FastSync Mailbox versus Using either a Web Browser or E-mail
This document discusses two methods of transferring large binary files over a corporate dial-up based intranet. The first method involves the use of CTI’s FastSync Mailbox System (a Windows based file transfer application) designed by CTI Communications especially for the transfer of large binary files. The second method involves the use of a standard off-the-shelf Web Browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.) and a standard off-the-shelf e-mail delivery program (e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Exchange, Qualcomm Eudora, etc.)
Corporate intranets are based on the same technology as the worldwide Internet, which in turn is based on 4 major file transfer protocols: http, ftp, smtp and MIME. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) was developed in the 1960’s as a means for the transfer of small ASCII text files over a UNIX network. FTP (file transfer protocol) is a more general file transfer protocol designed for the transfer of text and binary files. SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) is a file transfer protocol specifically geared towards the transmission of ASCII text mail (e-mail). MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) is a protocol that converts binary files into text for transport over an SMTP connection. Web browsers use http and ftp to provide universal access to text and binary files. In general these files are posted on the corporate intranet and are accessible to all corporate intranet users. E-mail programs use SMTP and MIME to allow users to send and receive messages and files to and from other specific users.
The FastSync Mailbox System was initially released by CTI in 1996 as an update to its DOS based FastSync Mailbox system. The latter has been standardized by numerous operations for the transfer and administration of large binary files in DOS environments using bisynchronous 3780 technology. CTI's FastSync Windows based version provides all of the services of its predecessor (and more), but uses TCP/IP as the network transport and runs on Windows 3.1x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems. The FastSync Mailbox for Windows system uses ftp for file transfer over a TCP/IP link. Because it uses these industry standard protocols, it allows users to access files over the Internet or on the same network or dial-up connection as the company Intranet, as well as permitting exclusive access to non-Internet and non-Intranet users.
The CTI system consists of two components: a Mailbox Client and a Post Office Server. The Post Office software runs at a centralized location on an NT Server and can be configured to work in conjunction with either the corporation’s network file server and/or Web server. Mailbox Clients run on each user’s desktop and provide access to the Post Office over either the Internet, over the corporate Intranet connection, or over its own exclusive connection. CTI also defines several types of mailboxes including a “public” mailbox type (a repository of public files available to all authorized users at any time), and “private” mailboxes (a repository of private files “mailed” from one user to another and inaccessible to any other parties). For comparison purposes, Public mailboxes can be considered to be analogous to the Web while Private mailboxes are analogous to E-mail.
The FastSync Mailbox system provides numerous advantages over Web browser/E-mail file transfer systems, all of which stem from one simple fact: the FastSync Mailbox system has, from the beginning, been designed specifically for the transfer of large binary files. Web browsers and e-mail programs, on the other hand, were designed for the transfer of small ASCII text files, with extensions added on to allow binary file transfers.
An important advantage of the FastSync system is its use of ftp as the transport protocol for all files, both public and private. E-mail programs, on the other hand, use SMTP as the basic transport protocol for private files. SMTP is a text-only protocol, however, and cannot inherently accommodate the transfer of binary data. To send a binary file over an SMTP connection, the file must first be MIME encoded. This results in two major drawbacks. First is the time required to encode and decode the file. Second, and more important, is the fact that MIME adds enormous overhead to the transmitted file, increasing its size and transfer time by a whopping 40 percent!
For mailbox clients, the CTI system offers numerous additional file transfer and management features. One important file transfer feature is the ability to monitor the progress of a transmitted file, a feature not provided by many e-mail programs (including Netscape Navigator) but necessary when large files are being transferred. Another important client file transfer feature is the ability to automatically resume transmission of a file where it left off after a premature disconnection. If the dial-up or network connection is broken while transferring a file using a traditional Web browser or E-mail application, the user must restart the file transmission from the beginning. The CTI system, on the other hand, automatically resumes file transmission from the point where it left off. This can dramatically reduce transmission time for large files, and for poor dial-up connections, it can make possible large file transfers on lines that would otherwise be incapable of supporting them.
In addition to its file transfer advantages, the FastSync Mailbox also provides numerous client-side file management features. Included here is the “zoom” view of In-box and Out-box files. This provides detailed information on files that have either been transferred or are awaiting transfer, including sender name, file path, transfer date and time, file size, priority, purge date and an optional text message that can be attached to any file. Also included in this information is the file status, which reports the current status (retrieved, refused, purged, mailed, ready, hold, incomplete) of any file and is automatically updated each time the user connects to the Post Office. Two other important client file management features are the In-box and Out-box “archives” and “backup bins”. Archives retain information about transferred files for a period of one year. This information can be accessed on screen or can be printed in a report at any time. Backup bins are user-definable disk repositories that store backup copies of transferred files. This allows the recipient of a file to retrieve a copy of the file locally if the original should get lost or corrupted, as opposed to having to retransmit the file from the server. The client software also permits file transfers to be scheduled for unattended operation by working in conjunction with CTI’s feature-rich Event Scheduler and ftpXfer utilities. Client users can also assign priorities to transmitted files, allowing high-priority files or messages to be given transmission priority, and informing the recipient of the urgency. On the receive side, a user can choose to refuse a file, removing it from his or her In-box and informing the sender and administrator that the file has been refused.
As impressive as the client-side advantages are, the Post Office Server software offers an even more impressive battery of features not to be found in any Web or E-mail server. The Post Office Server Administrator software includes a built-in, customizable purging mechanism which automatically purges old files from the file system and automatically informs senders and recipients of the anticipated purge dates for their files. The Post Office Administrator also tracks all users, sessions, and transactions and provides access to this data through numerous reports. Among these are a report summarizing the number of sessions and the number of bytes transferred for any user over a customizable date range, a report that lists in detail all actions (sent files, received files, password changes, etc.) performed by any user over a given date range, and purge and purge warning reports that list in detail files that have been, or will be, purged over a specified time interval. A traffic report displays in graph form the amount of system traffic while a busy signal report displays in graph form the number of busy signals encountered by dial-up users. Both of these reports track data in 15 minute intervals throughout the day for a customizable date range. For even more specific reporting needs, the Post Office Administrator maintains all data in a Microsoft Access database, allowing administrators and third parties to generate custom reports and invoices. The Post Office Administrator also offers multiple security options, ranging from no security at all to CTI’s powerful FastSync Firewall security system. Security options can be set globally or on a user-by-user basis.
CTI’s FastSync Mailbox systems were designed right from the start for the transmission of large binary files and they have been doing so reliably world-wide for years. It is largely because of this that the FastSync Mailbox is so superior to conventional Web browsers and E-mail programs, which were designed from the start for the transmission of small text files. And because the Windows version of the FastSync Mailbox is TCP/IP based, it can work over the Internet or corporate Intranet and in conjunction with a company’s existing Web browser and E-mail Intranet applications.
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