Resume, multipart problem

[speymannik]

hi
we are using JD 3.2.38 and our files are stored on an external server. direct links from external server support resume and multipart download, but when download links go through jdownloads there is no resume or multipart download capablity.
no difference in using browsers or download managers

[ColinM]

Hi
jD downloads files and does not really know about multi part files.  Are your files a set of multipart backups, or some archive, or  maybe zips.
Basically each creator of a multi part file have their own naming convention, and jD would not necessarily know that the others exist.  This is not specific to external files.  Even a utility like FileZilla needs you to specify all the files.

A step would be to create a Download for each part and with the Downloads in the same category.  You can the use the Related module which will list all those parts, but each would still have to be initiated individually.
But you could add as a suggestion.  Sorry we cannot be more positive at this time but if enough users request then it will raise the profile.

Colin

[speymannik]

hi
thanks for your answer but with multipart i doesnt mean multiple parts of a file but downloading in multiple concurrent channels like most of download managers do for increase download speed. and the main part of problem you didint answer is that downloads cant be resumed. and as a mentioned earlier, we are using external file links from another server. regarding local files that are stored in the JD folder, both multipart and resume work without problem.

[ColinM]

Hi
Ok but multipart means to me what I said but clearly you meant what I would call multi stream - but it is just a language thing so no problem.  And I thought that multipart was the principle problem

Could you advise which Download mechanism you have set up in Config - Downloads tab - field: Send Downloads using the PHP Script?

The php method may time out, so it depends on the speed of the external server etc.

What size files are you downloading?

Colin

[speymannik]

Dear Colin
PHP Script Setting is on and there is no problem in downloading files Except:
- becouse there is no multi stream support, download speed of user drops dramaticly
- we work with files about 500 MB and in case of an interrupt in download session by any reason, user have to start download from beginning becouse ther is no resume support

[ColinM]

Hi
The download speed is subject to whatever connection speed you have.  Typically a good speed (bandwidth) with a copper connection is 10Mbps, that is 10 million bits per second.  So a 500Mbyte file would  take around (500*8/10) = 400secs and that allows no protocol 'bits'.  The speed is the speed of the slowest link in the chain and that is often the last bit to someones house.   

What sort of download times are you seeing?  And what speeds do the Internet speed testers suggest for your area?  At my location there are times of the day when speeds are lower!

Have you tested the results over the external server versus direct from your actual server?  And have you tried using say Firefox with the php downloader set to no?

Colin

[speymannik]

Hi
thanks a lot and we appreciate your answer but we all know about this bits of information so let dont get away from real problem here.
it seem that we have real language problem so we prefer to send U some shots from both situation:
both shot are from the same file that is stored On the same server and downloaded by same user and same internet connection, so the technical details of connection speed and other things are irrelevant
the left shot is from downloading file by direct link from server.
right shot is when we put the same link in JD and want to download it from there.
so lets focus on this problem.

[gelöscht durch Administrator]

[Arno]

Have you activated limitations in the User Groups Settings from jD?
From which tool are the pics?

we are using JD 3.2.38

Why have you not updated to the newest version?
Please do this  first.

[speymannik]

hi Arno
we updated JD to the newest version but nothing has changed
downloads are tested by super user account that have no limitation in settings.
pics are from IDM (Internet Download Manager).

[ColinM]

Hi
I have looked at IDM and it is undoubtedly has a fast download capacity.  It is a paid application, after a 30 day free trial.  It is also the result of many years work and specific expertise. So I think that it is very unlikely that a free Joomla! based application will embed such technology until someone makes the relevant code freely available. Further it must work in a PHP environment.  I also noted that IDM only works on Microsoft Windows and is probably coded in C++ and Java or similar. jD has of course to work with all operating systems, and with all browsers.

A good feature of IDM is that it integrates well with popular browsers.    From its distribution it would appear that IDM is most popular in areas where Internet speeds tend to be on the low side.

Your users could take advantage of IDM or similar products by choosing to say No to the   Config - Downloads tab - field: "Send Downloads using the PHP Script" as then the browser takes over, and if a user has IDM installed then it will take over. 

From your pictures it would appear that IDM has 8 connection, and that the jD based download has 2 connections.  When downloading large files the initial estimates of the duration are often too long.  This is because there is always some initial overhead that is significant as a proportion in the early stages but becomes negligible over the entire duration.  It would be interesting to know how long they actually took in both cases.  Assuming that the IDM overhead is relatively low then it would appear that the effective speed of the link is about 0.5Mbps, which in itself is quite low.  I would therefore anticipate that the jDS Download would catch up with the IDM but would not be as good overall.

I did a small test with a 25Mbyte file.  This took 6 seconds to download from jD which is a speed of about 3.5Mbps.  A repeat a short time later when traffic was heavier took over 15 seconds.  A spe***t speed test rated the download speed at approx 8Mbps.

What may be feasible at some future date is adding more resilience with detecting the need to resume or similar.  Perhaps you could add it to the Suggestions.

Another possible suggestion is that the Download method could be made as part of the Users Groups Settings.

Colin

[speymannik]

Hi coln
I dont know why it seems that you like to get us away from the main subject.
the issue isnt comparing IDM and JDS. IDM is a windows application and JDS is a joomla component.
so let me descibe the problem again and hope that this time you answer to my problem:
we store files on a remote server and put their download links in JD to control downloads in our joomla site. same direct link has the capability of resume and multi channel download, but when we put its link in JD, resulting link has no resume nor multi channel capability. if we store the files localy, JD links can resume and multi channel.
so clearly our question is that how to configure JD to keep resume and multi channel capability of an external link and please please lets ignore irrelevant technical description.
thank you

[ColinM]

Hi
If you read what I said it is clear that I was trying to tell you that resume capability is not there in the sense you are requesting.  I indicated you should raise a suggestion as it would be a good enhancement.  Similarly I was indicating that a generalised Download capability as is needed by jD is not going to be as fast technically as a more devoted and limited scope piece of software.

Mostly when dealing with support question it is the safest option to assume that the person is not a spe***t.  There was nothing in your initial inquiry that lead me to think you are as knowledgeable as you obviously are.  So I initially tried to clarify what you meant.  Most queries relating to transfer speed are due to misunderstanding the performance.  Sometimes there are also language issues.  It is not my habit or mode to be too direct, and I try to be polite as reasonable. Perhaps with yourself I should have been more direct, so I apologise if you think I was trying to mislead you. That was not my intention.

From the info you supplied it would appear that the php download method uses two streams.  By default jD uses the regular PHP download mechanism and to that extent we are in the hands of the PHP developers. We are limited by what is available in PHP.  I am not aware that any Joomla! based download achieves a significantly better rate than jD.  The whole issue is the final part of the trans mission path.  Today for example  I timed a 25 Mbyte file down load several times.  Results varied from 6 seconds to over 30 seconds because of local internet activity.  The measured rate of independant speed tests is typically 9 Mbps to my PC. 

One is never going to achieve the same capability as a product such as IDM.  No doubt a transfer rate could be improved but it would not make as much impact as the use of better transmission hardware.

I have suggested that you could opt  to use the download capabilities of the browsers.  Some browsers may support more streams but none as far as I know none do so.  Similarly browsers themselves do not seem to use resume.  Have you tried turning off the PHP download mechanism to see if it makes any difference?  These things need doing multiple times at different times of day to get a good average.

Also did you test the full time taken by the IDM download and the jD download?  As I said one cannot necessarily trust the initial timing estimates.

Colin

[speymannik]

Hi Colin and thank a lot for your answer.
now we are on the same route. because when the files are stored locally JD have no problem in delivering a resume-able multi channel download, we suggested that there is a problem in our settings about external links in JD. but based on your answer it seems that JD cant do the same thing about external links from files that are stored on a different server.
is that correct?

[ColinM]

Hi
Yes my remarks are about external links.  Basically one is at the mercy of the download software on the external site.  This is very host dependent.  If it is a low cost shared server site then you will get poor service.

That is it is outside jD's control.

Colin

[dani]

hi
i have the exact same problem so i didnt start a new topic.
i've read all posts and i agree with speymannik that the problem has no relation with remote server. we have the same situation in wich remote server has the ability of resume & multipart/channel download. so the the problem cant be from a low cost shared server site. as you can see in the speymannik pics from his/her download situation, direct download has no problem (as with our case). so we are sure that remote server have no problem. also when the file is local, jdownloads have no problem => resume & multi channel works perfectly, so it seems that problem cant be feom PHP too.
but i need to control download process of files that are stored on remote server (and this is the main reason im using jdownloads), so when i put my links from remote server in jdownloads, pppppuuuuuuuffffffff , i lose my file resume & multi channel download. please help us to pass this problem