[kenrose]

If your current deployment procedure is "I just scp this directory or zip file up", then yes, rsync may be slightly better. It ultimately depends on how much actually changed between your new build artifact and whatever is actually on your server. If you're deploying using just scp though, I'd strongly suggest looking at a deploy tool (e.g., capistrano).

Where I've found rsync really valuable is for good ol' regular file copying ("I just need to stick this one file or directory on a server"). I've pretty much stopped using scp and replaced it with rsync. rsync is awesome because:

1) you can resume interrupted transfers

2) it's much faster than scp when sending lots of small files

3) it's actually you know, a sync tool, as opposed to just a copy tool

If you miss the little progress bar that scp gives, you can also use --progress with rsync and then it's basically a drop in replacement.