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Other than through the network, what does everyone use for transferring things like system images or very large files?

For example, external case+hard drive like a myBook. Or, extremely large usb/flash drive. I've been using a hard drive (or multiple various hard drives) in this:external SATA

But, not everything has SATA, and USB seems really slow with it. Plus, having to always plug in the power cable is a hassle, and it's pretty loose in the slot so if you bump it, it can disconnect.

Matt
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    Absent concrete requirements this question is unanswerable - there are a nearly infinite number of ways to get data from machine A to machine B, depending on physical distance, available interfaces, the number of cats in the area (a real concern with [IP over Avian Carriers!](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1149)), etc. – voretaq7 Mar 26 '12 at 22:35
  • Neither USB nor Firewire external hard-drives I've used need a power cord. They're both powered over the bus. – Cerin Mar 27 '12 at 21:35
  • You may wish to consider RFC 1149 -> http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1149 – Hugh Bothwell Feb 22 '14 at 00:33

4 Answers4

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Fill a station-wagon full of tapes and drive it down a freeway.

Tom O'Connor
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    If it's on-premises transfer, put the tapes into a weighted companion cube and use the Aperture Science Pneumatic Diversity Tube system: http://half-life.wikia.com/index.php?title=Aperture_Science_Pneumatic_Diversity_Vent&image=Diversity_vent_diag-jpg – cjc Mar 26 '12 at 21:18
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    There's always the **[Dirty Things With Netcat](http://serverfault.com/a/51605/16732)** Method – Tom O'Connor Mar 26 '12 at 21:27
  • @cjc, what happens if the weighted companion cube gets...accidentially...incinerated? I hope you have backups. – tombull89 Mar 27 '12 at 07:52
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I find the fastest way is to transfer the files over Ethernet. With both systems connected to the same LAN of course. Otherwise I burn the files to a DVD or DL-DVD.

murisonc
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I think most people here use network drives that lead to NAS. To move very large files between two machines on a unix-variant you can use Rsync.

Lucas Kauffman
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USB 3 devices seem to be the answer for me. terabyte size transfers now go from days to hours.

Jim B
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