Publishing Files to a Second Server with Radio UserLand

Scott Johnson is running out of space on Radio UserLand's server, which creates a dilemma because UserLand doesn't offer a way to buy additional space. Once the 20MB limit is reached, most users delete files or move to another server.

Another way to save space on your weblog: Set up Radio to publish some of your files to a second server. If you have an FTP account on another server, it's easy to publish a folder to that server.

The steps:

1. Create a new folder in your /Radio Userland/www folder. I called mine offsite.

2. Create a new password for your FTP account. Don't put your FTP username in the Password Name field. Instead, give it a descriptive name such as the name of your FTP provider. I called mine BellSouth.

3. Create a file called #upstream.xml that takes this form:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<upstream type="ftp" version="1.0">
<username>rcade</username>
<passwordName>BellSouth</passwordName>
<server>home.bellsouth.net</server>
<path>/</path>
<url>http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/c/rcade/<url>
<mode>passive</mode>
</upstream>

Change the values in this file to match those required by your FTP server: username (FTP username), server (FTP server), path (folder on the FTP server), url (Web address of that folder), and passwordName (the descriptive name from Step 2). Don't put your FTP password in this file.

4. Save #upstream.xml in the new folder.

5. Try it out -- save something in the folder such as this Microsoft Bob mug:

If the FTP settings are correct, the file will show up automatically in the new server, which you can check in Radio's Events Log. Anything else you save in the folder will be upstreamed to the server (except for files beginning with a "#" character).

Radio supports multi-server publishing with FTP, XML-RPC, and SOAP. More information is available in the #upstream.xml specification.

Add a Comment

All comments are moderated before publication. These HTML tags are permitted: <p>, <b>, <i>, <a>, and <blockquote>. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA (for which the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply).