Understanding Upload Times for Large Data Sets
If you have never transferred a large amount of data before, initially you may be surprised at how long it can take to upload data into an online service such as SmartVault. Upload speeds and success rates are dependent upon the following factors:
File size and number
Large files take longer to upload than small files. However, many small files can take longer to upload than one large file. This is because there is a fixed time overhead required to upload each individual file. Therefore, if you are backing up large amounts of small files it will take longer than a smaller number of large files. If you are primarily uploading small files, you may only be able to achieve a fraction of your maximum upload rate.
Folder structure
Deep folder structures take longer to upload than simpler folder structures.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) capabilities
You upload speed is limited by your ISP. Upload speeds can range from 128kbps to 512kbps. Most internet connections from ISPs are designed to have higher download speeds than upload speeds.
For example, a typical cable internet connection advertised at 5Mbps will likely only have an upload speed of 512-768Kbps. You can test your actual upload and download rates at
http://www.speedtest.net.
Number of browsers open at one time
If you have multiple browser windows open when uploading files, your upload will slow down.
Number of uploads occurring at one time
If you have multiple uploads running at the same time, your upload will slow down.
Network capabilities
If you are on a network in an office, you are sharing your network connection and connection to the Internet with others in your office. As a result, their network usage and Internet usage will affect your upload speed.
Geographic proximity
The further your data has to travel, the longer it will take to upload. The SmartVault data center is located in Houston, TX.
Firewalls
Firewalls can slow down or stop the upload process. If you are using a firewall, try temporarily turning off firewalls such as ZoneAlarm, the built-in Windows or Macintosh firewall, or any other firewall running on your computer, or configure your firewall to allow SmartVault as a trusted source.
Security settings
If you are using SmartVault from an office setting, your IT department may have blocked or slowed down connections to SmartVault. Consult your IT department to find out if they have placed restrictions on uploads or unapproved web sites.
Whether data is stored on the computer where the SmartVault Drive is mapped
The speed of your upload can be affected by where your data is located and by where the SmartVault Desktop software is installed. For example, if you have installed the SmartVault Desktop software on the same computer where your data resides, your upload speed will be faster than if you have installed the SmartVault Desktop software on your local computer, but you are uploading data by moving or copying from a location on a network share into the SmartVault Drive.
If you cannot install the SmartVault Desktop software and map a SmartVault Drive on the computer where the data is stored (for example, if the data is stored on a network server, but your IT department will not allow you to install the SmartVault Desktop software on the server), consider first copying the data from the computer where it is currently stored to a computer where the SmartVault Desktop software installed and a SmartVault Drive is mapped. Then upload the data into SmartVault using the SmartVault Drive.
Latency between the local computer and servers in the SmartVault data center
In a network, latency, which is also referred to as delay, is an expression of how much time it takes for a packet of data to get from one designated point to another. Many times people think that data should be transmitted instantly between one point and another, with no delay at all. However, the following factors can contribute to latency, or delay, when you are uploading documents to SmartVault:
– Propagation: The amount of time it takes for a data packet to travel between one place and another at the speed of light.
– Transmission: The medium used to transmit the data, whether optical fiber, wireless, or some other method.
– Packet size: Larger packets take long to transmit than smaller packets.
– Router and other processing: Each gateway node, or network point that acts as an entrance to another network, takes time to examine and possibly change the header in a packet (for example, changing the hop count in the time-to-live field in the header packet).
– Other computer and storage delays: Within networks at each end of the journey, a packet may be subject to storage and hard disk access delays at intermediate devices such as switches and bridges.
Whether you are using a Copy or a Move operation when uploading data
When you are uploading data, the speed of your upload is affected by whether you are using a Copy operation or a Move operation to upload data using the SmartVault Drive.
Copy operations take longer than Move operations.
When you use a Copy operation, the Copy operation first makes a copy from the source in a temporary location and then pastes the files into the destination location.
A Move operation cuts the object from the source location and then pastes the data in the destination location.
To reduce upload times, SmartVault recommends that you create a copy of the data you want to upload to SmartVault on your local drive first, and then use a Move operation to upload the data into SmartVault.
Using a Move operation to upload a copy of your data will reduce your upload times. Using a Move operation will also help you easily see, if your Internet connection drops during the operation, what files and folders were successfully uploaded into SmartVault and what files and folders were not successfully uploaded into SmartVault due to the dropped connection. (If you use a Copy operation and your Internet connection drops, you will need to go through each folder on both your local computer and SmartVault in order to see which files were successfully uploaded and which were not.)
The following example shows how you can try to estimate how long it might take you to upload 10GB of data based on your upload speed:
Data set size: 10GB
Upload speed: 512kbps
Note: Transfer rates are in kbps (kilobits per second) not kilobytes.
Rough calculation of amount of time required: About 43 hours or 2 days
– Number of seconds required: (10GB * 1,000,000,000 bytes * 8 bits/byte) / 512,000 bps = 156,250 seconds
– Number of hours required: 86,400 seconds in day (60 seconds x 60 minutes x 24 hours); to upload 10GB of data with an upload speed of 512kbps = 156,250 seconds / 86,400 seconds = about 43 hours or 2 days
This also assumes that your Internet connection does not drop during this time.
Based on the amount of time it can take to upload large data sets, SmartVault recommends that you carefully prepare your data before uploading by sub-dividing the data you want to upload into SmartVault into data sets of 1GB or less in order to improve your upload experience.
For example, following is a rough estimate on how long it can take to upload 1GB of data when you sub-divide your data into 1GB sets:
Data set size: 1GB
Upload speed: 512kbps
Rough calculation of amount of time required: About 4 hours
– Number of seconds required: (1GB * 1,000,000,000 bytes * 8 bits/byte) / 512000 bps = 15,625 seconds
– Number of hours required: 15,625 seconds / 3,600 seconds in an hour (60 seconds x 60 minutes); = approximately 4.3 hours
Based on the amount of time it can take to upload data as illustrated in the previous examples, if you have a large set of data you want to upload to SmartVault, SmartVault recommends that instead of trying to upload one large data set of 10GB, 20GB, 30GB or even 80GB at once, you instead prepare your data before uploading by reviewing your data, purging data you no longer need, and creating data sets. For more information, see
“Preparing to Upload Large Data Sets” . After you have prepared your data, upload your data sets. For more information, see
“Using the SmartVault Drive to Upload Large Data Sets” .
