Having the fastest file transfer speeds can be important for several reasons, depending on specific needs and use cases. Fast transfers can save time, improving productivity, can help meet data submission deadlines, and can allow a business to respond more quickly to client demands. Industries dealing with big data, video production, or system backups need high-speed file transfers to move large files efficiently without interruptions. Faster file transfer speeds reduce the time between sending and receiving information, leading to more responsive communication and faster decision-making.

Files.com is designed for speed and performance as well as security and flexibility.

In order to support the fastest possible speeds, we have built many optimizations into the apps that we provide. These optimizations include things like automatically tuned parallelism, intelligent routing around corporate firewalls, and more.

We have also added much of this technology into our SDKs.

The most important thing to do in order to optimize speed is to use one of our custom-built apps.

This article provides our recommendations for attaining the fastest file transfer rates based on the target environment and audience.

Best Options for Desktop

Desktop users require a graphical app that provides ease of use and, optionally, integration with the system file manager. Drag and drop capabilities allow the user to easily upload and download files, regardless of file size or quantity of files.

Integration with the system file manager allows remote resources to appear in the file manager as attached network locations, such as a network drive or network folder.

Desktop apps are designed for manual use, enabling users to perform ad-hoc transfers as needed.

1st - Files.com Desktop v6 App

The Files.com Desktop v6 App is designed for speed and ease of use. The Desktop v6 app provides our fastest transfer rates for both upload and download speeds. It's designed to transfer as much data as possible in the shortest time. It supports parallel transfers and automatic retries, ensuring that intermittent network issues won't interrupt your transfers.

Its clean, intuitive graphical user interface means users don’t need technical expertise. Upload and download files and folders with simple drag and drop actions.

In tests, we've found Desktop v6 to be 2x to 3x faster at data transfer than 3rd party FTP/SFTP clients.

2nd - Files.com Desktop App

The Files.com Desktop App is integrated with the Windows Explorer and MacOS Finder, providing an integrated file manager experience for users. By presenting the folders and files from your Files.com site as attached network locations, users can upload, download, open, edit, rename, and delete files in the same way that they interact with items on their local disk drives.

3rd - Cyberduck

Cyberduck is a third party app that offers native Files.com integration. Once inside Cyberduck, there is a Files.com option when adding a new server connection. Do not choose FTP or SFTP as the connection type as these are slower methods than the Files.com option.

4th - Web Browser

Our web interface has been optimized to provide fast HTTPS-based transfers for both uploads and downloads. It provides an intuitive interface with automatic retries for file and folder uploads.

5th - Third Party FTP/SFTP/WebDAV Apps

Third party FTP/SFTP apps, such as FileZilla, provide file transfer capabilities with Files.com using industry standard protocols. Many of these apps also provide automatic retries and parallel file transmission. However, the FTP and SFTP protocols are slower at data transmission when compared to the above options.

The WebDAV protocol is generally faster than FTP and SFTP however its speed benefits are undone by it being a very "chatty" network protocol. This means that transferring single files via WebDAV can be quite speedy but transferring multiple files, or having large quantities of files and folders on a WebDAV server, can slow it down considerably.

Best Options for Servers

Server operators usually require apps that can be run on a headless (no graphical user interface) system. These apps should be executable manually from a system command line, they might be executed programmatically from scripts, or they may be installed as system services so that they start up automatically at system boot time.

If using a desktop UI on a server, follow the desktop recommendations instead.

1st - Files.com Agent

The Files.com Agent is a small footprint application, designed to integrate your on-premise, or cloud hosted, servers seamlessly with your Files.com site. It removes the need for maintaining custom scripts by allowing you to use the automation, remote mount, and remote sync capabilities of Files.com to interact with files and folders on your server.

The Agent provides the fastest data transmission speeds due to its use of UDP and parallel transfers.

A single Agent can service multiple automations, remote mounts, and remote systems, allowing it to meet multiple data transfer needs concurrently.

When using the Agent, all job control is performed from your Files.com site.

The Agent can be run as a system service, ensuring that it is always available when the server system is running.

2nd - Files.com CLI App

The cross-platform Files.com Command Line Interface (CLI) App provides exceptional data transmission speeds for command line users. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac based systems.

The CLI app can be used interactively, to upload and download on an ad-hoc basis, or can be invoked from script files to provide programmatic and scheduled data transfers. The CLI app is ideal for integrating with Files.com from shell or Powershell scripts.

In tests, we've found our CLI app to be 2x to 3x faster at data transfer than 3rd party FTP/SFTP clients.

3rd - Rclone

Rclone is a third party command line app that includes Files.com among its list of supported integrations. The Files.com integration has been optimized to provide similar data transmission rates to our CLI app.

Rclone is a good option for system operators that wish to use a vendor-neutral tool for data transfers.

4th - Third Party SFTP Apps

Most servers provide a built-in sftp command line client.

While the SFTP protocol isn't as fast as the above options, it uses an industry standard communication protocol that is widely available on server systems.

If you are unable to use any of the above options, the sftp app is a good fallback for performing data transfers with Files.com provided speed isn't a factor.

Best Options for Command Line

The use of a command line might be enforced, such as when using a headless system, or might be desired, due to familiarity with a command line interface or due to a desire to integrate with shell and Powershell scripts.

Command-line apps enable both manual interaction and programmatic invocation from scripts.

Users of command line apps are technically proficient and are comfortable working without a graphical user interface.

1st - Files.com CLI App

The cross-platform Files.com Command Line Interface (CLI) App provides exceptional data transmission speeds for command line users. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac based systems.

The CLI app can be used interactively, to upload and download on an ad-hoc basis, or can be invoked from script files to provide programmatic and scheduled data transfers. The CLI app is ideal for integrating with Files.com from shell or Powershell scripts.

In tests, we've found our CLI app to be 2x to 3x faster at data transfer than 3rd party FTP/SFTP clients.

2nd - Rclone

Rclone is a third party command line app that includes Files.com among its list of supported integrations. The Files.com integration has been optimized to provide similar data transmission rates to our CLI app.

Rclone is a good option for system operators that wish to use a vendor-neutral tool for data transfers.

3rd - Third Party SFTP Apps

Most servers provide a built-in sftp command line client.

While the SFTP protocol isn't as fast as the above options, it uses an industry standard communication protocol that is widely available on server systems.

If you are unable to use any of the above options, the sftp app is a good fallback for performing data transfers with Files.com provided speed isn't a factor.

Best Options for Business to Business (B2B)

Trading partners in a business to business (B2B) relationship mostly use automated processes to transmit business documents between partners. Smaller businesses may use manual processes to exchange documents with partners.

Typically, the largest gain in speed between partners is achieved by implementing automated processes to remove any manual steps.

Best Options for Mobile

Mobile users require apps that can be used on-the-go from their mobile device. These users may not have access to a PC or laptop so the app should provide all the capabilities required for users to achieve their tasks.

1st - Files.com Mobile App

The Files.com Mobile App for iOS and Android offers fast upload and download speeds for smartphone users. The easy-to-use App is designed for smart phone screen sizes and implements parallel transfers to provide the fastest transfer speeds.

2nd - Web Browser

For users of tablet devices, our web interface has been optimized to provide fast HTTPS-based transfers for both uploads and downloads. It provides an intuitive interface with automatic retries for file and folder uploads.

Best Options for Developers and Application Integration

Developers require SDK and API options so that applications can be created which have tight integration with Files.com. Most developers are familiar with coding in their preferred programming languages. With the emergence of iPaaS, and modern low-code and no-code development environments, some developers prefer pre-built connectors for integration.

1st (Joint) - Files.com SDKs

Our Files.com SDKs are available for multiple programming languages. Our SDKs have been optimized for speed, parallel transfers, automatic retries, and geographic data routing. The SDKs simplify the task of integrating applications with Files.com when programming in your preferred language.

Our SDKs are used in our own apps so developers can be sure of achieving the same data transfer speeds.

Although we love all programming languages equally, we've found that Go, also known as GoLang, provides the fastest data transfer speeds of all our SDKs.

1st (Joint) - iPaaS Connector

For developers who wish to use low-code, or no-code, development platforms, we provide pre-built connectors for Boomi, MuleSoft, and Zapier.

These connectors are built using our SDKs and provide the same fast data transfer rates.

3rd - Files.com APIs

Files.com provides RESTful platform APIs. Developers can use these APIs to integrate with Files.com however any error handling, retry logic, or handling of parallel data transfer will need to be implemented by the developer themselves.

Wherever possible, we recommend using an SDK instead of the raw APIs due to the error handling, retry logic, and parallel transfer capabilities that have been implemented within the SDK.

Best Options for Embedded Systems or IoT Devices

Embedded systems and IoT devices use small footprint applications or operating systems to provide customized solutions for various industries.

Files.com provides several solutions for implementing fast data transfers from these types of systems and devices.

Embedded Application

If your embedded system or IoT device uses an embedded application, then our SDKs are the perfect fit.

Our Files.com SDKs are available for multiple programming languages. Our SDKs have been optimized for speed, parallel transfers, automatic retries, and geographic data routing. The SDKs simplify the task of integrating applications with Files.com when programming in your preferred language.

Our SDKs are used in our own apps so developers can be sure of achieving the same data transfer speeds.

Although we love all programming languages equally, we've found that Go, also known as GoLang, provides the fastest data transfer speeds of all our SDKs.

Embedded Operating System

For systems and devices that host an operating system, we provide options for both server-centric and client-centric integration.

Server-Centric

For server-centric integration, our Files.com Agent can be used on systems as small as a Raspberry Pi.

The Files.com Agent is a small footprint application, designed to integrate your on-premise, or cloud hosted, servers seamlessly with your Files.com site. It removes the need for maintaining custom scripts by allowing you to use the automation, remote mount, and remote sync capabilities of Files.com to interact with files and folders on your server.

The Agent provides the fastest data transmission speeds due to its use of UDP and parallel transfers.

A single Agent can service multiple automations, remote mounts, and remote systems, allowing it to meet multiple data transfer needs concurrently.

When using the Agent, all job control is performed from your Files.com site.

The Agent can be run as a system service, ensuring that it is always available when the server system is running.

Client-Centric

For client-centric integration, our Files.com Command Line Integration (CLI) App can be driven by embedded scripts.

The cross-platform Files.com Command Line Interface (CLI) App provides exceptional data transmission speeds for command line users. It can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac based systems.

The CLI app can be used interactively, to upload and download on an ad-hoc basis, or can be invoked from script files to provide programmatic and scheduled data transfers. The CLI app is ideal for integrating with Files.com from shell or Powershell scripts.

In tests, we've found our CLI app to be 2x to 3x faster at data transfer than 3rd party FTP/SFTP clients.

Protocol Considerations for Speed

Many customers ask us about optimizing FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV connections for speed. Our first answer to that is to try to use one of our native apps if at all possible. FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV are older technologies that are less efficient for achieving the fastest speeds.

If you are stuck using one of these older technologies, we recommend you do the following:

1. Prefer WebDAV, FTP, and SFTP in that order. Our modern version of FTP uses the same encryption strength as SFTP and is faster. For single files, WebDAV is even faster than FTP but it slows down when there are many files being transferred or accessed.
2. Enable at least 10, and no more than 25 parallel connections in your app. More parallelism is generally better, but we've found that above 25 can cause problems for several apps.

If you are using 2FA (Two Factor Authentication), you must not use parallelism with FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV, because 2FA is only valid for one connection at a time. This is one more reason that these protocols are suboptimal for speed.

Effects of Custom Domain and Regional Storage

File transfer speeds can also be affected by the use of a Custom Domain and Regional Storage.

The best transfer speeds will occur when the custom domain and storage both reside in the same region.

For more detail, refer to Performance Implications (Custom Domain) and Caveat when using a Custom Domain (Regional Storage).