Faspex and Connect

Transfers initiated in the IBM Aspera Faspex web application are conducted using the IBM Aspera Connect Browser Plug-in. The Connect Plug-In is an install-on-demand web browser plug-in that facilitates high-speed uploads and downloads with an Aspera transfer server.

The Connect Install Dialog

When a user first logs in, Faspex checks if Connect has been installed on their browser. If they have an outdated version or do not have the plug-in installed, Faspex prompts the users to download and install the plug-in.

Clicking Download latest version connects the user to Aspera's CloudFront CDN from which they can download the Connect installer.

Transfers with HTTP Gateway [BETA] Service

If the HTTP Gateway [BETA] Service is installed, you can choose to use the HTTP Gateway service to make HTTP transfers with Faspex. Aspera recommends using the HTTP Gateway service only if installing and using Connect is not an option; using Connect ensures high-speed, stable, and secure transfers.

To use HTTP Gateway instead of Connect, close the Connect install dialog and click OK when the browser prompts, "Are you sure you want to forgo using IBM Aspera Connect?"

The browser responds with the following message:

"IBM Aspera Connect has been disabled, and you will no longer be prompted to install it. You can re-enable Connect on the account settings page."

At any point, you can re-enable Connect by clicking the Enable IBM Aspera Connect button in the menu bar, or by going to your account preferences, clearing the Disable Aspera Connect plug-in option, and clicking Update preferences.

For more information about transferring with HTTP Gateway, see HTTP Gateway [BETA] Service.
Note: If the service is not installed, Faspex does not give you the option to disable Connect.

Serving Connect Locally

If you are operating within a closed system, you may want to host the IBM Aspera Connect installers and plug-ins for locally rather than having the downloads served from Aspera's CloudFront CDN. This also enables you to enforce a certain version of the Connect plug-in. you can host the IBM Aspera Connect Plug-in SDK installers locally. For more information on serving the Connect plug-in locally, see Serving Connect Locally.