There are some discussions in this forum and in the google search about this topic.

basically, I thought the arguments were

http upload is easy, for small files, and secure.

browser ftp upload is not so easy to achieve, not secure, have to use some java applet, but it is good for big file.

The following thread gives clear Advantages and disadvantages, but I am not sure it is the right answer.

http upload vs. ftp upload

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum88/3574.htm

Are there any authentic answers on this topic.

Basically, I am using http upload, the files are usually smaller than 1MB, some files 1-2 MB, very small number files less than 5% may be close to 6 MB. I used to allow 3 files to upload in one form. So I have to allow max. upload file to be 6 MB, max upload size to be 18 MB. (I add the notes that if the file bigger than 2 MB, I adviced to upload one file one one time.) So in practice, the one form upload would not be more than 6 MB. Works perfectly fine.

But I am worried about the http upload like this will overwhelm the work load of the web server, will it exhaust the web server resource when serveral clients uploading at the same time? (It is not a high traffic site. Maybe 30 - 50 clients now, later on may grow to 100 - 200 clients, have the rights to upload files.)

Many sites are using the http upload, and a regular server can host hundreds sites. So am I over worried in my case?

Will browser ftp upload ease the work load of the web server? (because it will use the ftp server?) Or it is the same, the file still have to go from client to the server? But when we use regular ftp, the upload is faster than http upload, will this apply to browser ftp upload case?

Thanks.

    With that much uploading I think you might have problems with bandwidth, it all depends on the limits upon your website and the amount of traffic. If you wish to upload files to your website it is generally best to use an FTP Client such as the very popular Filezilla: http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/ and then login into your site through FTP and upload there. By doing this you can upload much more quickly and I don't think you'll have problems with bandwidth then. It also allows to track how the upload process is going, whereas http upload leaves you in the dark.

      PHP always loads HTTP uploaded files into memory - this means the file size is limited by the PHP memory usage maximum. In practice this is typically set to 8Mb but could be a bit higher.

      In any case, one problem with HTTP upload is the lack of user feedback during the upload.

      However, HTTP upload gives you lots more control, it's more secure (when done over HTTPS, anyway), and greatly eases management - it's just a standard web app (no separate FTP server to configure).

      Unless you have a really good argument, I'd go for HTTP every time.

      Mark

        However, if you are on a host with an FTP server already set up then it is much easier (and faster) to use an FTP client than make your own error-prone http upload script. You can also download php FTP applications and place them on your website such as net2ftp http://www.net2ftp.com/

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