Re: 2GB file upload limit

Thomas Ronayne wrote:
> Philip wrote:
> 
>> This group seems a good place to start.
>>
>> I am trying to find out the root cause of the 2GB browser file upload
>> limitation. Many web pages discuss the fact that no browser supports file
>> uploads larger than 2GB. However, I cannot find any references as to 
>> why there
>> is such a limit.
>>
>> I am interested in the root cause of this limitation. Mostly to answer 
>> customers
>> asking for larger file uploads.
>>
>> - Is there a natural limit in the multipart/form-data specification? I 
>> could not
>> find one.
>> - Have *all* browsers 32 bit counter overflows and no one has built a 
>> browser
>> for larger files?
>> - Other reasons?
>>  
>>
> If memory serves, it's not so much the browser as the file system -- 
> some (emphasis on some) file systems will only let you do the Magic 
> Number (2,147,483,648); your basic 32-bit box. Solaris gets around that 
> with a setting for big files (except that most SPARC boxes are 64-bit, 
> so you go a lot further).

My sleuthing indicates that *all* browser are the limiting factor even 
when machines at both ends handle 2GB+ files.
> 
> One does wonder, though, why anybody would be fooling around up- or 
> downloading 2G files with a browser -- ftp, perhaps?

True. However, a few engineering applications exchange design 
information are pushing these boundaries. http/xml is now the primary 
design exchange protocol that goes through most firewalls.