How to transfer, share and send big files fast and securely?

This is a server-to-server MFT large file transfer use case for moving whole company data sets during a business acquisition.

A utilities company specialising in renewable energy needed to move very large files over long distances. They were acquiring businesses around the world including South America and Africa.

With files measuring over a terabyte, IT were writing data to disk and then shipping it to the head office in Norway. It was then taken to the data center where it was uploaded to the server.

This was time intensive and costly. From start to finish, the process took over a week to get the data from A to B. Security was a concern too; theft or a shipping incident could result in a breach of that valuable data.

With business expansion plans expecting a further 30 acquisitions per year, the company needed a faster, easier and more secure process.

The IT team looked at ad hoc person-to-person solutions, but the TCP-based protocol is not geared up for files of that size. Transfers take a very long time and – if anything goes wrong part way through and checkpoint restart isn’t available – it has to start again from the beginning rather than picking up where it left off.

A UDP-based solution

The company evaluated a solution with a UDP-based protocol and it took just five hours to move a test file of 800GB.

Businesses on both sides of the acquisition found the interface very user friendly. IT build a bespoke application, from a simple-to-use template. The acquired business drags and drops the files into the application.

The result is a much quicker, cost effective and secure method for transferring very large files.

Other large file use-cases

This is just one example of server-to-server large file transfer. There are many other use-cases, some requiring manual / ad hoc transfers like this one, and other recurring automated transfers.

Manual (ad hoc)

• Video production companies sharing files in 8k resolution;
• Design agencies sharing multi-layered design files eg: Photoshop, InDesign;
• Architects or manufacturers moving CAD files;
• Transferring big data for research purposes, such as gene sequencing (this can also be automated).

Automated

• Any organisation needing to move very large databases;
• Independent software vendors sharing support and log databases in a ‘follow-the-sun’ workflow, ie: providing a 24/7 support service;
• HPC (high performance computers) sharing or backing-up large files from the data centre. Eg: satellite data which has been processed to create forecasts;
• Any company carrying out mapping or scanning (eg: healthcare, utilities, survey organisations).

The size of the data set and the nature of the transfer determines the right solution for your requirements. Pro2col can advise you through the different stages of your file transfer project to make sure it’s a success. Whether that’s scoping your requirements, product demos and proof of concept / evaluation, negotiating the best deal with vendors or installations and training, call 0333 123 1240 or complete the online contact form.