for the user. It should be easy for a standard surfer to use this application .

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Administrator view

As admin, you have access to a new menu, placed on top of your page. This menu, as shown below, it's self-explainatory.

Image 4 - Admin menu

However, there are some things you need to know to get started. MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1 maps Active Directory users to shared folders on a per-user basis. All you have to do to share a directory (say D:\Pictures) and - optionally - its subdirectories is:

  1. Add the user to the application. Click Handle ADSI User, select the user and add him.
  2. Create the "share". Click Handle directory root and type in the dir (full path)
  3. Associtate the user to the new share. Click Associations, select the user and give him the desired share

Once done, the user will access the share you just created. Note: the application checks NTFS permissions; so make sure the user - or it's group if any - can access the physical path.

Piece of cake... The remaining admin options let you have a look at the log and let you control the process monitor.

Image 5 - Activity log

The Process monitor is a bit wierd. You can just leave it alone and it will be fine. The only useful option you can find there is the thumbnail precaching. What's thumbnail precaching? Well this application will create thumbnails of shared images at request (ie when they're needed). Since it's a processor heavy activity the application is smart enough to cache them for next use. If this behaviour is fine for you just go on.

Image 6 - Process monitor

As you can see in the above screenshot, you can instruct MindFlavor's Http file sharing v2.1 to prepare all the thumbnails in advance. The process will begin and a progress indicator will be shown to inform you of the progress.

Image 6 - Process monitor working

Yes you can start a full thumbnail scan or just an incremental one. It's a matter of taste, but you have to know that full scan first deletes every preexisting thumbnail. So if you have many orphaned thumbnails (thumbnails create from images no longer shared) you can use this option to get rid of 'em. Either way you will end with every shared image precached. Note: the system creates a new thumbnail in the following cases:

  • The image was not precached OR
  • The image was precached but were modified since then.

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Deployment

To do... For now, try to figure out yourself or send me an email. I swear I'll complete this section as soon as possible!

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Free download

Here it is, enjoy:

Version Build version Changes Bugs Download
2.1
Not specified
  • None
  • Some looong paths won't work
  • TLS is somewhat unreliable
  • Graphics are ugly (at best :)) but you can customize 'em at will.

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Last update: Janauary 11, 2006

@2006 Francesco Cogno