[kwlug-disc] Transferring large backup files over the network

[bob+kwlug at softscape.ca]

> Say I have a big (multi-terabyte) collection of backup files (which
> tend to be large, in the tens of gigabytes) sitting on some server A.

Are the files themselves large or is it just a large collection? 

If they are large files, are they fresh each day or are they just partially modified each day?

...
> 
> What FLOSS tools would be best for this use case and why?
> If you know of good solutions that would play with NTFS, that is a
> bonus. (rsync is not in that category, especially if Server A has to
> run Windows.) But even if we soften the NTFS requirement, I am not
> sure whether rsync is still the best solution here.

I have discovered program for Windows called MobaXterm.

It seems to bring a great deal of functionality to windows that I am accustomed to on a Linux CLI. (eg: Xwindow server, ssh client and server, rsync, cron!, ...)

I'm not sure if it is as free as you want/need it to be, but I think it has the base functionality to enable you to be able to rsync in the way you described.

Rsync is a great tool. Not sure if there are any nuances of your setup that would make it sub-optimal, but it's likely a good place to start.

And MobaXterm seems to have all the tools you'd need.

BB