goran@lycos.com (Goran Ivanic) wrote:

> Assuem I want to transfer large amounts of stuff from one server to
> another (through Internet).
>
> Which method should I prefer:
>
> ftp or rsync ?
>
> What are the Pros and Cons?

Assuming your FTP connection is secured (SSL/TLS), for first-time
transfer, it may be better than Rsync, whereas Rsync is better for
incremental updates, and also for first-time transfers using suitable
command line switches. One further advantage of Rsync is that you can
make use of your existing SSH PKI.


> Which is faster?

Depends on many details. I don't know whether in FTP you can reuse the
data channel, but if you can't, Rsync should be faster in almost all
cases. FTP may be faster for a few large files. Rsync is almost
certainly faster for lots of tiny files, and so on. In some cases, tar
used cleverly through SSH may be faster than both, but usually Rsync
will be just fine.


> Which is more stable?

FTPS and Rsync are both very stable.


Regards,
Ertugrul.


--
http://ertes.de/