Our HTTP tunneling servlet has been updated to version 2.5. When a servlet does only one primary job, and does it with extraordinary reliability, there is not much to add or improve upon. A big new feature gave us the opportunity to collect all the incremental fixes as well, packaging it all up into our latest version. Long-time users of Unlimi-Tech applets will recognize the product better as UnlimitedFTP Servlet, and on UtechSoft.com, it will maintain that naming convention. However, the biggest new feature in the public release is compatibility with our FileCatalyst family of products, allowing them to fail over to HTTP to ensure data transfer.

Feature List

Beyond bringing FileCatalyst compatibility into the fold, these improvements are also part of v2.5:

• Support for UTF-8 characters, allows to transfer files with filenames containing non-roman characters.
• Support for FTPS (Implicit mode only)
• Logging with log rotation
• Support for HTML form upload with progress bar – with a redirect after transfer
• Support to transfer files larger than 4GB
• administrative console to monitor usage
• Add your own security class, by implementing FTPSERVLETPERMISSIONSCLASS you can gain fine grain access control to all the servlet functions such as, PUT, GET, LIST or MKDIR. Your class could than decide which request should be allowed, based on the user or JSP session information. 
• FXP (or server to server transfers) capabilities when used in conjunction with UnlimitedFTP Pro Applet
• Support for G6 FTP server

What is an HTTP Tunneling Servlet?

If you are unfamiliar with the UnlimitedFTP Servlet, the short version is that it acts as a proxy between HTTP traffic and your FTP or FileCatalyst Server.

The main benefit is virtually failure-free connectivity. Some organizations block FTP wholesale. But for those organizations to allow access to the internet (and very few businesses could operate without internet) they are obviously permitting HTTP. If an organization permits HTTP, their users can transfer to and from the FTP Tunneling Servlet. Then, the servlet acts as a “relay”, letting communication and data transfer reach your FTP or FileCatalyst server. When in auto-detect mode, our FTP applets will try to fail over to HTTP if a connection cannot be made with FTP. In auto-detect mode for FileCatalyst, the client application/applet will attempt UDP (accelerated transfer), then fail over to FTP, and then finally fail over to HTTP to ensure a connection.

Another huge benefit is that as the organization with the FTP or FileCatalyst Server, you can shield it from direct access over the internet, using the Tunneling Servlet as the go-between. Not only does this add a layer to security (FTP connections will only occur within your network), but if HTTPS is already enabled on your web server, you can leverage the encryption benefits without configuring your server for FTPS/SFTP (although FTPS support is also available). Accomplishing this is a simple matter of changing the protocol from "auto" to explicitly use HTTP(S).

Contact Unlimi-Tech Software or your FileCatalyst representative to learn more!