Download folder on a different server?

[catalano]

Hello,

I was wondering if it is possible to locate the download folder on a completely different server. I need to do this because my current web server does not have enough space to store all of my required downloadable files. But I do have space available at another address.

I did read the FAQ about moving the download folder outside of the web root folder, but nothing was mentioned about moving it to a completely different server.

Thanks,
Chris

[DrByte]

Zen Cart does not currently support serving downloads from an external location, as there is no built-in way to ensure that download counts and security are managed externally at the present time.

[catalano]

Oh, that's a bummer. Is there any plan to add that type of functionality? I'm surprised that more people haven't ever requested that feature. Same story with OSCommerce.

Thanks,
Chris

Zen Cart does not currently support serving downloads from an external location, as there is no built-in way to ensure that download counts and security are managed externally at the present time.

[Merlinpa1969]

WHY would this be a feature,
you have to maintain 2 seperate hosting accounts,
you have no way of knowing the number of downloads,
you have NO control over security, ( you would actually have to download right from the downloads folder rather than the symlink

wouldnt it be easier to just get a larger plan,

[catalano]

No, you wouldn't need 2 hosting accounts; just one hosting account and one file sharing account.

You would know the number of downloads the same way you know them now, the cart keeps track of how many times the customer has accessed the link.

As long as the actual url of the download folder is never disclosed to the customer why would this be a security problem? Why can't the symlink point to an external url instead of an internal directory?

As for a larger plan, no, its more cost effective to have a small hosting account and a cheap file sharing plan.

WHY would this be a feature,
you have to maintain 2 seperate hosting accounts,
you have no way of knowing the number of downloads,
you have NO control over security, ( you would actually have to download right from the downloads folder rather than the symlink

wouldnt it be easier to just get a larger plan,

[Merlinpa1969]

well you have heard from 2 people that said this wouldnt work 1 was a developer,
but hey what do we know

[catalano]

Yes, the developer said that it wouldn't work. So I asked if it might be possible in the future. YOU came in with an attitude asking me why that would even be a feature. I told you why it made sense in my situation. If you don't have any constructive input, don't bother.

well you have heard from 2 people that said this wouldnt work 1 was a developer,
but hey what do we know

[Merlinpa1969]

I was adding to what Chris was saying,
wasnt an attitude, I just dont talk in long drawn out sentences,

and as for my statement about using 1 account was just practical,

[DrByte]

Oh, that's a bummer. Is there any plan to add that type of functionality? I'm surprised that more people haven't ever requested that feature. Same story with OSCommerce.

It's been requested before. There are some discussions about it on the forum, including some suggestions I made about the "how to". I might have even posted some code that could be used to help make it work.

Your point about symlinking is noted. It's also possible to let the file-sharing account serve the file contents to your Zen Cart store, and let your store actually serve the content to the customer. I didn't mention that in my first reply because it's a bit of a waste of resources. Nevertheless it's possible with a few programming changes.

As to the future ... there are currently no plans to expand the code to include externally hosted downloads. You might post to the Commercial Help Wanted area if you'd like to hire someone to write the code to make it happen.

[catalano]

Do you recall which forum it was talked about in? I did some searches, but didn't really come up with anything. If you've made suggestions and posted code I would certainly like to read up on what was discussed. Maybe my situation is simple enough that I could make it work in the way you mentioned.

Thanks Again,
Chris

It's been requested before. There are some discussions about it on the forum, including some suggestions I made about the "how to". I might have even posted some code that could be used to help make it work.

Your point about symlinking is noted. It's also possible to let the file-sharing account serve the file contents to your Zen Cart store, and let your store actually serve the content to the customer. I didn't mention that in my first reply because it's a bit of a waste of resources. Nevertheless it's possible with a few programming changes.

As to the future ... there are currently no plans to expand the code to include externally hosted downloads. You might post to the Commercial Help Wanted area if you'd like to hire someone to write the code to make it happen.