IIS, SMB, FTP – welche Technologie passt zu dir?
IIS, SMB, FTP – welche Technologie passt zu dir?
I’m dealing with two Windows PCs and need to move big files—around 60 to 90 GB each, roughly half a terabyte per move. Both are on the same local network, not in a public or office environment. I’ve been using SMB, but the speed has been inconsistent. My connection is 2.5 Gbps, with NICs and a switch. SMB only hit bandwidth limits once during testing. I looked into other options like FileZilla, which seems to use network capacity poorly, and I read mixed opinions about FTP in forums. Windows IIS can handle FTP without extra tools, but I’m unsure if it’ll outperform SMB for this size. I’m not very comfortable with Linux and prefer the automation scripts I already have. What’s your take on FTP here? Is it a real issue on home networks? Could IIS be faster than SMB in this case? Are there other possibilities I should explore?
I usually achieve around 1GBps from SSD* to SSD* using SMB over 10GbE. It's likely SMB and 2.5GbE aren't the main constraints. * = technically both are arrays of SSDs (ZFS mirror and Windows stripe, respectively).
I've tried with NVME drives and spinners. Both seem to max out around 100 MB/s when they are rated for around 250 (or higher with NVME). I can usually get the spinners to 230 MB/s when connected to the same PC. The computers are an i5 12400 and an i3 12100, 32 and 16 GB of memory. NICs are built in 2.5 Gbps, switch/network is Ubiquiti. Nothing else going on over the network (no updates, no streaming). Here is a screenshot of test I just put together from one NVME on the "host" to an NVME on the "client" over SMB (the spinners are capped around the same speed). Screenshots from two different points in the transfer:
I understand your concern, but it’s unclear where to direct further investigation. Your network appears to be operating within normal parameters—no bandwidth limits, all devices connected via the same switch at 2.5 Gbps, and both using a short Ethernet cable. The i3 was recently installed, while the i5 is newer, yet both have ASUS NIC drivers. It’s possible the issue lies elsewhere in your setup.
Check the devices currently connected via your NICs. (Network Status > View hardware and connection properties)
The maximum transmission unit is likely 2.5 GbE based on the reported connection speed.
Display the CPU usage during data transfer. View the breakdown in the Logical processors section.
Consider using utilities such as FastCopy to compare performance against Windows Explorer. You might find better results by getting a couple of 10G or 25G network cards and linking your computer via a DAC cable—this can boost speeds significantly. Cards are reasonably priced, around $50 for a 25G card and $40–$50 for a DAC cable. I prefer configuring Filezilla as an FTP server on one machine and the client on another. In the client, enable binary transfer mode and you’re ready to go. Parallel transfers can help when moving many small files, though frequent connection drops may limit speed. On the server side, set up multiple interfaces (for example, with dual 10G ports) and use Filezilla FTP client to open separate connections—potentially reaching up to 20Gbps. Some FTP clients also allow multithreaded downloads; if you recall correctly, older Flashget versions supported this feature.