Since skype is based on p2p, it is very convenient and useful to add file transfer function.

As far as i know the skype developers are already thinking about implementing this feature in the very near future. They are always listening very carefully to their customers through Publicmind.Com and they are always one step ahead of their competitors as well. You can look forward to the upcoming release.

Do you also know the filesize limitation ?
I hope It will be unlimited....

Yes, it will be unlimited from Skype's part. The limiting factors will be the available bandwidth and your hard disk.

If that's true.....
It will be like totally [color=red][/color]

Oh... One more thing... Skype will have no limittation for file size, right ?
What about file extension ? :?: :?

As far as i know both will be implemented. And you won't be able to transfer whole directories, but only single files.

this would be great, i hope the speed would be better then MSN :evil:

but we all know. skype is good, so this will be good also

Download the latest version (0.98.0.68 at the moment), it has file transfer functionality now

Speed of file tranfering is very slow - about 1 (one) Kb/sek !!!
I and my contact have Cable internet !

Oldpen!

Don't freak out. Put the call on hold and the transfer rate will go up to 30 or 40 kbs.

My guess is it slows doen to protect voice quality.

Regards,

Bill

If there are relays the max speed is 0,5 kbyte/second... So everyone that wants to send files have to get a direct connection... Which loses the entire idea of skype being simpler to handle than other im:s. To increase speed you have to open ports and stuff and who knows how to do that? Not everyone of course. I tried to open the port for skype, but I didn´t succeed to establish a direct connection to the other party. The problem can lie at your isp and then we´re all toast...

Skype is still foremost a VOIP application. The resource of possible relays on network is limited and if we made the relayed file transfer faster everyone would start using it for large files. That would quickly drain the relays resource and in the end the quality of relayed calls would suffer. Calls come first, everything else after that. The percentage of people affected by relay problem is still pretty small. But we will continue to monitor the state of the network and may raise the limit in the future or change the way the limitation works.

According to the table referenced in the file transfer FAQ, NetGear routers cannot support direct transfers ("UDP Consistent Translation" = No) and will always be relayed. NetGear routers are extremely popular in the USA, so I can't see how this is a rare issue.

Additionally, I do not understand why Skype (which is superb at the quality and reliability of voice) cannot perform as well as Yahoo, AOL, and MSN -- all of which directly transfer files through my NetGear router at extraordinary speeds.

It's only with Skype that I am limited to an excruciating pace.

Truly, "free Internet telephony that just works" is an accurate term for Skype's voice abilities. But the same cannot be said of the file transfer side.

- merryotter

p.s.: I wish Skype would set up a special topic for the relayed transfers as it's not clear where to post results of these tests you requested.

You do understand what is meant by relayed file transfer don't you?

Relay means your transfer to your brother's machine of your pirated movie is sent via MY machine or some other unsuspecting bystander, and all of a sudden his bandwidth utilization goes down the tubes.

Skype is a peer to peer network, unlike some of those others which everything goes thru a central server. That p2p technology only has a problem if both ends are behind NAT firewalls.

Netgear "routers" are really only a NAT firewall, not a true router in the same sense as a huge Cisco or something like that. (I use the netgear 614 myself and like it).

You MIGHT (can't be too sure of this - perhaps Skype Staff can weigh in) get non-relayed connections if you punch a hole thru the netgear to which ever machine is your Skype box on the PORT that skype says its using (options/connections tab). That (theoretically) should make skype appear as if it was directly connected to the net. (I have no way to test this for sure).

It would be nice if Skype File Transfer was smart enough to know it had a direct (not routed) connection, and bump the transfer speed to the max if both ends were NOT in Skype calls.

Hey Ice!

I think Skype is that smart. If I am not in a call it maxs out at my full bandwidth (60KBS) and if in a call I get 10KBS.

maybe I didn't understand your point.

Regards,

Bill

Yup, I sure do.
Correct. That is why Skype must limit it to a low bitrate. (Side question, why doesn't the sender then upload to multiple relays so the recipient can \"swarm\" download the file at a greater overall kbps, while still limiting the hit to an individual relay to 500bps?)
If you haven't used AIM, MSN, or Yahoo, it's true these programs have central servers, but they also operate peer-to-peer with a direct connection from person A to person B. when they do file transfers. For example, when I enable Direct Connection in AIM to send an embedded picture. Why can't Skype do the same?
I know.
Exactly. Skype does a great job of transparently getting your voice call through the firewall, so why is it so weak on the file transfer side of the fence?

- merryotter

Relays have limits. If everybody started doing that, the network would soon be congested.

It's pretty good actually, but it depends on both your and your peer's firewall setup. Whenever Skype can create a direct connection for file transfer, it does, and there are many people who have never seen a relayed transfer.

And I hope one day I, with my NetGear router, will be one of them.

- MerryOtter

Hey MerryOtter!

Test it with me!

Regards,

Bill