RE: [users@httpd] Restricting the number of times a file can bedownloaded.

[david0005 <da...@optusnet.com.au>]

Hi Owen,
Thanks for your erudite reply.
On Tue, 2006-04-11 at 12:41 +0200, Boyle Owen wrote: 
> Bandwidth = no. of bytes per unit time
> 
> Originally, you asked about "number of times a file can be downloaded". That
>  sounds like you wanted to make a scalar count of the
> number of downloads and limit it to, say, 10. So the file would be inaccessible
>  after 10 downloads no matter if the 10 had been
> downloaded all at the same time or over the course of several days. That would
>  be an entirely different thing. It's like the 
> difference between the range and the speed of a car...
> 
> Controlling bandwidth means you want to limit the number of concurrent connections
>  and/or the rate at which each client is served.
> So go to http://modules.apache.org/search and search for "throttle". That will get 
> you started.

I am actually well aware of all of the technical meanings of the word
bandwidth. However, I was using the word in the colloquial sense -- that
is bandwidth as a limited commodity which costs money.

After a certain limit my host charges by the megabyte. So I do not want
to pay for anyone to view this video clip, just the people that I send
the link to. So yes I am talking about controlling access. However I do
not care if a recipient emails the video clip as an attachment to a
friend. I just do not want that friend accessing my web server. Making a
scalar count of the number of times the file has been downloaded would
also serve my purpose as it would allow me to cap the bandwidth cost of
this mail out. I am not concerned about the number of concurrent
connections so I do not need throttling. I am concerned about minimising
the number of megabytes of data delivered by my web server.

> Now I'm even more confused... Are you talking about controlling access? (ie, you
>  don't want someone who gets a copy of the mail to
>  access the file?)

Yes. But I don't care if they receive the file as an attachment.

Regards,

David



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