Almost any computer user who works with the Internet constantly downloads information in the form of packaged containers called archives. But what actions can be performed with the servers themselves and the information stored on them? Read more about this and much more.
Servers with file archives: what is it in the general understanding?
Let's start with the question of what actions can be performed with such data. The simplest answer: Internet servers containing file archives allow you to download the necessary information from them in a packaged form, which is used to repeatedly reduce the amount of source content.
However, the possibilities provided to users are not limited only to this. In some cases, depending on the type of resources themselves or the access technology used, Internet servers containing file archives allow you to transfer and save user archives, which it can share for use by all users.
Types of servers with archives
Some users who publish their material on such resources on the Internet claim that they are exclusively FTP servers. It's a delusion! And that's why.
Let's look at the list of resources on which information can be presented in the form of archives taking into account access via FTP (S), HTTP (S), and P2P:
- FTP servers
- torrent trackers;
- libraries and resources with audio or video;
- sites of equipment manufacturers and developers of drivers or other software;
- cloud storage, etc.
By and large, on any such resource you can find information of interest to the user in the form of archives, the downloading of which implies a reduction in download time due to a decrease in the volume of files.
Some additional clarifications
Some may object to the inclusion of torrent trackers in this list, because at the end of the download, the downloaded folder, and not the archive, can be displayed on the computer. The answer is simple: such a situation can only be observed if the unpacking option is enabled in the client program itself (for example, uTorrent) immediately upon completion of the download. In this case, the archive is a temporary item and is deleted immediately after unzipping.
The same doubts may arise about cloud storage. Here the problem is that many of them allocate limited disk space for free use, and to save space, users themselves initially create archives.
What information can file archive servers download?
As for the information data that can be stored on such resources, you can download almost everything, from music and movies to drivers and programs.
In the case of FTP, cloud services and torrent trackers, Internet servers containing file archives allow not only downloading the necessary information from the resource, but also adding your own. Another thing is that when downloading to some of them, not only the user’s registration is required, but also the provision of access rights to other users, as is the case with “clouds”.
As for the sites of equipment manufacturers and developers of drivers or other software, such Internet servers containing file archives allow you to download the necessary software almost always for free. The same applies to all kinds of fixers (utilities designed to fix errors in programs or even in operating systems). But with Microsoft resources, when trying to download an archive or an image of the operating system, such numbers do not pass only because most distributions are paid.
Practical actions
So, while it’s clear that Internet servers containing file archives allow you to download (Download) and upload your own files in reverse order (Upload). Now let's see how it all works in practice.
If we talk about specialized resources with software or cloud storage, you can use the most common web browser as the main tool.
With FTP servers and torrent trackers, the situation is somewhat more complicated. Of course, if the browser supports downloading and uploading via FTP / FTPS, you can use it.
But in most cases, you first need to install a special client application (for downloading torrent content this is a prerequisite). The torrent file itself (it has a maximum size of several tens of kilobytes) such Internet servers containing file archives can be downloaded without problems, but here the files cannot be downloaded in full without a client program.
Instead of a total
If we sum up some results, we can say that Internet servers containing file archives allow both direct and reverse download actions. The only question is what type of resource is currently being used. The easiest thing is with software sites. They do not even need registration. Other resources will require an authorized login, and for some of the types described above, you also need a special client. However, as already mentioned, the list is not limited to the types presented, since on any resource where it is possible to download the desired content, all information is stored for convenience as archives, since the original file size can be quite large and take up a lot of space on the owner’s server resource or hosting, as well as greatly increase download times in both directions.