[diginux]

For big files it would make a very noticeable difference actually, try scp with different encryption algorithms even and you will see how much it matters.

With that said, by 'quickly', I was focusing more on easiness and simplicity.

[andrewcooke]

there's a constant size overhead, and file copying is network, not cpu limited (isn't it?). so why would large files be significantly slower?

[diginux]

I am not sure it is fair to say scp is cpu limited per se, but it is slow.

A quick article that may help you out: http://intermediatesql.com/linux/scrap-the-scp-how-to-copy-d...

[andrewcooke]

if you read the article, it's because the faster alternatives use multiple streams and/or use compression. it's got nothing to do with encryption. and you can get scp to compress your data first (-C).

[diginux]

Compression also slows it down: http://www.spikelab.org/transfer-largedata-scp-tarssh-tarnc-...

This has been my experience in practice, too.