All About IBM Aspera HTTP Gateway
All About IBM Aspera HTTP Gateway
When a user is unable to or does not want to install and use an Aspera client, the Aspera HTTP gateway allows users to upload and download from an Aspera server. For businesses that require both performance and accessibility, the Aspera HTTP Gateway can be deployed in strategic locations near the concentrated areas of high usage. This will allow organizations to preserve typical Aspera transfer performance to and from Aspera transfer servers, minimizing issues caused by limitations of HTTP transfers.
Learn more about what IBM Aspera HTTP Gateway is, how it works, and a few of its many benefits.
Sections
What is IBM Aspera HTTP Gateway
IBM Aspera HTTP Gateway is a web service that can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud. It bridges an HTTPS transfer and a FASP transfer together. It acts transparently between a modern web browser and any Aspera HSTS server, allowing high-speed transfer servers deployed in cloud or on-premise or through Aspera transfer services provided as a SaaS offering.
Aspera HTTP Gateway leverages native HTTPS transfer capabilities in the web browser to perform a transfer. When using Aspera HTTP Gateway, your users will not be required to install any kind of third-party software like Aspera Connect. Simply using Chrome, Firefox, or Safari will allow you to do the actual transfer. While HTTP Gateway allows transfers without having to install Aspera Connect, it will still leverage a FASP transfer between the Gateway and the HSTS server.
How Does Aspera HTTP Gateway Work
If the Gateway is located close to the users running their browsers, that means the HTTPS leg is going to be shorter while the long leg between the Gateway and the HSTS is going to be faster. Leveraging the HTTPS-based transfer and HTTP Gateway will harness the power of FASP under the hood for secured and accelerated transfers.
For both uploading and downloading, the HTTP Gateway layer is as close as possible to the client. Then, you’ll have an HTTP transfer from the client to the Gateway and a FASP transfer from the Gateway to the HSTS server that is close to the storage.
For a download, it is a simple GET and very standard. HTTP Gateway allows the download manager of the web browser to handle the download like it would any other kind of download from the browser. The download will go through FASP to the Gateway, then normal HTTPS to the web browser.
When uploading in the web browser, there is no upload manager. Aspera has implemented an HTTPS websocket in a JavaScript SDK running in the web application on the client’s browser and the Gateway. For uploads, the transfer process will go through the HTTPS websocket and then bridge to FASP.
Benefits of Aspera HTTP Gateway
One of the key benefits of Aspera HTTP Gateway is that the technology allows users in any environment to upload and download to an Aspera server without having to install Aspera Connect or other client software. It also can be configured in a high-availability deployment for improved resiliency or even deployed across the globe to maximize performance for end users at any location.
Some other benefits and key features of Aspera HTTP Gateway include:
- The ability to download a single file with just the web browser’s download manager within the various Aspera tools
- Download a package from FASP with one or multiple files, and preserve that directory structure just using the web browser download manager
- Upload one or multiple files while showing the progress in the Web UI
- Monitor and manage HTTP Gateway-based transfers while still maintaining fine-grain control through Connect or web browser transfers
- Supports filename obfuscations and encryption-at-rest
PacGenesis Webinar: Exclusive Live Demo of Aspera HTTP Gateway
If you want to learn more about Aspera HTTP Gateway and see a live demo of the web service, check out the live webinar recording from PacGenesis and Aspera. Head of Engineering at Aspera, Stéphane Blanchard gives a thorough overview of Aspera HTTP Gateway and its capabilities, as well as what to expect in the future for this service. As an IBM Gold-Status Partner, you can reach out to PacGenesis to discuss how Aspera HTTP Gateway can help your workflows and connect your users across the world, no matter the distance or server.
To learn more about PacGenesis, follow @PacGenesis on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or contact us at pacgenesis.com.
