There are two options for contributing files to Ci via File Request — you can utilize either Aspera or Standard upload method. Both were designed and developed to provide the best uploading experience, however, there are some differences between them.
Standard Upload
How-To
To contribute content using Standard method, just drag-n-drop files to the File Request window or click the “+ Select from this device” button and select files you want to contribute. If you have an account with Ci, you'll have the option to "+Select from Ci Spaces." Once the files are selected, click the “Upload File” button to get your upload started.
Figure 1. File Request Window
Standard Upload Best Practices
Please make sure your browser is opened while your files are contributing. We recommend disabling “Energy saving” mode on your computer to prevent the machine from falling into Sleeping mode (which will cause losing Internet connection).
Standard method can be sensitive to the quality of your Internet connection. If you are experiencing any issues with your contributions, please double check your connection parameters. We recommend using speedtest.net for getting details on your current bandwidth state.
If the connection is lost for short period of time, Ci will still try to get your file(s) uploaded once the connection is back. However, long time outages will cause the contribution to fail.
If you’re experiencing problems with contributing even although your Internet connection seems to be just fine, please reach out to Ci Customer Success Team (support@cimediacloud.com). It would be helpful if you could provide some details of your setup, such as:
— OS version;
—browser version;
— bandwidth parameters;
— screenshot of your browser’s error console (How do I open the JavaScript console in different browsers?)
Standard Upload Notes:
— Ci will not upload files of following formats: .bat, .com, .exe, .html, .js, .jsp, .php, .py, .rb, .swf, .vb
— Currently, the Ci Workspaces User Interface allows upload of files. Ci Workspace User Interface does not allow upload of folders & sub-folders.
For a basic guide on Standard Upload, see this article, User Guide: Standard Upload.
Aspera Upload
SONY | Ci integrates with Aspera Connect at the web browser plugin level. There is an install process for downloading and installing Aspera, which we outline in our User Guide: Aspera Upload. For users who have initially installed Aspera, it's important to make sure that Aspera is running. You can right click on the Aspera Connect icon in the Dock(MacOs) or Tray(Windows), and identify that you can set Aspera to always be in the Dock/Tray and that Aspera starts at login.
Aspera offers the ability to upload content as a managed transfer with aspects of file transfer acceleration since it utilizes a different protocol than only HTTP. This allows for increased efficiencies in the transfers and the added ability to manage, meaning resume or pause transfers via the Aspera Connect client. We recommend utilizing this method for contributing big files (1+ GB), since Aspera has the capability to resume transfers, including failed transfers or in the event a connection has been broken.
Original settings with Aspera Connect and uploading to Ci include a speed cap of 20mbps to 100mbps, but this can be changed as outlined below in the "How To" section of this article.
Various AdBlocker plug-ins may sometimes cause issues with contributing with Aspera. If that is the case, please deactivate or uninstall your adblocker.
Should you have any questions, please reach out to the Ci Customer Success Team by submitting a request here in the Help Center.
Aspera Connect Upload Notes:
— All failed transfers will only be resumed if they were initiated within the last 24 hours;
— Aspera limits the number of concurrent file uploads to 100;
— Currently, the Ci Workspaces User Interface allows upload of files. Ci Workspace User Interface does not allow upload of folders & sub-folders, including for Aspera Connect uploading.
How-To
To contribute files with Aspera, please ensure you have Aspera Connect plugin installed and running (you can download the plugin from Aspera’s official site: http://downloads.asperasoft.com/connect2/ ).
Once the plugin is running, select “File Upload” or "Folder Upload" (see Figure 1), select the files you want to contribute, click “Open” and then select “Contribute Files”.
A contribution will now get started. You can see its progress either on the File Request page or in Aspera Transfers window, which will be opened once transfers get started.
Figure 2. Aspera Connect Transfers Window
IMPORTANT: The default setting for Aspera transfer speed is 20 Mbps to 100 Mbps. To utilize the maximum of available bandwidth, for each file transfer (default setting is 3 concurrent transfers) please click on the heartbeat icon next to the uploading progress bar (see Figure 2). This will open the Transfer Monitor window.
Set the speed by adjusting the arrow pointer on the left-hand side (given that you have the available bandwidth to take advantage of).
Figure 3. Aspera Connect Transfer Monitor Window
For further details on Aspera Connect Upload, please see this article, User Guide: Aspera Upload.
For any additional questions, please reach out to the Ci Customer Success Team by submitting a request here in the Help Center.