BigFilesASAP: FAQ

Are my files secure?

BigFilesASAP is written in php with built-in security protocols for the utmost in secure file transfers. Encrypted passwords prevent unauthorized use of the application. If a password is lost, the application will create a new one and e-Mail it to the user.

Each user directory is protected by the server directive "deny from all" which prevents browser access via http://www.your-site/user-name. Only the logged-in user can access these directories. BigFilesASAP is hosted on a non SSH server. No one has "command line" access to the server. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Although daily backups occur to a second hard drive in the server, we send your data to NAS (Network Attached Storage device) servers as well. NAS servers are high functioning storage servers, where all data is sent (encrypted) on a weekly basis. The NAS servers are at an off-site location, for redundancy sake. This way, in the event of any catastrophic disaster, we have your data at another location to get you back up and running in a timely manner.

What do I need to use BigFilesASAP?

BigFilesASAP runs on any computer. You, the administrator and your users will require nothing more than typical internet access. Since BigFilesASAP is browser based, it requires no download, configuration or installation. The only requirement is internet access and the use of a browser i.e. Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox etc.

What types of large files or media can I send and receive?

The most typical large files are digital audio files (cmf, mp3, wav); temporary off site backup files (qic, zip, tar, ezip); graphics files (jpg, gif, tif, bmp, psp, pdf, wpg, ppt, psd); legal and other documents (doc, eps, wpd, wp, pdf); home video or movie files (avi, dir, mpeg) and accounting files (qbb, qbw, dat, ptb, tax). BigFilesASAP can send any large file that would normally have to be split to send as an e-Mail attachment, or that would normally be sent by FTP or burned onto a CD-ROM.

Do I have to compress large files when I send them?

No. Since we can send almost any size file, compression is not necessary. ALTHOUGH, you may want to use compression anyway. Compression will allow you to send multiple files in one upload, and compressed files use less storage space and download bytes, which makes sending large files less expensive.

Some excellent compression utilities:
WinZip - A Windows .zip utility
Stuffit - A Windows, Unix and Mac .zip .sit utility
PKzip - A Windows .zip utility

PFD resources:
Adobe Acrobat - Adobe's PDF pages
PlanetPDF - Great PDF resource site

What kind of servers do you use?

Our servers are state of the art 2U Intel Dual XEON 2.6GHz, 2x512KB cache, 2.0GB ECC RAM, 3 x 120GB SATA Hard Drives with Hardware Raid for hard drive redundancy, Hardened Secure Kernel and Redundant Power Supply Units. These extremely powerful servers are located in our network facility. Reliability, extreme uptime and fanatical support is our focus and total obsession. The combination of 2U Intel Dual XEON 2.6GHz, 2GB ECC RAM servers and Premium bandwidth, makes for an extremely reliable hosting platform.

What about uptime?

Uptime is where the rubber hits the road. Many hosts make bold "claims" about uptime, but usually this is just marketing talk and doesn't amount to much. We do not make cheap "uptime guarantees" of any nature. Uptime is something that we're absolutely fanatical and extremely proud about. Our server notification and emergency response procedures are arguably the best in the industry. Unlike other hosts who talk about uptime, we'll actually show you our uptime performance from respected third party server monitoring company, Alertra.com. You can see uptime reports for the BigFilesASAP server on the Server Status page.

How about support?

BigFilesASAP clients receive great support. All installations of BigFilesASAP are performed by the BigFilesASAP team and are installed on our professional grade servers assuring proper function "out of the box". Support issues are addressed the same day. All customers receive application upgrades free of charge.

Recent Application Upgrades:
Double bandwidth! All customers received double bandwidth - no charge
Create zip archive of any directory
Improvement of administrator addition of new users
Notify "owner" of file when file is downloaded
Number of files and sizes indicated in Admin view

How do you measure bandwidth?

We count the greater of inbound or outbound. For instance, if you use 250MB outbound and 400MB inbound. Then only 400MB would be counted, and the 250MB would be considered free.

Most webhosting servers would use more outgoing than incoming, as files are uploaded infrequently and viewed (hopefully) many times.

Your site at BigFilesASAP will be different. It is likely that files uploaded will be downloaded an equal number of times. So its probably going to be near equal up and down regarding bandwidth unless you have certain files which are downloaded multiple times.

What if I exceed my bandwidth?

We monitor your sites and will let you know if you exceed your disk space and or bandwidth allotments. Temporary spikes in bandwidth are no big deal. If your bandwidth consistently exceeds your limit we would gently urge you to progress to the next level of service.

Under no circumstances would we discontinue your service based on bandwidth or disk space allotments. If indeed your allotments were exceeded in a consistent manner you are allowed 30 days to progress.

	Good news about the bandwidth, thanks! I have another project in the pipeline and will look at using you as the host. B. L. • Digital Photo Processor