Recommendations for private cloud software...

This topic was created by J. Cook .

[J. Cook]

Recommendations for private cloud software...

I am turning to the brain trust here for some assistance.

At the company I work for, we deal with a number of vendors who like sending us large files. These are typically files that are over the sane limits of email, and due to the various regulatory entities that govern our business, we can't allow our users access to sites like dropbox, Google Docs, etc. We've looked at setting up an FTP/SFTP/SCP server for our vendors to upload files to, but so far none of them have really worked out.

Besides OwnCloud, is there anything like dropbox that I can recommend or trial with our company? The basic workflow we are looking for would be something like this:

The employee working with the rep creates a login for the vendor to use on the site.

Vendor goes to the site, logs in with their account, and uploads the file(s).

The site gives the vendor and/or the employee a link with the file's location for sharing.

The file would stay on the site for a certain period of time, and automatically be removed or archived.

We would also need the ability to audit the application's usage, and obviously security is paramount.

Any ideas that the group here can provide would be appreciated.

(Note to Mods: If I've put this in the wrong spot, please let me know.. Thanks!)

[Robin Marlow]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

Bristol Uni has an in house version of exactly what you want called FLUFF.

http://www.bris.ac.uk/it-services/applications/fluff/fluff.html

Might be worth asking if you could set up your own version of it.

[142]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

J., is your main concern with Dropbox that your data is stored by a third party?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

Why did the FTP/FTPS/SCP thing not work out?

Did you try adding HTTP/HTTPS/WebDAV to the server which you setup to do FTP/FTPS/SCP?

From the sounds of it (if you know how to setup and run an FTP server) you should easily be able to add HTTP capabilities on the front end of it. It's just a bit more configuration.

[Alan Bourke]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

> Why did the FTP/FTPS/SCP thing not work out?

I would guess that the people on the other end couldn't find their arse with both hands, never mind use a secure transfer method that involved any sort of setup.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

"We've looked at setting up an FTP/SFTP/SCP server for our vendors to upload files to, but so far none of them have really worked out."

I'm also wondering about this. An area where clients can upload via scp is not hard to set up and there's lots of "sftp"UIs that even non-techy people can manage to use; meanwhile the simplest of cron jobs can clear out old files and an admin can remove the user's login entry if they need to be locked out.

Given the listed requirements, basically everything you need appears to be bundled with a standard Linux server.

[MJD]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

Sounds like you're wanting to enable people to send you files, rather than sharing them per se.

ZendTo handles this brilliantly (IMHO). Created by Julian Field (of MailScanner fame).

See: http://zend.to/

[Hegs]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

A few UK universities use a variation on the original Perl UD Dropbox software to allow people to drop off and pick up large files.

i.e Julian Fields, creator of MailScanner, has released "zendto" which sounds like a better fit for your needs. It's open source, so if it's not quite right you can hack away to make it work.

http://www.zendto.com

[pstansbu]

Re: Recommendations for private cloud software...

Not quite private cloud but there is a product similar to Dropbox, but more peace of mind with guaranteed UK location at known sites etc. The person uploading can set time limits on access for those invited to share or predefined project groups gain automatic access to project areas.

www.univault.ac.uk. It's in the very final stages of testing but you might be able to join the test or have a look pre-release - their contact details are on the site.

[Andrew Ducker]

http://www.axway.co.uk/products-solutions/mft/gateways/securetransport is the kind of thing you want to look into.

[Spoonsinger]

Is the answer?....

Respect the amount of raw computing power you have on your desk, (or hand held), computer and personally take responsibility for the information stored there on? (because those who say they will do it for you, don't necessarily have "your" best interests at heart).

[Anonymous Coward]

Probox.eu

Does everything that you list and a huge amount more.

www.probox.eu

[Anonymous Coward]

No Magic Bullet....

Floppy disks sent by royal mail? Flexible, Secure and probably meeting all required regulations?

Seriously now, all depends what exact regulatory/operational constraints you have to work under...

You could use sharepoint (or other collaborative products), create an extranet web site for your suppliers to upload documentation... This is what is usually in place to manage exchange of data with candidates during procurement exercises and to manage exchange of data with suppliers.

But the ease of use of the open internet never marries well with tight security policies.... and no matter what product/solution you use the real question will be one of rights/access management.

Do you consider your suppliers as a trusted "members" with access to your intranet or must they stay outside the perimeter... and if they do who controls and validates the transfer of files from one side to the other....etc ad nauseam....

Good luck !

[jfossy]

Bittorrent Sync

http://www.bittorrent.com/sync

This does like Dropbox only doesn't store stuff on a 3rd party server. Add bonus is there are no space limitations since all the storage is your own.

[Adam 1]

Re: Bittorrent Sync

+1 for bt sync

As an added bonus, your clients could generate the secret and tell you rather than have to manage protection of the secret yourself. Also has 24 hour share options and no third party holding the data.

[jb99]

Re: Bittorrent Sync

Another +1 for bittorrent sync. It works very well indeed and seems to be secure.

[Anonymous Coward]

quite pricey

but MOVEit DMZ will do this.

[Maharg]

Re: quite pricey

Yep and Yep, very good

[PJD]

Sparkleshare. Does what dropbox does, but on your own server with encrypted transport.

[ragnar]

Spideroak? Zero knowledge encryption.

[Don Jefe]

Put together a spec of what you really need* and send some RFQ's around for a simple custom application. Rolling secure FTP into a simple application isn't crazy complicated and shouldn't cost much or be much of a maintenance burden. Providing it to the people you're doing business with is also a great value-add (I actually hate that term, the fact I typed it means I've been listening to too many proposals lately). You're making it easy to do business with you!

Alternatively you could just do SharePoint. We use SharePoint here, and it works just fine, but it's expensive and apparently difficult to deal with because every time I ask for something our little IT group gets grumpy, and it's not just the standard IT people grumpiness, it's actually a pain.

*I would not go shopping the job out and tell them you wanted to emulate DropBox and add regulatory compliance. They will send you a proposal with many, many zeros in it and your boss will forever think you've got your head in the clouds (ha!).

[ld0614]

Skydrive Pro?

As far as I know its basically a front end for SharePoint that makes it act like Dropbox/Skydrive. Might be worth looking into

[colin79666]

Citrix ShareFile

Provides sufficient enterprise grade security, auditing and cost(!) for most businesses.

[142]

I was just looking into all these services recently...

Have a look at www.box.com.

I believe you'd need to use their enterprise edition to get the features you require in relation to auditing, data trails, and enforced file-deletion policies. Enterprise admin users have a lot of control over how they lock down accounts.

What I noticed about box, was that they have the best attention to detail of any of these companies I've looked at. A few prominent competitors' "prevent user from downloading" functions were trivially bypassed.

The other company to look at, who appear equally robust, and I believe specialise in larger companies, is egnyte.com.

They also have the benefit of being UK based, which could help you for regulatory purposes.

We chose box in the end, as I wasn't happy with Egnyte's audio options, so I can't really go in depth about that one, but I can talk about Box in a bit more detail:

> "The employee working with the rep creates a login for the vendor to use on the site."

with box enterprise, you can create different levels of admin users, so I believe you would be able to do this.

> "Vendor goes to the site, logs in with their account, and uploads the file(s)."

yes. indeed, you can create folders with upload only permissions for certain users.

>"The site gives the vendor and/or the employee a link with the file's location for sharing."

yes, box handles this quite well.

>"The file would stay on the site for a certain period of time, and automatically be removed or archived."

Yes. It's possible to disable both the link to the file, or delete the file itself, after a given period of time. From what I know, enterprise admins can set a company-wide policy in this respect.

>"We would also need the ability to audit the application's usage, and obviously security is paramount."

Box's auditing tools appear to be very hefty. Even at my team's low level usage, I can see exactly who's accessing my files, when, and from where.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I was just looking into all these services recently...

Box is US. If he cares about confidentiality, it's one to avoid.

[karlp]

Two Options

First option I normally recommend is LiquidFiles. It's an on-premise VM that is an all-in large file transfer solution. Completely stand-alone, simple to use, well supported, reasonably priced. http://www.liquidfiles.net

The second option is a bit more of a creative one. There is a company called MinnowIT which makes a piece of software called Foldr for accessing Windows File Servers from mobile devices. They have dedicated iOS apps, and can interface with most any webdav client as well as having a very slick web front end. Binds to Active Directory and (very importantly) respects NTFS user permissions. You could set this system up, have a large windows server "partners" share with folders for each partner. Give highly restricted AD credentials to be used by the partners to login with that are restricted to their sub-folder. Your employees can interact with their partners by simply browsing a local mapped drive. Your partners can either use the web app, or map the webdav drive to their Windows or Mac based endpoints. Again, simple to use, well supported, reasonably priced. http://www.minnow.it

The choice between the two comes down to whether you want to manage it from AD - or not - and whether you can live without local mapped drives on the vendor/partner side.

Karl P

[baguar]

Re: Two Options

+1 for LiquidFiles, decent product and should meet all the requirements that you listed.

You should be able to run-up a demo version for free as well to see if it meets the requirements in your scenario.

*Disclaimer - we're a (small) customer of LiquidFiles.

[Mark Allen]

wetransfer.com

Wetransfer doesn't quite fit everything you ask, but it is simple. Takes up to 2GB transfers and keeps them for seven days. You upload your big zip file and it gives you a URL in return. You can even just plug in your email addresses and it will notify you and the client when the file is available, as well as telling you when it has been downloaded.

There is a pro version as well - but I've just been using the free version for shifting videos and similar to friends.

Best bit of it is the simplicity.

[Anonymous Coward]

Alfresco

Hybrid synch from Alfresco.

You create a private site in the Cloudy-Alfresco for your vendor.

Your vendor puts the document in the site.

The doc gets synched to your on-premise Alfresco instance.

Workflow, remote removal of cloud content, no outsiders inside your firewall etc. etc.

Yes, I work for them.

[Anonymous Coward]

Remind me never to go into this type of business. Looks like a complicated minefield out there. :O

[doug johnston]

As a sole trader, consultant, working globally with clients who want to see videos and documents that can add up to large file groups, I use three solutions.

Dropbox is useful but have had some issues with links not working. American unfortunately.

Basecamp is a collaboration system that I find works very well and I use some of its features (not all) when I need long term access from a new client or during an extended sales discussion. Some can take years! Again American unfortunately.

wetransfer.com, For short term availability with no (apparent) American connections as it is Dutch company, I recommend wetransfer.com as it just 'does what it says on the tin'. Only one supplier firewall/spam filter had an issue with initial notification email, I dont know why, but other than that all customers are happy to get their information this way.

[harmjschoonhoven]

One.com

The simple business model of One.com allows you to create a virtually unlimited number of CloudDrives with single or double encryption at the drop of a hat for an extremely low flat fee.

The only negative comment I can make about One.com is that the Earth spins clockwise in their promo-video.

[Ronald van Raaij]

Tresorit

I see no one has mentione Tresorit ( https://tresorit.com/features ) yet. As a european (Hungarian) company probably a good candidate these days...

Similar features to all the others, but also data is encrypted before it leaves your computer.

[Salts]

Re: Tresorit

I can also recommend tresorit.com.

[Robert E A Harvey]

recomended

Sharefile.com have collaborative workspaces with secure access, not sure how good the logging is, never used it.

[Fuzz]

filesender

I've been using filesender https://www.assembla.com/spaces/file_sender/wiki for a while works well for me my users find it easy enough to use. Has some limitations at the moment, like only being able to send a single file at a time so folders have to be zipped before sending.

[JanMeijer]

Re: filesender

The FileSender project is working to overcome these limitations. We have code we plan to release in Q1 2014 as a usable 2.0-alpha version featuring multi-file support and fine-grained control over email receipts. The code will be undergoing a code security review about a week from now, our planning assumes no major dramas in that review.

The 2.0 version also includes the high-speed upload module, although that might be less interesting for organisations outside Research & Educational networking. Although the primary target for FileSender is the research and higher education community we welcome any feedback from (and obviously use by) other sectors. The major advantage we see with FileSender is the complete control you can have by running your own instance. We strive to make it easy to use and easy to setup/operate. Any reasonably capable Linux sysadmin should be able to have it up and running in about an hour.

If you want to give the multi-file version a try proceed to terasender.uninett.no and pick the one that has multi-file in its name. Get yourself a self-registered account and off you go. It's a test box so no guarantees. Feedback is appreciated.

Jan Meijer

Project lead FileSender

[CriticalMass]

Wuala

I like Wuala https://www.wuala.com/en/ as well as OwnCloud. I only use the free versions, not commercially, but Wuala seems to have a bit more than Owncloud...as well as Client-side encryption, versioning & collaboration etc. Based in Switzerland

[CrazyLikeAFox]

OwnCloud

I like OwnCloud - you can host it yourself and that takes away all the hassles of where the data is stored. Assuming you are happy enough with the current web services you have.

[Anonymous Coward]

Syncplicity?

http://www.storagereview.com/emc_syncplicity_review

[Ken Moorhouse]

Bespoke solution

If you want a bespoke solution that does not compromise any of your stated requirements then look me up. I'm in London.

[Anonymous Coward]

FTP/Web

Web based interface for clients that links to your FTP server, aka your own dropbox !

[umacf24]

Varonis Data Anywhere

Send and receive links to folders and files, hosted on your infrastructure, authenticated by email.

[Mystic Megabyte]

Retroshare?

I've not tried this but it looks promising.

http://www.unixmen.com/retroshare-a-next-generation-secure-communication-and-file-sharing-platforn/

[Anonymous Coward]

ProjectSend?

It seems to me that you are not looking for a sync program, more an uploader. Have a look at ProjectSend.org

Alternatively roll your own with a chunking uploader such as plupload.

[Anonymous Coward]

Syncplicity

We've been using this for a while - it seems secure and robust: http://www.syncplicity.com

[4Candle]

Filr does the job!

Take a look at Filr. You have total control of your files as they stay on your site (keeping your data in the local jurisdiction).

It is designed to work with Microsoft AD or NetIQ's eDir, and it keeps the file access rights properly. Supports iDevices, Android, Blackberry, Macs and PCs. What's not to like?

It allows you to share (if you want), without duplicating data all the time.

More details at: http://www.novell.com/filr/

[Vargs]

Confidential Document Exchange

Sounds like our system (http://confdex.co.uk) is exactly what you need. We specialise in health and social care but also have a music business customer who moves big stem files between producers and musicians using it. This system is in use across the whole of Public Health England.

[butrousbutrous]

+1 for varonis datanywhere, turn your own file server into a cloud service, with clients for mac, windows and iOS

[ChrisSWS]

Swiss Cloud Incoming...

Hi,

I don't know of an immediate solution myself, however I might be able to offer a very regulatory friendly one for the future…

At my company, Datalynx, we’re presently part way through building a new IaaS cloud specifically targeted at use cases requiring strong regulatory compliance, and the security compliance that goes with that. We don’t have a web site up yet, but I made a short blog post on the project here;

http://clustersandclouds.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/a-cloud-in-potentia/

The Q1 goal’s slipped a bit, it’s now more likely Q2 2014 for GA I’m afraid. Still though, the whole goal is to provide a cloud which can stand up to a vendor audit and provides clarity as to which legal jurisdiction it’s subject to.

We plan to offer SaaS product on top of this, including a couple which may be relevant to your use case. We’re considering an OwnCloud product for SMEs, and we’ll probably have a BizCloud (www.bizcloud.com) product as well. We also have a product in the works called Loomion (www.loomion.com), although that’s more targeted at the C-suite.

Hope this helps, if you’d like any more info please feel free to drop me a line via the blog :)

Thanks,

Chris

[Liam Westley]

Huddle?

*DISCLAIMER* I work for Huddle

Huddle are purpose built to do secure sharing of documents with audit trails, and we have local government in both UK and US using us for that very reason.

We don't automatically remove files, but you can remove access to keep it as an archive if you require.

It's certainly worth a look, http://www.huddle.com, and we keep files in the EU which may matter to some of your clients.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Huddle?

You cannot credibly claim you can protect confidential information if you're in the US...

[John Gamble]

Re: Huddle?

But he didn't say he was in the U.S.

(Plus, a quick search confirmed this. I sometimes feel A.C. postings should be automatically penalized with a -1 penalty at the start.)

[petur]

QNAP NAS

comes with its own private cloud and dropbox-like sync tools

[wheelybird]

Seafile.

Seafile. Better than OwnCloud in that the synchronisation works and doesn't delete your documents.

[(AMPC) Anonymous and mostly paranoid coward]

Did I miss something?

Don't understand why the user won't use OwnCloud?

It is relatively easy to set up and use on a Debian platform, a little harder to set up on IIS, but doable.

Security is in the eye of the beholder, both platforms can be locked down to nearly anyone's requirements.

Inquring minds and all that.....

[Anonymous Coward]

Data room

Reading the request, seems to me that you have similar requirements to those running transaction data rooms. The need to have a hosted solution to which people can load or access files of all sizes, have fully configurable user access under client control, with proper security and audit trail.

Have search on the terms data room provider or electronic data room. I've used Merrill Corporation services as a data room manager, and found the system was excellent, and not expensive for the service on offer (though you'll be paying a lot more than Dropbox for the capabilities you want). There's plenty of competition in the sector, so just make sure you're not paying over the odds just because many other customers come fromn the "money no object" banking sector.

[Anonymous Coward]

Another suggestion: Serv-U

You could have a look at http://www.solarwinds.com/serv-u-managed-file-transfer-server.aspx

(There is an interactive demo on this page as well.)

Keeps all your data in your environment. You send emails with the relevant links automatically generated, so no technical expertise needed at the far end. You make files available at certain times or make them time out if you wish. AD integrated, virtual machine.

So no keeping your data on 3rd party servers inside or outside your country. It's worth a look.

[ThatGuyCalledPete]

Synology?

Synology NAS boxes offer some nice applications, and might be a "friendly" way for uploading.

http://www.synology.com/

(I am not in any way affiliated with Synology, I just love their equipment as a customer)

A lot of the recommendations depend on exactly what your vendors are struggling with - why can't they use existing solutions, what is the sticking point?

-- Pete.

[SwordOfEnlightenment]

Swift/Swiftstack perhaps

You could setup your own object store based on OpenStack Swift. Scalable, can use your own hardware and if you use SwiftStack they assist with management. Possibly bit over the top, but great fun ;-)

[paulie]

Objective Connect - Secure Document and file sharing

Objective Connect is another option that you could consider

(FYI I am an employee of Objective)

It is cloud based solution, accessible from a web browser and implementing government grade security

More information and the ability to signup for a free account is available at

https://secure.objectiveconnect.com/

[lazydays]

Citrix Sharefile has been designed to do exactly what you are requesting I think

http://www.sharefile.com/industries

[Andy2830]

Might be similar to the earlier suggestion for Bristol Uni's service but Zend.to was developed by Southampton Uni and is open source

http://zend.to/

[AP1960]

We've developed exactly what you are looking for

We had a client looking to share large files, CAD architectural drawings, but without having them hosted outside of the UK so we developed a solution.

The service allows for easy uploading of documents, easy adding new subscribers, document control [locking, deleting etc] and much more.

Drop me a line, [e-mail] if it sounds as if it might fit your needs.

[EstherIL]

You've talked about your hesitancy on using a service like Dropbox, and 49% of organizations block access to consumer file-sharing solutions like Dropbox and Box. Yet their employees are using these services to share sensitive information.

Enterprise organizations need a solution that offers file-level security - security that will travel with the file wherever it goes, giving lifetime control of documents. A solution with the ability to “unshare” a document if needed, while also enabling workplace collaboration already exists today - check out Intralinks VIA.

- Esther Hollander, Intralinks

[robbie hughes 1]

Egress.com

I can wholeheartedly recommend egress.com.

We use it for the secure transfer of medical data and have placed a link to a secure form on our website at www.qinec.com (go to the bottom and click "Send us data securely")

Highly effective and secure service (with all the relevant certifications) run by a great bunch of guys who started it on their own and are growing like wildfire.

[GitMeMyShootinIrons]

VMware Horizon Workspace

The file sharing functionality is most of the way to what you're after.

Better get the cheque book out though.....

[Geni at Brainloop]

Brainloop

Hi J.,

After reading your query, I thought you might be interested in exploring Brainloop (www.brainloop.com) to securely transfer large files both internally and externally. As the US Marketing Manager with Brainloop I can say that the service is easily configured to make sure only people authorized to see information can see it. With Brainloop you can set and monitor audit trails for every activity including logins, file accesses, opens, or edits – meeting compliance regulations set forth by various industries.

Behind all the interfaces is the Brainloop platform where you can easily set up a folder or portal for ad hoc projects. Once the folder is established, you can invite people and define who can have permissions and how they are able to access the information. For example, some participants can only “view” documents, as opposed to edit them. Extra security levels are available, and easily applicable.

Brainloop lets you share information while managing collaboration. Essentially, it’s a one-stop solution for securing cloud shares, email servers, PGP keys, Groupware, virtual datarooms, mobile security, and ERP integration. If you’d like a free trial, please visit www.brainloop.com.

Thank you,

Geni

[johnjonescode]

SharePlan !

SharePlan !

its aimed at exactly what you want check it out :

http://www.code42.com/shareplan/

(full disclosure I work for code42 in Sydney, Australia )

have fun

John Jones

[MarkGab]

Objective Connect

Look no further. Check out Objective Connect at http://www.objectiveconnect.co.uk

Secure file sharing with data soverenty, government grade security, more control, reporting, audit trail and dead easy to use. Desktop client that works just like Dropbox is coming in Jan. It can also integrate to SharePoint and Trim.

[Figj]

Lockbox

You might want to try www.lock-box.com if you want a simple and private client portal on your website.

It's very easy (compared to FTP). Simply add one line of HTML (iframe) to your website to setup the Lockbox client portal. Then your vendors interact directly with your website (without you opening up your firewall!). Privacy is ensured via client-side encryption and client-side keys. Has auditing and allows you to choose where your encrypted documents reside (e.g. your closest S3 server).

[Andre Fouche]

The only Alternative (and more secure) is......

Try "HYPERDRIVE" from the company RES Software in the UK. It's easy, quick, secure and everybody should be using it ! Watch it in action here ..... http://www.ressoftware.com/product/res-hyperdrive.

[Roland6]

Getting back to J.Cook's original requirements it would seem the problem is the reception of large files via email from third-parties, with whom he has little control of.

Now in the past I've had problems with the sending of large files and jumped on Ipswitch's MOVEit Ad-hoc Transfer, because this has plug-in's that integrate with MS Outlook and web browser. Once configured the user see's little change and still goes about using these tools in the normal way. However, under the hood the MFT is working, so that when files over a specified size are attached the MFT moves the file to a server, and attaches a URL to the email instead. The recipient merely needs to click on the attachment to initiate download of the attachment.

This is great for sending files out, but not for reception as you have no control over third-parties and what they are running on their systems. Short of demanding that they subscribe to a third-party exchange service there is little that can be done to prevent them using email.

Therefore I suggest that you create a dedicated email server/account for this traffic, potentially on a different domain to your normal end user email accounts. This server can be given different parameters concerning size limits, enabling items received to be formally checked in and distributed within your organisation in a controlled way. You may also wish to set up an email pre-processor, on your normal email service, that captures emails with particularly types of attachments and redirects them to your specialist email server, users needing access to such captured emails can either use a web-service or a hotline to request delivery. The reason for suggesting a dedicated server etc. is for simplicity (it only needs to support SMTP) and to protect end user email services from the side effects of receiving complete VM images as a series of attachments...

Obviously as some have pointed out, you could still cater for those suppliers who are able to use a website etc. through locally hosted solutions such as that provided by Sharepoint etc.

[nCrypted Cloud]

If the issue is regulatory, try nCrypted Cloud (www.ncryptedcloud.com) on top of Dropbox. GoogleDrive and Skydrive versions of nCrypted Cloud will be out in Q1 AND Q2 OF 2014.

[Anonymous Coward]

Novell Filr

http://www.novell.com/products/filr/

[JohnE]

Novell filr

Filr is definitely worth a look. An appliance that runs in your own network that really brings file sharing up to date. www.novell.com/filr for more info..

[J. Cook]

The prodigal poster returneth...

All:

Apologies for being... less than responsive. (it's been an insane 6 months here; the icon is appropriate on my part.)

The company I'm researching this for is, in fact, based in the US. (sort of; it's owned by a native american tribe, so technically, it's owned by a sovereign nation) It's an entertainment company, and we have vendors send us large images and other media files for our marketing people to use. These vendor usually use dropbox or some other file sharing service, which causes problems for the marketing people. We have dropbox and other file sharing sites blocked for security reasons, hence the desire to see what others are using in regards for self-hosted solutions.

The suggestions for using a Qnap appliance were... appreciated, albeit amusing; our company is a mid-size organization with a couple thousand employees and a fairly beefy infrastructure. (multiple Netapp FAS filers backing multiple VMware clusters and a a couple hundred virtual servers.) We self-host our web sites, although a third party does the care and feeding on it.

One of the reasons for looking at a self-hosted solution was compliance-related; we want to tightly control who has access to the server on both the internal and external side for data loss prevention purposes. (It's also why there's a global block on file sharing sites.)

While I'd love to use a simple FTP server, this entails our marketing users (and their vendors by extension) figuring out an FTP client to send us files. We tried that, and it didn't work out terribly well. We could *probably* get permission to unblock dropbox for our marketing staff, but that locks us into using them as a vendor. (we did that with YouSendIt until they changed names and made us go 'waaaait a minute...')

The whole project got thrown on the back burner (and hence, my apparent disconnect over the past months) due to staff turnover. (And the less said regarding that, the better.) However, the issue has been raised again which prompted me to look and see what everyone's suggestions were.

Again, thank you to everyone for the suggestions, the discussion, and amusement.