Data Transfer Considerations
When working from home you need to take in consideration the data plan you are using and how it will impact your data transfer capabilities.
Research data transfer using a VPN session
The IT network is designed so that “large data transfers” can only be accommodated in the managed network side. Data transfers “outside the managed network” will mostly depend on your home internet connection speed. Below is a guide of an estimated transfer rates when you work from home using a VPN connection and trying to transfer 1 TB of data. If you have a few GB file to transfer, it is ok to use the VPN session for that. Anything above 10GB will start to impact the time needed to transfer the data.
The following shows estimated times to transfer 1TB of data depending of your data plan:
5 Mbps - 18 days, 12 hours, 26 minutes
15 Mbps - 6 days, 4 hours, 8 minutes
20 Mbps - 1 days, 20 hours, 26 minutes
100 Mbps - 22 hours, 13 minutes
Research data transfer using VPN/RDP for fast data transfers
If you are working from home and you want to transfer large amount of research data, you can use VPN to connect to a remote desktop in the managed network. From your remote desktop, you can transfer your data. In this case, you will be able to leverage the Network’s high-speed data transfer at 8Gbps. Therefore, it is highly recommended you always keep a desktop computer available in campus so you can connect remotely so you can work as if you were physically on campus to guarantee the best transfer ratio and general bandwidth availability for students and staff.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please visit the Research Computing Services site or send an email to support@hpc.ucalgary.