Network Files Transfer Question

[milanlad]

I have a question regarding transfer of files on PC's within a WORKGROUP network.

Suppose:

I have Computer A (wireless 54Mbs)
I have Computer B which has data files (wired ethernet)
I have Computer C (wired ethernet)

The Action:

I want to tranfer files on Computer B to Computer C, but initiating the transfer from Computer A.


Now, I don't have problems making this work.


My Question is:

In initiating the transfer from Computer A,

i) do the files go directly from Computer B to Computer C?

or

ii) do the files first go from Computer B to Computer A, and then from Computer A to Computer C?


Also,

I know there is a progress dialog box that appears on Computer A, but does Computer A use any overheads or CPU power to do this transfer?

If I initiate the transfer from Computer B or indeed from Computer C, should the transfer process take less time?

[RDL]

They go direct, since you are just giving computer B a command, and haven't specified anything coming to computer A.

The process shouldn't take less time I don't think, since the only time taken is when you use computer A to initiate the transfer.

[DigiGuru]

If you explain a little more, it would help...

Are you using windows drag/drop?

ie:

\\computer1\c\somefolder -> \\computer2\c\someotherfolder , but browsing these shares from \\computer3 ?

If so, then you are using overhead on computer3 to calculate time left / bytes transferred / bytes remaining etc.

I'm not 100% certain on wether the files go directly from computer1 to computer2, but I suspect they dont...

I usually use something like remote desktop and tell computer2 to send to computer1 directly

Stu

[speedy_s]

1)PC B-->router/switch--->PC C.

2)PC A will only have 1 program running/overhead in the entire process i guess. The explorer. Rest on PC b and PC C.

[eldren]

I don't agree - the file would be transferred from computer B into memory on computer A, and then transferred from computer A to computer C.

If you want it to be copied directly, install VNC software (VNC software allows you to log onto another computer and take complete control of it over a network. TightVNC is a decent example) on computer A, and on either computer B or computer C. Then, log into the VNC server on computer B/C through computer A, and use that to copy the file directly to computer C/B.

Ignoring that this is a 3 month old thread.

[Paul Adams]

Didn't see this thread before for some reason, but I would partially agree with eldren - I would expect the data to flow from B to A, then from A to C.

However, I would not expect it to transfer all of the file(s) from B to A then afterwards send them to C - the individual packets that make up the file should be forwarded in real time.

So A would not have a copy of an entire file at any point (unless you wrote a specific application to maintain a local copy of the file as it passes through) as it is transient data.


Machine A would do the monitoring of the file transfer progress and try to make estimates on the file copy time remaining based on time taken to transfer the current amount of data and the amount remaining, as it is controlling the sending & receiving of the data.

The amount of time to transfer the file this way would be longer than if transferred directly between the machines, even if the connection types were identical - but as you would be pulling the data up a wireless connection and then back down again it would be even longer still.
A wireless connection is similar to "hub" technology - the sending & receiving data share a channel.


(This issue of file copying between non-local network devices is why Novell introduced NCOPY for copying files between NetWare servers, but this doesn't help peer-to-peer copying anyway.)


The most common resolution to this issue is to use a remote desktop tool to control machine B or C and issue the file copy command from the machine itself.
With Windows 2000 Server you have Terminal Services, and with XP you have "Remote Assistance" which I've used only once but seems to work perfectly (a time-limited remote desktop session where you have to send an "invite", documented in the Help).
The "Remote Desktop Connection" is used as the client in both cases.

[eldren]

No, of course computer A wouldn't have the whole file at any time (Unless it's smaller than a few hundred bytes), but I was trying to keep the explanation down to a single sentence.

Good point with the Terminal Services and "Remote Assistance" - the only issue with the latter is that you have to go to computer B or C, send the invite to computer A, and then go back to computer A and do the move from there - little use, when you could just do the move while you're at computer B/C. I've had no experience with Terminal Services though, so that may be a more viable option.