Can't upload 43MB EXE file

[RPinCA]

My vB Cloud forum was migrated from vB4. Most features are now working well. Yesterday I ran into a problem with Beta Forum / Beta versions / Current beta release. I clicked New Topic, provided the build summary as a topic and release notes as text. Then I clicked Upload Attachments, Upload Attachments button, navigated to the EXE file on my C: drive and pressed Open. The progress indicator cycled and Task Manager / Networking showed a trace quite similar to when it was uploaded to VirusTotal for scanning. At the end of an apparently successful transfer, this message appeared: "Error uploading image".

That's not specific enough for me to diagnose the cause. The EXE is signed with both SHA1 and SHA256. There's nothing wrong with the image; the beta team installed and ran it from a Dropbox. I suspect the cause is some privilege or size limit coming into play in a manner different than vB4. Does this sequence provide enough information for you to isolate the problem? If you'd like the EXE file I can provide it.

Thank you... RP

[Mark.B]

Don;t think you can upload .exe files on cloud to be honest.

[Wayne Luke]

You're limited to 15-megabyte files on Cloud. We do not plan on changing this limitation at this time. You should look at a Cloud-based File Sharing site to share this file.

Within this limitation, you can add EXE file as a valid type in the AdminCP under Attachments -> Attachment Type Manager. Typically EXE refers to a Windows executable, not an image. Using a tool to ZIP the file and upload them as ZIP would be a better practice.

[RPinCA]

Hi Wayne... I meant "image" in the programming sense - a binary image, not a PNG etc. Old school terminology.

I'm sad that I can't just post the files in the topics. We've been doing that for eight years and there are still a bunch of them in the beta releases thread. Do you know of a cloud service more streamlined than Dropbox? I'd like the testers to be able to click a link and have a download start, not a Dropbox session with all its self-promotion.

[RPinCA]

OK... I got an Amazon S3 cloud storage account and I'm putting my release kit EXE's there. While doing that, thoughts came to mind.

• Using a tool to ZIP the file and upload them as ZIP would be a better practice.

These are installation kits that are already compressed; ZIP doesn't make them any smaller. They are dual-signed SHA1 and SHA256, scanned by VirusTotal before release, so they are not dangerous. Even if they weren't scanned, what danger would it pose to you? Only users installing the kit *might* feel danger, but my practices ensure they don't get hit with a virus. Please don't tell me ZIP is a better practice.

• You're limited to 15-megabyte files on Cloud.

It would have been nice for you to state this in the purchase plan. Who would expect this with 25GB or higher bandwidth? Regardless, I don't see the point in it. Each level of vB Cloud plans offers its own bandwidth. What's wrong with letting me store my beta test release kits in threads where we can post comments about them and have them easily available to revert to an older version if necessary? Releasing a kit used to be a simple procedure on vB4 - now I have to go through a side-process with Amazon that takes time and has the files in a place where "anybody" can see them. The beta part of the forum is limited to hand-picked members, which protected the confidential pre-release install kits - when I could post them on the forum.

• You should look at a Cloud-based File Sharing site to share this

Well, if you're going to write things like that... I did. I have them on S3. It's awkward, time-consuming and insecure. You should look at your policies and realize you're making forum usage more complicated. There's another post about limited file size with similar responses. 15MB in today's world is simply not that big, and if I overflow bandwidth I have a choice: review my practices or move from Bronze to Silver. Why would that not be in your best business interest?

• We do not plan on changing this limitation at this time.

Wow. This is really stern, and feels the same after a few days of thinking and complying with your insistence to move the files elsewhere. Whoever sets policy and tells people how to discuss it should look at this thread. I'm trying to do what I did in vB4, I'm willing to pay fairly for it if it exceeds my limit, but I'm told to put my files elsewhere and you have no intention to change things. What about listening to your customers, learning their needs, and meeting them? What if I never come close to my bandwidth limit because I can't post large files and have only 15 active users? Or maybe that's your plan with this 15MB limit, but it will never end up with me moving to Silver.

Think about what you did here. You forced me to move my release kits to Amazon, and now if I overflow limits Amazon is going to profit, not you. You made life more complex for me, when I expected vB Cloud to be easier for me because you were hosting it. You spoke to me like a dictator, not a company trying to grow and establish a long-term customer base. You have a relatively new product, but rather than listen to users' needs and preen you new product, you write confrontational, inflexible responses. Is this wise? Do you believe I would recommend vB Cloud to anyone at this point in time?

[Mark.B]

Thanks your feedback. I'm sorry you feel Wayne's response was confrontational and inflexible.
I would respectfully disagree though.

The support team do not have any ability to change policies that are set by the company. Our preference is always to provide accurate and unambiguous information. If there are no plans to change a policy or procedure, then realistically that is what we need to say. To do otherwise would be to provide misleading information.

A cloud service has to be based on situations that suit the vast majority of clients on the platform, by its very nature it's not possible to provide bespoke solutions on the cloud platform. Our self hosted product would be the way to go if that is a requirement. With the self hosted product you have full control over things like this, subject to the limitations of the server and programming languages used.