jAlbum 10.2 – ten times faster

I'm excited to tell you that we've been able to boost upload speed up to 10 times with the new jAlbum 10.2 release! This speed increase applies when uploading albums to external sites. (Uploads to our hosting service are already accelerated). The improvement is possible by uploading multiple files simultaneously. The exact speed gain depends on multiple parameters (network, server, file size etc), you have to try it for yourself to see what jAlbum 10.2 means to you! Here are test results from a test I made the other day:

Album size: 26.51 MB (293 images. Album made with Turtle skin)
Classic upload time (one transfer at a time): 18m 32s
Upload time with 8 simultaneous transfers: 2m 25.8s
Speed gain: 7,63 times

This was just a random test. We've even measured over 10 times faster transfers! If you wonder why transferring several files simultaneously can have such a tremedeous effect, I can tell that the "per-file" negotiation between a client and server often takes more time than the actual transfer of a small file. As jAlbum albums usually consists of many small files (the thumbnails, web pages and web elements), there is a lot to gain here by doing multiple file transfer negotiations at the same time. If you run into problems with the new album uploader, let us know. It may be good to know that you can control the max number of simultaneous transfers under jAlbum preferences->Publishing:

jAlbum's publishing preferences

jAlbum 10.2 has received several other improvements in network communication too: We now also support the secure "FTPS" and "FTPES" transfer protocols (as well as "FTP" and "SFTP"). jAlbum also works better behind http proxies – important if you're using jAlbum behind corporate firewalls. To summarize: It's now easier and faster than ever to upload albums using jAlbum. Read all about the enhancements in our release notes.

Manual proxy configuration

I hope this massive speed improvement is a most welcome Christmas present. If you're as thrilled about it as I am, let me know! If you're missing something, let me know too. With your feedback we can ensure we provide the very best tool for presenting images on any web site.

Merry Christmas!