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Alternatives to Amazon S3?

by svedski
9 replies
Signed up for an Amazon S3 account two days ago. I've spent 20+ hours trying to upload a file to it, without luck. I've tried every possible ftp client that is compatible with it, even bought "Transmit" for some 50 bucks or so.

Nothing works. Now lastly, after 16 hours of trying to upload my 4gb zip file I was just 20 minutes away from achieving it. Then comes a failure message saying: "Upload failed, the difference between the requested time and the current time is too large".

I'm done with Amazon. I also used to buy lots of kindle books (and paperbacks as well) but I'm done with that as well. Never again Amazon. I'll switch to Barnes & Nobles.

But anyways, are there any competitors to Amazon S3 out there in the same price range (or cheaper)?

I'm looking to host my ebooks, video courses etc. and will need high download speeds and bandwidth.

P.S. What about Google Store Cloud? Is it the same thing? The prices are exactly the same.
I need to be able to protect my files however. Preferably if it interacts with DAP (Digital Access Pass).
#alternatives #amazon
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Windows Azure: Microsoft's Cloud Platform | Cloud Hosting | Cloud Services by Microsoft is a direct competitor.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
    If your file is too big you could try a multi-part upload.

    Have a look here:

    Uploading Objects Using Multipart Upload API - Amazon Simple Storage Service
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    If you are having such issues uploading a file of that size then why would you want to offer that same file for people to download? I am assuming that is why you are uploading it to Amazon S3?

    The problem could be with your Internet Service Provider since uploading 4GB of data is not normal behavior and thus they may keep killing the connection. I doubt the problem is on Amazons end.

    No one file should be 4GB in size if you plan to offer it for download -- that's far too big and very few people will want to download it.

    Amazon S3 works absolutely fine for me and always has but that's because I don't try and upload files of such size because I know my customers would hate them as well.

    So chop that one file up into much smaller file sizes. That's the sensible thing to do. Amazon S3 is the standard for hosting your downloads nowadays so don't just turn your back to it because your file is too large.
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    • Profile picture of the author svedski
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      If you are having such issues uploading a file of that size then why would you want to offer that same file for people to download? I am assuming that is why you are uploading it to Amazon S3?

      The problem could be with your Internet Service Provider since uploading 4GB of data is not normal behavior and thus they may keep killing the connection. I doubt the problem is on Amazons end.

      No one file should be 4GB in size if you plan to offer it for download -- that's far too big and very few people will want to download it.

      Amazon S3 works absolutely fine for me and always has but that's because I don't try and upload files of such size because I know my customers would hate them as well.

      So chop that one file up into much smaller file sizes. That's the sensible thing to do. Amazon S3 is the standard for hosting your downloads nowadays so don't just turn your back to it because your file is too large.
      Well my thinking is that people want to get the whole course which consists of 30 mp4-videos, 32 audio files and 40 pdf files. To download everything separately would be a huge hassle.

      Although I will offer them to only download each thing separately. Like one zip file for the videos, one for the audio etc. just in case.

      Most people should be able to download at 1mb/sec. That means they could get the file down in 20-30 minutes or so. Or am I wrong here?
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      • Profile picture of the author FelixFuturi
        I looked into using s3 to host videos a while back, because I was worried if too many users hit youtube at once it would be way too slow.

        When I downloaded the first two files, I tried to test view them but got a "file is corrupt" message... So I spent about two days researching the issue, tried changing file names, uploading different files, different formats, etc. .Flv extension worked fine, but .mp4s were always corrupt. Obviously .mp4s are needed in case your visitor is on a mobile device.

        After putting so much time into it I decided to try some support. The site says you have 24/7 support but I guess that they are referring to the forum only. More advanced plans are available to pay for of course, but I was looking to test it out before I paid so that didn't make sense to pay for support to test.

        So I put in a forum post explaining the situation, not sure now if I uploaded a screen cast or not but I do usually include that. Checked back for a couple weeks but never saw a reply or any resolution. So moved on, haven't found an alternative but I doubt I'll try them again.

        Just intend to add my experiences to the discussion. Not bashing Amazon, I love every other service they have. Not only that but I know a lot of folks who swear by S3. There have been a few comments that it's pretty complex and poor support though. I guess like most things, your actual experience may vary.
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        • Profile picture of the author NatesMarketing
          I love Amazon S3 - but, I could see it as being a little complicated if you're not familiar with servers/hosting/etc.

          And you can upload 4GB files to it - I have uploaded files up to 8gb, without issues....so like Will says - probably something with your ISP.

          Have you tried S3 Browser - Amazon S3 Client for Windows. User Interface for Amazon S3. S3 Bucket Explorer. ? It essentially gives S3 a nice pretty GUI to make it simple
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          • Profile picture of the author BeechHill
            There are several other services, a little more costly, but also offer more features and ease of use then S3.

            For videos, I'm going to be trying out Screencast by TechSmith, the makers of Camtasia. You can try them out for free and get 2GB of storage space, 2GB of monthly bandwidth a month. Then move up to the paid service and get 25GB of storage and 200GB Monthly Bandwidth. You can then Add or Edit Video Captions (Select Formats Only), create uniquely branded background templates featuring your logo and color scheme and customize what appears to your audience in the View Page for $9.95/month or $99.95/year.

            More space and bandwidth available as needed.

            There are also several ways to upload content directly from within the library, use the Mac or Windows Desktop Uploader, or, upload content directly from other TechSmith products such as Camtasia Studio and Jing.
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      • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
        Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

        Well my thinking is that people want to get the whole course which consists of 30 mp4-videos, 32 audio files and 40 pdf files. To download everything separately would be a huge hassle.
        From being in the business of offering large download files, I.E. 1 gig at a time, I can assure you that your customers would prefer if you allow them to "successfully" download 30 separate mp4 Video files, as opposed to multiple "failed" attempts trying to download 1 large 4GB file.

        What will happen is, they will try once, and maybe twice, and if both times the download fails after an hour of trying, they will either contact you with a complaint of having spent so much time, (and you will end up sending them separate files anyways in order to retain the customer) or, without contacting you, they will simply request a refund stating that the "product does not work".

        The same type of frustration that you felt trying to upload a large file and it failed, as you already want to jump ship from Amazon to elsewhere, is the same type of frustration that your customer would feel as well. Except for that they paid for the file(s), but can't download them, which makes it worse.

        My advice:

        First, work on uploading and setting up your separate file downloads, and make those available to your customers. Then once you have all of that setup and you are selling access to them, and everything is up and running smoothly, "then" you can sit down and figure out how you can make available your 1 large file etc. Again, from my experience, I think it will probably be a very long time before any customer writes and asks for a 4GB file download. Most will ask for a CD / DVD shipped instead. (Something to think about as well).

        Good luck.
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        Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
        "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).
        "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
        "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by stolpioni View Post

        Most people should be able to download at 1mb/sec. That means they could get the file down in 20-30 minutes or so. Or am I wrong here?
        You're wrong here.

        Even if a person's DSL connection says those speeds are possible, you'll almost never actually get them. Depending on the load at the originating server, traffic on the net and number of people trying to use a single DSL node, download speeds will be much slower.

        Much more likely is that people trying to download your 4GB file will have the same problems as you're having trying to upload it.

        The only other thing I can think to add right now is to recommend a download manager (preferably a free one).
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