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Retrieving files from a local web server or network share - which is better

Here's the script.

I need to access a web service on my local local network to get a list of files, which I then have to retrieve from the computer that is running the web service. The question is whether to use a mapped drive or just fetch files over HTTP from a web service (or web server if the service is self service).

All computers are running Windows XP or later.

I lean towards the webserver approach - because it has the fewest unknowns since they have the necessary permissions to access the files.

So, the main question is which one is better - a web server or a network share?

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I would go the webservice route because it reduces the number of variables in the equation. Based on your current setup, you already need a web service to get the list of files to upload. At this point, you know that accessing the web service is not a problem, so placing files there removes a lot of unknowns.

If you put files on another computer, you run the risk of encountering at least the following problems that do not exist with the web service (since you already know that you have access)



  • Resolution issues
  • Firewall Issues
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I think it depends on various factors that you did not mention: will there be many clients trying to access these files at the moment? Will the application be distributed across multiple servers in the future? Perhaps you need to implement a caching system in the future?



If the answer doesn't fit all of these, then you should probably pick whichever is easiest.

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I would lean towards plain HTTP. Doing this with a web service probably has to do with sorting the file as an array, for example, making it larger. Sharing a file means having to worry about permissions.

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