Steinberg, you write great software but you need to replace/re-write your SDA. It needs to be able to re-connect automatically after connection is lost, and finish the download it has started. It does NOT DO THAT. Incomplete downloads of hundreds of MBs (I have experienced 600, 700, 800 MBs and more) are totally LOST, and the download has to be completely re-started MANUALLY. The frustration is OFF THE SCALE. This happened to me 30 or 40 times while downloading 13 (the bigger the file the worse the problem). You’re a 21st Century Software Company…SORT IT OUT!!!
Steinberg Download Assistant uses Aria2 to handle the download process, which already provides functionality for resuming downloads. You can see this if you watch your Downloads directory as it will create a .aria2 file for each download to monitor download status.
If your connection is such that it’s being dropped 30-40 times in the course of downloading a 600-800 meg file, then you should probably take a wee bit of responsibility for that yourself and plan for it. SB lets you download everything you want via HTTPS directly from their download site, so if you need to, grab your favorite HTTP Download Manager and have at it.
If your response is going to be “this only happens when I download with SDA and everything is as perfect as it could ever be” then my suggestion would be to grab some packet captures with WireShark (or similar) and see exactly what’s happening when the connection is dropped. Or just try a direct download via HTTP and see if that “solves” it.
There are certainly some improvements to be made with SDA, and they have ack’d as much (like linking the DL assistant to your licensing and making a clear distinction for what you can download vs what you’re purchased, even though that becomes obvious once you work with SDA more). But there’s not much substance to your post that could assist them with actually doing anything about it. More research and testing would help, like, “does this only happen to you on your current provider,” etc.
Cubase is a brilliant product. But your SDA is problematic, hence the huge number of posts about it. I am okay with IT but not a geek. I have moderate knowledge so be patient. All I want is for the SDA to reconnect on its own, and finish the download. There are times when it has taken 4 or 5 attempts, each with a new start, to complete a download. My connection is 3 to 4 MBs (bytes not bits) per second.
Anyway, thanks for the reply. As I said, on the whole Cubase is fantastic.
Take care, no further reply necessary, Brian!
Right on. FYI, I’m not a SB employee. I’m just a random dude in the forum, like most folk here
Good luck out there.
This is a user forum.
It does on my system most of the time.
When it works for some users it’s difficult to believe it doesn’t work for others. And I note that you say “most of the time”!
It very rarely works for myself. I say “very rarely” because my memory may be at fault. I cannot remember a single time when the SDA worked as expected. Three attempts to complete a download, minimum, every time, often, it never completes. I’ve even had occasions when the download gets to the dreaded 99% and hangs, and in the meantime, whilst waiting for the SDA to complete, I’ve gone to the download site and downloaded what I needed from there - without any issues.
And it has never started from where it left off, unless paused in the middle of a download and then continued. If it hangs and you have to force it to close ( because it’s just spent an hour on that last 1%), next time it starts from scratch.
The last time I used it was about 18 months ago, I needed Simon Phillips Drums, 7 gigabytes of files. It took about 7 hours. For reference, I can download and install a 35 gigabyte game from Steam in about 45 minutes.
On this PC, and my previous PC using a different internet provider, the SDA IS the only download software with which I have download issues.
No issues with these downloaders:
Arturia
IK Multimedia
Waves
EastWest
Impact Soundworks
Native Instruments
Plugin Alliance
Universal Audio
The above just work as expected.
Nor do I have any issues with any number of direct downloads of Kontakt libraries that don’t use downloaders. Or, indeed, downloads direct from the Steinberg Download page.
So, no, it’s not me, it’s the SDA.
FWIW, I absolutely believed him, I was just pointing out that to be able to provide any valuable assistance more information was needed. When I purchased N13, it came with additional libraries and vstsounds - some of which I didn’t download until last Saturday, and everything downloaded perfectly for me, as it always has. And that’s not to say “it works on my box, sukka” and leave it be, but to say “since you are experiencing atypical behavior, at least from my PoV and others, we’ll need more information to help.” That’s why I suggested a packet capture, particularly with 30-40 disconnects for what is a rather trivial file size. When his SDA and my SDA are the same, and we’re presumably going to same servers, yet there is such a disparity of observed behavior, then we need to at least start looking elsewhere. To me, anyway.
But this shouldn’t be necessary, is my whole point. When just one piece of software misbehaves, and every other piece of software that does the same job does behave, would such deep investigation help? Especially when the Steinberg site itself presents no issues, presumably using the same servers that the SDA uses? As I’ve said, I’ve even downloaded files from the main site, while actually waiting for the SDA to download the last 1%.
I’m not a technician, or a pro, just a hobbyist obsessed with making music since 1968. Sad old souls like myself shouldn’t have to roll up our sleeves to dig around the innards of our magic boxes.
Anyway, this subject has been around as long as the SDA has, and I think it’s show that’s going to run and run.
One could argue it’s the ONLY thing that could help. But I look at it differently - I’m answering because I was trying to help. In the absence of other information, that’s a tool to provide empirical data to assist. Otherwise it’s all presumption and conjecture, really. I don’t know what SB’s CDN distribution is like, as in, no idea at all. Dude could be in Spain hitting Akamai servers and I’m somewhere in the US downloading from a localized resource. It could be ANYTHING, really. I think we share the same download server because I had to explicitly allow Germany in my MX68CW geo-blocking rules to download, but I don’t know that. And, of course, for all I know SB could be aware of the use of some proprietary TCP connection that may use port 443 but not comply with strict HTTPS standards which breaks in some routers performing packet inspection, or someone using only IPv6, or who-knows-what.
And even now, we don’t know if all this could be fixed by dude using HTTPS direct downloads, because he’s moved on.
If we say it “shouldn’t be necessary,” I mean sure, it shouldn’t be. But reality sometimes dictates those requirements in the absence of critical details.
You’re making my brain hurt!
Like one of those people who start fights in bars and leaves everyone throwing fists.
Speaking of which, this conversation would be better if it were in a bar, I need a stiff drink.
Someone close this thread. Please!
I didn’t disappear! I’m new here and don’t know the ropes yet. What you said was helpful, I think an organisation the size of Steinberg can d/w this. And to Thor…I’m in Europe, UK to be precise, and my internet connection is fine!
I’m fine about that too, I think the point has been made and hopefully noted by Steinberg…for the umpteenth time…
So, just to be clear, you tried the VPN approach and it did NOT work? I get you internet connection may be “fine,” but your provider could also be playing IPv6 shenanigans and/or contributing to an overall issue. Just trying to gather data
Hey, let me know if you’re interested in testing a “private” VPN solution. You’d need to install the AWS VPN Client, but if you’re having that many issues downloading stuff it could help. It would only be temporary, but it would be a good test I think.
Ha ha, I was just looking at this thread when your post popped up.
The only internet issue I have is with the Steinberg downloader. Every other downloader I (am forced to!) use works flawlessly. I posted an incomplete list in a previous post. The only other time I have any internet issues is when my broadband is down. And this is across two PCs, and two different internet providers. I use a VPN: I’ve turned it off, I’ve set it to minimum security, many random countries, turned full security on, uninstalled it, even, and the SDA still doesn’t work. While waiting for a download to finish the last 1%, I can go to Steinberg’s site and download from there, and the SDA is still waiting to finish.
So I’m happy to continue using the website - while I can.
Just discovered a dash makes things
bold
Right on. I just like trying to solve these issues It’s an odd one. I have to think SB is aware of it and working on it in the background though…
I do appreciate the offer.
Was this to me or Googly?! FWIW I just downloaded a 2.4Gb software synth (FLITE) and there wasn’t any internet issue. Can it ever be the internet protocol? 802.11N? (Don’t know if this is a universal protocol.) But as we said, it’s only the SDA that falters consistently.
The “private VPN” bit was to @Googly_Smythe - and I probably should have just sent a private message for that. @You I was asking if you’ve tried a VPN. The current SDA uses Aria2 in some capacity for downloading. Others have reported that a VPN “solved” their download issue with SDA. That’s why I’m asking.