Sissle
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Problem with server http:\\sissle.4all2u.com fixed. This server is used in the order process.

Server http:/sissle.s3.aws.amazon.com not effected but does not support the order process.
The 4all2u.com server was moved and has a new ip address. This should all be resolved in the DNS system.

It maybe necessary to issue "ipconfig /flushdns" from a command box. Only maybe !



Sissle Version 1.4.0.130 Windows XP / Vista / 7 (32 or 64bit)

 

Download .

Sissle v 1.4.0.130   (2.8 MB) May 3 2011 Latest

Faults in the Batch system were bad and unreported. The underlying failure was a lack of documentation stopping people even using batch control. While producing the documentation further faults were discovered and a few improvements made. The documentation is found in the user guide, a direct link is in Batch Control

A few systems experience a failure when Sissle is terminated. The systems action is then to terminate Sissle. This is the desired action but not in this uncontrolled manner. This error has been tracked and removed.






Sissle v 1.4.0.129   (2.8 MB) Mar 23 2011 

New website facility, default start and error page.
Multipart upload and more importantly multipart upload recovery after failure, power fail say.
Note: multipart download and recovery is an existing facility.
Explorer NSE fixed for Windows XP, displaying a sibling folder from tree view did not work.

"Sissle Stand Alone" is Sissle operating in its old format as an FTP style program.
The new NSE (NameSpace Extension) requires you to activate one and only one of "Sissle Explorer" or "Sissle Explorer Minimized" and then activate Windows Explorer, you will find "Sissle S3" under Computer.

Suite consists of
1. Original FTP style program, left window on PC and right window on S3.
2. Since 2009, Sissle also exists as a Namespace Extension (NSE) to Windows Explorer. The new NSE  requires you to activate one and only one of "Sissle Explorer" or "Sissle Explorer Minimized" and then activate Windows Explorer, you will find "Sissle S3" under Computer. That is S3 is loaded as a disk in Windows Explorer and transfers occur in a normal fashion in Windows Explorer's window or windows.
It also allows certain application to open programs directly from S3 and store directly to S3. The phrase 'certain application' means there are technical requirements of how the application navigates to the file it wishes to load, it must use standard file browser. The application must operate on the file navigated to file.ext and not file.ext and file.ext1 (which has not been selected). This is technically difficult and even more difficult to know which applications anyone uses. There is no guarantee that this will work for all applications eg Notepad, Microsoft Office and Open Office work but Xnview does not and even more complex VLC will play an avi from S3 but will download it completely first, possibly with no indication that a download is in progress (depends on options set). You can ask me in advance for common applications or just try it.
Repeat, this is difficult, certain words like 'load' are used in an intuitive manner. For instance Notepad has no idea how to load a file from S3. Sissle must interact with Notepad and Windows Explorer to perform the load for Notepad.

Notes:

  • Normal upload will convert to multipart upload depending on 'Options' settings under 'Numeric Options'. The entry 'Multipart - Size before multipart op.' defines in MB when a file should be uploaded as a multipart operation. 5MB is the minimum size and 5,000,000MB (5TB) is the maximum.
    'Multipart - Part size' is a hint on the size of each part upload in MB if the size can be used. If it can not, for example this would require more than 10,000 (the max) number of parts it is ignored, uploading 5GB requires parts of size 500MB (5TB 5 10**12 /10**4 = 5 10**8 = 500MB). 'Multipart - Timeout' is for future use if needed.
  • Multipart upload recovery is specifically designed for use with Sissle multipart upload. If multipart upload is done with another tool X then Sissle will perform a recovery but can not be certain of the MD5 checksum used. As failure in the MD5 checksum is unlikely the recovery should succeed.
  • Windows 7.  By default, Windows 7 does not show the root node of a namespace extension (the new section of Sissle is a NSE) in the tree view (left side) of Windows Explorer.
    Perform the following procedure:
    1. In Windows Explorer, press Alt key to display the menu bar. Then select Tools menu --> Folder Options...
    2. Check 'Show All Folders' in the General tab.
    3. Click OK.
  • In Options / Binary Options / "File Time in UTC wrt Local" shows the creation time as seen on the PC  against the time uploaded to Amazon S3. This option can be useful but the down side is a decrease of speed of operation (estimate a factor of 100 )
  • The Nirvanix cloud system has been added to Sissle. Only the basic functions, transfers,delete,.., are catered for. I wait for feedback before I do more work.

Sissle v 1.4.0.128   (2.4 MB) Aug 25 2010

Sissle Stand Alone is Sissle operating in its old format as an FTP style program.
The new NSE (NameSpace Extension) requires you to activate one and only one of "Sissle Explorer" or "Sissle Explorer Minimized" and then activate Windows Explorer, you will find "Sissle S3" under Computer.

V 128

This is another bug fix from v 126. The promised information about this fault is now available, more info.

V 126 effected the meta data which effected the true date of the file. For these effected files I introduced an incorrect default which will cause v 126 effected files not to download, now fixed.

V 127
Main

A last minute fault from introducing Reduced Redundancy option interfering with Copy,Move, and Alter MetaData removed. When the following link is active you will have more info (not yet).
From Windows Explorer Synchronization is implemented.
Both operations "delete bucket" and "delete difficult bucket" are now available in explorer
The Cloudfront dialog now implements the Default root object option

Minor

"Change Storage" added to S3operations menu.
Start up altered for unlicensed users so as to navigate only.
Tidy up on context menu.
Abort on upload improved


 

Install page for installation instructions.

 
 

Main New Development    v 124

A bug fix to a fault in v124 and minor corrections to setting ACLs and altering metadata. This release introduces the Reduced Redundancy facility. Set under options/options/Bucket Defaults.


Sissle
The improvement in layout of Sissle was suggested by a customer H Strand, StrandControl, LLC, www.homedomination.com
Linkage to the  new  Sissle NSE  module.
Many internal improvements.

An extension to Windows Explorer - Sissle NSE

Activate either "Sissle Explorer Minimized" or "Sissle Explore" then activate "Windows Explorer".

Navigation within Amazon S3 using Windows Explorer.
Drag and Drop  to and from explorer has been completed for Vista / XP / 7  (32 bit and 64 bit).
Advice: Use two Windows Explorers one showing the source folder and the other showing the destination folder.

Try with your own applications opening, using and saving files directly from Amazon S3. The key word here is try, this is not guaranteed to work now or in the future.  With a certain amount of luck of how the application has been written, this is possible.
Carefully try this, for example open a document on Amazon S3 with say "Open Office" edit, save it. When you click open in the application "Sissle S3" earth ball will appear under computer for you to navigate to.


Important: Sissle NSE opening and saving files directly on Amazon S3 with applications.

Firstly an explanation of how this is achieved technically which will lead us directly to the main problem.
Sissle NSE is an extension to windows explorer, which is why it will appear in the open dialog.
Applications can not access Amazon S3 directly, so there has to be some trickery *.
Sissle NSE intercepts the "ok" of the "open file" dialog and transfers the selected file to a temporary folder on disk and then finishes the open dialog by altering the file location to the file now in the temporary folder.
Here lies the problem you may stumble over. Next time you use your application, the "recent files" will show your file in the temporary folder. This file will exist and most probably be most up to date version, but when you save this file it will only be written to the temporary folder not to Amazon S3.
It is important each time you open a file in S3 that you slavishly navigate to it on S3 and please ignore any recent lists.

On save Sissle notices that the file has changed and writes it back to S3. Application can lock files and this will stop Sissle from doing its job of writing back to S3. How different applications are written is impossible to know, therefore there is a certain amount of luck in this mechanism working.

* I believe some people have written disk drivers for S3 and so making this statement untrue.

  v124 Fault
When operating in Windows Explorer only - select a bucket - then delete -  then next screen that deletion is permanent - then next screen has fault. If you cancel then deletion  is still processed. Estimate less than a day to correct !
Solution
There is no screen after the "deletion is permanent screen", the deletion begins automatically on selecting ok.

 
 

 

The change logs for previous versions have been moved to a separate page Version History.  as they  were clogging up this page and other than the latest changes are not usually of much interest.


 


Version 126

Version 126 introduced the reduced redundancy option.
An error in implementation (and a failure of testing ) not only effected the option itself but Copy (S3 to S3), Move (S3 to S3) and Alter meta data.
The error leaves the file intact but has deleted the Sissle meta data of files operated on
The Sissle meta data is used
1. To specify the file is zipped, easy to correct.
2. Indicates the file is encrypted, not easy, you must contact me.
3. Holds the UTC (Universal Time C..) for the file. This represents the time last modified as seen on the PC, the value returned by S3 is the time uploaded. The UTC is used in the synchronization process.
   This is a bit more complicated:
   1. If you are using the database for this bucket, you will have no problems.
   2. If you are not using the database for this bucket and experience problems you must contact me.
 4. Which version of Sissle 1400 - no relevance.

The worst scenarios are for encrypted files, Reduced Redundancy and files that are regularly synchronized.
I would be surprised if anyone has used the encryption as it is overly complex to use (high on my list for simplification).
The Reduced Redundancy is a new option and many people may have tried this out for interest sake. Note, though of little comfort, the file is intact and will have the correct storage.

The easiest way to correct this is to upload all files operated on by
Reduced Redundancy
Copy
Move
Rename
Alter Metadata 

If your only copy is on S3 then download and upload.   

If you have no zipped files, no encrypted files and do not use synchronization, then you can ignore all of this.

To determine if a file is effected.
Use Sissle to inspect its meta data, select file, right click, select Tools, then Alter Metadata Dialog. If the box second down left marked Sissle's MetaData - non alterable is empty then it has been effected by v 126 or you used another program to upload the file.