Increase scp throughput via compression

Resolving The Problem

Here is an explanation of why scp is slower:
You will find ftp is the fastest method to transfer files that is commonly available on multiple servers. ftp changes block size to better match the throughput of the link. It also allows for overlapping acknowledgments to keep more data flowing in the pipe. This is especially important for wide area networks where there is a very large ping time. scp is a simple record transfer, like rcp and therefore, inefficient for good network performance. Each time scp waits for a reply, it must wait for the reply. The best you can do is to compress the data using the -C option for scp. And like all network transfers, actual performance depends on both computers as well as the slowest link in the network.

Here is a test result over 100Mbps ethernet showing the difference between compression and noncompression throughput rates:

With compression:
nachosbso# scp -C junk netcombso:/tmp/junk2
root@netcombso's password:
junk 100% 500MB 33.3MB/s 00:15
nachosbso#

Without compression:
nachosbso# scp junk netcombso:/tmp/junk2
root@netcombso's password:
junk 100% 500MB 7.9MB/s 01:03