• From: Hasselt, Belgium
  • Registered: 2006-05-26
  • Posts: 2,609

Topic: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

When the bad news that SimpleCDN has become completely unreliable was announced, I immediately started looking into alternatives that are free (i.e. Bittorrent, that's the only alternative). But simultaneously, I contacted a CDN I had been in touch with for some time, asking for their sponsorship. Faster than expected, they agreed. And that's the reason why most of you probably didn't notice anything.

Of course, it took some time to get us up and running perfectly (there are always unforeseen problems and especially with urgent & hasty server migrations). But the team of our new CDN sponsor was actually very understanding and honest when we explained the problems we were having, and went through great lengths into getting us up and running ASAP.

For more than a week now already, the CSS/JS/images of the website have been served by our new CDN. And since 5 days, the DriverPacks themselves are being downloaded from the new CDN. That new CDN is MaxCDN.

They are currently serving about 300 GB of traffic per day for us! So far, their support is stellar, their network is great (and expanding towards Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo will be added), their control panel is the best I've ever seen (and I've seen quite a lot of CDN control panels) and the overall impression is very solid. The only area that could use an upgrade, is the documentation. But if something isn't clear, you can always ask the stellar support, so that's not a very big handicap.

So, please be thankful towards MaxCDN and in case you're looking for a CDN, either to speed up your website or your downloads, please look into MaxCDN. I'm sure you'll like them.



However, we will still be looking into providing the downloads available for download via Bittorrent, so that you will have the freedom of choosing of how to download the DriverPacks. Setting up a tracker that's reliable turned out to be not as simple as it seems, so that we're not committing to any specific date.


A new feature that has been added, is the tracking of the number of downloads of each DriverPack per day. On the main site, you can't ignore the new "Most downloaded" block, that shows today's and this month's most downloaded DriverPacks. Over time, we will add charts, too.


And finally, we need to look into ways to generate more income, to be able to continue running this project. A first and obvious step, is to cease the ability to download/update the Windows 2000/XP/2003 DriverPacks from within the DriverPacks BASE for free. In the first phase, the downloads will stop working, thereby increasing our number of visitors. In the second phase, we are considering to offer users the ability to pay for the comfort of downloading/updating from within DriverPacks BASE. Users who want this would then support us financially. And those who don't really need this (and don't want to or can't support us), can still download the DriverPacks from the website.
(Note that this was not a demand of MaxCDN, but it's only common courtesy to show the ads of the sponsor when using the sponsored service.)


Your feedback is of course welcome, as always!

Founder of DriverPacks.net — wimleers.com

Wim Leers's Website

  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 83

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

You should put ads in DP Base and keep the easier download method available for everyone. Otherwise you're going to have third party folks coming up with ways to do it programmatically, and their methods will not be as efficient, won't check timestamps, etcetera, which means they hit your server/CDN a lot harder.


If it's money that you guys want, then perhaps offer a DriverPack creation service where companies can send you information about their equipment and you will create and update custom DriverPacks for them. I can also think of a few features to add to the site that you might consider making available only to those who donate or whatever. The ability to parse a HWIDs.txt file would be neat, and it's rather easy to code.

  • OverFlow
  • DriverPacks Administrator & BASE Developer
  • Offline
  • From: Cincinnati
  • Registered: 2006-12-02
  • Posts: 6,729

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

parseing a hwids.txt is not hard...
generating one (that is half way accurate) is a real bear, we have done several for the testing team. unfortunatly manufactuers and oems do not stick to any set of standards and the contents of infs vary widely and wildly.

No... third party people would not be able to cheat the downloads... username and password would be required - and logs would be verified _ IE simultainius downloads form japan and USA would auto-cancel the account.

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  • From: Hasselt, Belgium
  • Registered: 2006-05-26
  • Posts: 2,609

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

@dumpydooby: that's just not realistic. And there aren't enough custom DriverPacks to be built, since the current DriverPacks already include pretty much everything. And as OverFlow indicates, users wouldn't be able to cheat.

Founder of DriverPacks.net — wimleers.com

Wim Leers's Website

  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 83

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

OverFlow wrote:

parseing a hwids.txt is not hard...
generating one (that is half way accurate) is a real bear, we have done several for the testing team. unfortunatly manufactuers and oems do not stick to any set of standards and the contents of infs vary widely and wildly.

Right. You would have to create a database with all of the known HWIDs (wikidrivers.com might be a good place to start). But once that database is populated, it could definitely serve as a premium feature that users would be interested in having, especially if they could upload their HWID.txt file, and have the system tell them what DriverPacks they need. This "can't be done" knee-jerk reaction is precisely what Wim was met with on MSFN when he first announced DriverPacks.

OverFlow wrote:

No... third party people would not be able to cheat the downloads... username and password would be required - and logs would be verified _ IE simultainius downloads form japan and USA would auto-cancel the account.

No matter what, as long as you guys still have a way to download it for free through a web browser, there will always be a way to replicate that process programmatically. I suppose authentication would at least ensure that the programmer who cheats the system at least knows what he's doing and is less likely to hit you guys as hard as, say, someone sending a text list to wget.



If you need help with any programming. I'm willing to donate my time.

  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 83

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

Wim Leers wrote:

@dumpydooby: that's just not realistic. And there aren't enough custom DriverPacks to be built, since the current DriverPacks already include pretty much everything. And as OverFlow indicates, users wouldn't be able to cheat.

I was thinking more along the lines of owners of esoteric equipment. Someone who is running a print shop might be interested in a DriverPack for their wide-format Roland printer(s) along with necessary custom color profiles, for example. It's at least worth consideration, I think. Maybe put up a poll?


Also I don't understand the aversion to advertising directly in Base. hmm

  • OverFlow
  • DriverPacks Administrator & BASE Developer
  • Offline
  • From: Cincinnati
  • Registered: 2006-12-02
  • Posts: 6,729

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

I think advertising in BASE is a good selling point for us to keep MaxCDN or other company sponsoring us... I don't see it as a solution to keeping our heads above water financially. There is no reason Wim should have to pay out of pocket for our site hosting on a project this popular. Wim does not really want to advertize in BASE... and I see his point quite clearly on that.

Keep the ideas coming DD, we would like to hear all of them!

I like the idea of torrents for free and CDN for a small fee. It works for everyone. It provides an incentive to those users who have considered donating, but have just put it off. It offers upgraded service(s) in the form of simplicity and convenience for those who have a couple of extra bucks in their paypal account. Base and DriverPacks will provide the same full functionality to those who do not want to or can not afford a small fee. They will have to download manually but that is not terrible and most people won't mind a bit.  If they don't feel like manually downloading or useing torrents then they can donate for the upgrade. I think it's a win / win idea.

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OverFlow's Website

  • Registered: 2007-11-17
  • Posts: 141

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

Hi,
I want to say that third party does not mean evil people that steal your work without giving back anything. I use driverpacks here: https://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/unatt … riverPacks but it does not mean that I do not contributed back when I can. 
The script that update the driverspack does not hit the server unless there is a missing file. But if you change to torrent that is fine, if you use a auth method would it be the same for the forums?

  • Registered: 2011-02-22
  • Posts: 1

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

If it's cash that you guys want, then possibly supply a DriverPack creation service exactly where firms can send you facts about their gear and you will generate and update customized DriverPacks for them. I can also believe of a handful of functions to include to the internet site that you may possibly take into account producing accessible only to individuals who donate or no matter what. The capability to parse a HWIDs.txt file would be neat, and it's relatively straightforward to code. Deleted SPAM

  • Helmi
  • Moderator & Translator (German)
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2006-05-27
  • Posts: 1,799

Re: Our new CDN sponsor: MaxCDN!

Individual Packs are neither the idea of the DriverPacks (it's supposed to be universal) nor do we have the staff to fulfill such requests (at least, in time).
Exclusive access for donateors is something we have already considered, it just has not been implemented, yet.

http://d1syubgj0w3cyv.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/AeXmpESLemRyQ4RE-dgdjRhN_hKaXMe7woWjOK2wsnk/perpetual:forever/userbar/moderator-3.png

Coming up next - useful links:
• If you like this project, please support it with your donation!      • Grab your HW info (HWIDs) here!     
• If you are a newbie, be sure to check out the DriverPacks tutorial!     • Here's how to create your own DP!