Limitations

HTTP Gateway-based transfers are limited by the same limitations of HTTP/HTTPS transfers and the native download manager of the client's web-browser.

General Limitations

  • Since uploads and downloads leverage HTTP/HTTPS between the web browser and HTTP Gateway, the transfer performance depends on the performance of HTTP/HTTPS, which can be affected by distance between clients and servers, and by other network-related issues. For this reason, IBM Aspera highly recommends following best practice by deploying HTTP Gateway as close as possible to end users.
  • Empty (0-byte) files are not supported for uploads and downloads.
  • HTTP Gateway does not support resuming transfers.

Download Limitations

When downloading more than one file, HTTP Gateway bundles the files in-memory. Bundling the files allows end users to download multiple files at once as one archive. Bundling the files also allows preserving a directory structure in the archive.

The total size of the archive cannot be communicated to the web browser, because files are bundled and transferred in-memory. Therefore, the download manager cannot show progress based on the total size.

Upload Limitations

  • Since web browsers do not have an upload manager, IBM Aspera provides an upload mechanism through a JavaScript SDK. The upload mechanism allows sending multiple files as chunks, allowing the web page implementing the SDK to send large amounts of data. Because the web page sends the chunked data in the background, the user must stay on the same web page until the upload finishes.
    Note: You can find the JavaScript SDK documentation on the IBM Developer website.
  • HTTP Gateway supports uploading only files and not directories.