Need to Share 5gig Folders

[spudderick]

Hi,

I need some sound, solid advise please.

I have just backed up lots of files in iso format, they have came from storage on disks, so they are around 5 gig folder each, and there is a total of 500 gig so farm with another 500 gig to still backup.

I need to share these files with lots of people in the UK and the US, on a daily basis.

Is there a way that I can share these files over the net, I mean can I give someone access to a particular drive, or folder on my machine, so they can download, for a limited period of time, ?? If yes what software would I need, what hardware would I need, what Internet speed would I need up and down, ?? Basically, what would I need, ?

Any advise would be very much appreciated, the only other option is to use a cloud storage provider, is this correct, ??

Many thanks, in advance

 

[eibgrad]

Knowing only what you’ve described so far, I’d suggest BitTorrent. You could use something like uTorrent, create a tracker for each file, and publish those trackers to your users. It's just a matter of where you decide to run it (PC, laptop, server, even a router!) and fine tuning the BitTorrent settings (maximum number of simultaneous uploads, max speed, etc.). All relatively easy.

Of course, how well this works given the available upload speed from your ISP, whether you have caps to consider, etc., are things you'd have to determine. But from a purely technical point of view, I think torrents work particularly well. Because these are very large files, you want to give your users the ability to continue failed/dropped/paused transfers without having to start from the beginning again. Plus, once someone else has a file fragment, they too become a source for that fragment for other users, so it offloads your system. And that offloading increases as more files are distributed to more users. A very powerful solution and why torrents are so popular.

 

[spudderick]

Many thanks for your reply, appreciated, do you know where I can find instructions to use bittorrents, ??

Is there a charge for uploading torrents for personal use, I mean not making them available to the whole world, ??

I guess I should google bittorrent and see what it says,

many thanks again