Question

I have built a web application which uses two web front end servers, the Users are randomly directed to either one through the same URL. The web app has specific functionality to upload and download files. When a file is uploaded, it is stored on a specific directory on the server to which it is uploaded.

The issue is that when a User uploads a file to the folder on Server 1, any user trying to download that same file from Server 2 will not be able to as it only exists on the server where it was uploaded.

What’s the best way of solving this? I’ve looking at:
– Using a SAN, problem here is I don’t want to change or create a domain
– Writing a Windows Service, would prefer to avoid this if possible, I’ve not done it before but will give it a go if necessary

Thanks in advance!

Joe

Answer 1

Unless I’m missing something very obvious, all you need is a shared location. This could be a network share addressed through a UNC path, a folder on an FTP server, a database, anything at all, as long as it’s

1. shared,
2. accessible from both web-servers
3. web-application service account has read/write permissions to it.

From your requirements a network share on a file server (perhaps 1 of the 2 web-servers, or the load-balancer, or (ideally) a new server entirely) would be the simplest method.