What FTP Server to use? X-Serve?

[roberts]

From what I have read, emails are almost always fairly easy for unscrupulous hacker types to intercept and read, and I never really had any luck with encrypting emails. Are those DigiDelivery emails encrypted?

I use .Mac's iDisk, and although it is really slow to upload and probably more expensive than other similar services, I like that it is integrated into the OS, and the web page that you can make for clients to download looks nice and professional. There are still a few quirks with it that drive me mad though.

I would like to hear what other people have to say about iDisk.

idisk is Slow and DD is Fast 1000 BaseT for uploading to sessions to the server
Digideilvery uses a 128 Bit encription key on the email. Plus the sender gets automated emails every time the file gets downloaded.
Sending one Digidelievry to one person or one thousand is the same amount of work. Automated server clean up DD default is 30 days so files are automatically deleted from the server after that amount of time so you never need to go and spend time cleaning the ftp server. Automated emails to you whenever the delivery is download so you never need to wonder if the client got the file.
Automated instructions for the downloader so you don't need to waste time on the phone to novice users.
Integration with Protools send a session containing only the timeline files. This feature alone saves me huge amounts of session organizaion. Mac friendly no need to hqx or zip files. DD talks to other DD servers so this saves me huge amounts of time as when I get deliveries they download automatic to my recording drive and my project is ready to be worked on.
Sorry if I sound like a saleman but the time that DD saved me in this stuff alone has more than paid for itself.

[the dude]

besides the fact that DD is $3000, a physically LARGE item, and Noisy requiring a location other than where any noise above ambient noise levels cant be tolerated
and ( RUMPUS $400 + $0 for the old g3 in the garage )
Rumpus is secure and has frequent updates and has a simple web/html
interface not unlike iDisk


it also sense intrusion attempts and will prohibit entry

Rumpus also automatically generates self-signed SSL certificates for use in HTTPS and FTPS encrypted sessions.

[jasona]

CrushFTP is an excellent FTP Server for Mac OSX, and it starts at only $30 for up to 10 simultaneous logins (more than enough for most situations). Actually, CrushFTP runs on OSX, Linux and Windows, and it serves FTP, HTTP and WEBDAV. I've installed and configured this for several people, and it works great.

[derF]

Thanks for the input. I had completely forgotten about Rumpus! I've used it before a few years back and thought it was great. I'll have to check out the latest version and see if it's up to what I need. Interesting that OSX Server can be installed on any mac!

Lots to think about. Thanks

[vancalot]

X-Serve is hardware that ships with OS X Server installed. OS X Server can run on any Mac that OS X runs on. If you have a Mac that you can't use for other purposes, you could install a copy of OS X Server on it and use that as your server.

In my opinion, DigiDelivery is great for collaborating with other Pro Tools users. Some people, primarily those that do not use Pro Tools, will be unwilling, if not unable, to install the client software. For us, that meant it wasn't an option. The other services mentioned may be suitable, but do they offer the granularity, security, and perhaps most importantly, the image you want?

Hello all!
Here at Blackbird we have an extensive network setup that includes 2 X-Serves and and a Digidelivery GT. For common file transfer (of any size) between clients (mix approvals, mix to mastering etc..) the Digidelivery is the best solution we have found. FTP servers are inherently insecure and can for the average user be quite complicated to implement correctly, even on Mac OS X Server. (Passive FTP and a Firewall anyone?) Other than OS X Server, Rumpus is a great solution as is Crush FTP.
It's not uncommon for us to have 4-6 gig of data transfered a day through our DD, so we feel it has paid for itself time and time again. And BTW, zero downtime in the last 2 years.
If Protools worked as well as the Digidelivery, there would be no need for this forum.
v

[doctorsunshine]

FTP servers are inherently insecure and can for the average user be quite complicated to implement correctly, even on Mac OS X Server. (Passive FTP and a Firewall anyone?)

Yeap, really hard to have it working correctly... moreover most of ftp access are in passive mode.

It seems that you can define the ports used by ftp server in passive mode, in a text file or using the shell, in order to open and route them correctly in your firewall, but I didn't find this file....

Jerome

[vancalot]

Yeap, really hard to have it working correctly... moreover most of ftp access are in passive mode.

It seems that you can define the ports used by ftp server in passive mode, in a text file or using the shell, in order to open and route them correctly in your firewall, but I didn't find this file....

Jerome

In OS X Server it took a bit.. the trick is for the firewall to allow statefull access in passive mode...
I'll be happy to point it to you and send you a sample file.. just email me directly..
v
[email protected]

[Chief Technician]

FTP servers are inherently insecure

They are only insecure if they are configured in an insecure manner or if an exploit is discovered and you do not patch it. The latter applies to any software, not just FTP servers. All the people who installed the OS X Server security update 2 weeks ago and didn't notice, or didn't fix, the security flaw the update created had a vulnerable FTP server. Apple has since released a fix, but sometimes even the vendor can botch it.

and can for the average user be quite complicated to implement correctly, even on Mac OS X Server. (Passive FTP and a Firewall anyone?)

Passive FTP is a pain, no doubt. Yes, it takes a degree of understanding to implement the FTP service on OS X Server, but I would also say that it takes a degree of understanding to implement any service on OS X Server. If you are going to install OS X Server, be prepared to do some reading.

[tvent]

I wanted to chime back in and point out that when I mentioned that FTP was typically an insecure protocol I was NOT talking about whether an FTP site requires a password or not. What I was referring to is the fact that all of the data transfered typically travels across the network in clear text. You don't have to be a "hacker" to use software that will capture traffic from the network and show you the username and password. It takes a bit of extra configuration to make it secure (as in encrypted as it travels across the wire) with something like SSH. Just wanted to point that out so folks could make informed decisions.
I don't know, but I am assuming that is what the client portion of the DD does - allow encrypted transfer between the client workstation and the DD server thus side-stepping the insecurities of SMTP-based email and FTP.

[tvent]

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