Limiting downloads HELP!!

ph8edsicness

I recently uploaded very large files to my website to make available for download. However, with the high demand for my server to transfer them to users, people are constantly being faced with not being able to access the website. I would really appreciate if someone here could code me a script that lets a user only download one file per day or something to that extent. Meaning that the script remembers the users IP or something else about them, checks to see if they've downloaded something from the video directory and if they have tell them they've reached their quota for the day.

I find that a lot of people are just downloading 2 or 3 files at a time and while I didn't want to have to limit the users I fear I must to accomodate other people who just want to look at the site or access the message board.

Also, if someone could also make a separate script that detects the speed of a users connection and based upon that either allows a download or denies it.

Any help would be immensely appreciated and if I can help with anything in return let me know. I'm still new at PHP otherwise I would try this myself.

JDcrack

You would need to make a script that served the file.
something like

$file=fopen($download,"r");
header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
while(!feof($file))
{
print fgetc($file);
}

Whenever someone downloads that file you could put their IP address in a database and mark the file as downloaded.
Before you download you serve them the file simply check the database to see if that IP address has downloaded that IP address has downloaded that file before.

You can easily put in more robust ways of stopping multipule downloads such as log scripts as it is very easy to get around IP checking, but that is a quick work around.

ph8edsicness

do i set the variable $file to the url of the download?

JDcrack

No, you will need to set the $download variable...
I think you will need to read up one the PHP's filesystem functions:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.filesystem.php
fopen()

Here is a link that might help you:
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/File_Manipulation/Download_Systems/

Lots of opensource PHP scripts that can do what you are looking for.

ph8edsicness

Thanks a lot man!