Send large files internally and externally with our ZendTo service
10 Mar 2014
Originally developed by Southampton University, ZendTo is a system that allows for files up to 20 Gigabytes (GB) in size to be “dropped off” and “picked up”.
Sending large files through email is generally discouraged, as it can cause congestion on networks. Because of this, many organisations block sending and/or receiving email attachments over a certain size. The University of Manchester’s Exchange email service blocks attachments between 35 Megabytes (MB) and 50MB depending on the software used.
ZendTo is a system that allows for files up to 20 Gigabytes (GB) in size to be “dropped off” and “picked up”. It was originally developed by Southampton University, and our thanks go to Julian Field for making it open source software and free to clone.
ZendTo is also much faster and generally more efficient than using email. Commercial systems, particularly Dropbox, are also used for this purpose, but many organisations will not use these USA-based systems due to the risk of information leakage.
Who can use this?
- A University member of staff can drop off files for either another member (or members) of the University or for any outside party.
- A University member of staff can request an external party to send them files.
- An external user (including our own students) can leave files for a member of the University (but not another third party).
IMPORTANT NOTE: This service should not be used for private or confidential material (or such files must be encrypted).
Detailed information
Members of the University can login using their University of Manchester account.
External users must prove, via a test, that they are not a computer-based system.
Identification of file recipients is done by providing their valid email addresses.
Note: ZendTo replaces the trial DropOff service we ran from June 2013.