Fast File Transfer mac to mac
9.2 gig folder transfer in 2 hours?!?!, no, no, no... Base 1000T ethernet and let's get this done now!
I needed a way to transfer files and folders from one mac to another mac, but I wanted a fast connection. Naturally at first, I connected the two machines with an ethernet cable and turned on File Sharing in System Preferences. The performance - slow, very slow, 9.2 gig in 2 hours type slow. Where is the base 1000T??? So I Googled around a little and found that if you establish the network link (and hence a fat 1000T pipe) prior to file sharing you are setting the speed of the connection for the file transfers. But I could not find any place that had all the directions in one place, I had to piece it together, so here is a copy of my complete directions that are current for newer 2006 to 2010 Macs.
This only works with crossover cable, glad I got that cable now!
Alright, here we go:
\t* Connect both Macs, using a crossover network cable (using a normal cable showed ethernet not connected, in Network preferences)
Mac #1:
\t* Open up System Preferences > Network
\t* Choose Ethernet, and select configure Manually instead of Using DHCP. If you open Advanced you will see connection speed, more on that later.
\t* Set the IP address to 192.168.0.1, Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0
Mac #2:
\t* Same as above, IP address 192.168.0.2
\t* If you go back and check the connection speed it should auto config to 1000T on both machines.
Both Mac #1 and Mac #2: Go into System preferences --> Sharing, select file sharing so the machines can see each other, now that the pipe is established and the speed has been set.
You should see the other Mac in the Finder sidebar, on either machine.
Use the Public folder on each Mac to share files and folders.
Dropping files/folders into User --> public folder, then on the receiving machine drag to new location.
A 9.2 gig transfer in less than 5 minutes, now that really is cooking with base 1000T ethernet!!!
Ty Huffman
I needed a way to transfer files and folders from one mac to another mac, but I wanted a fast connection. Naturally at first, I connected the two machines with an ethernet cable and turned on File Sharing in System Preferences. The performance - slow, very slow, 9.2 gig in 2 hours type slow. Where is the base 1000T??? So I Googled around a little and found that if you establish the network link (and hence a fat 1000T pipe) prior to file sharing you are setting the speed of the connection for the file transfers. But I could not find any place that had all the directions in one place, I had to piece it together, so here is a copy of my complete directions that are current for newer 2006 to 2010 Macs.
This only works with crossover cable, glad I got that cable now!
Alright, here we go:
\t* Connect both Macs, using a crossover network cable (using a normal cable showed ethernet not connected, in Network preferences)
Mac #1:
\t* Open up System Preferences > Network
\t* Choose Ethernet, and select configure Manually instead of Using DHCP. If you open Advanced you will see connection speed, more on that later.
\t* Set the IP address to 192.168.0.1, Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0
Mac #2:
\t* Same as above, IP address 192.168.0.2
\t* If you go back and check the connection speed it should auto config to 1000T on both machines.
Both Mac #1 and Mac #2: Go into System preferences --> Sharing, select file sharing so the machines can see each other, now that the pipe is established and the speed has been set.
You should see the other Mac in the Finder sidebar, on either machine.
Use the Public folder on each Mac to share files and folders.
Dropping files/folders into User --> public folder, then on the receiving machine drag to new location.
A 9.2 gig transfer in less than 5 minutes, now that really is cooking with base 1000T ethernet!!!
Ty Huffman
Comments
This only works with crossover cable, glad I got that cable now!
Are you absolutely sure? Apple computers haven't required a crossover cable since the original Titanium PowerBook G4.
Hi
I presently have a thunderbolt external hard drive connected to computer A: 27" iMac
and sharing files with computer B: MacBook Pro Retina display via my home network
hardwired with ethernet cables. The two workstations are used for Photoshop work and is slow in transferring files, rendering and saving, will your suggestion be the solution to my problem?
Thanks
Willie
This thread is about direct Mac to Mac transfer so they are both plugged in directly to each other. If you have network hardware in between, it will go more slowly. You'd need a gigabit router in between and even then, you might not get full gigabit speed out of the transfer.
Brilliant!!! I tried it tonight and it exceeded my expectations!!
A couple of more questions...Does this only work between two computers?
Do I have to set it up everytime I disconnect the computers?
Thanks,
Willie
You have to set it up every time if you connect them directly but you can connect them via another device. For example you can attach a Gigabit switch like the following:
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-5-Port-Gigabit-Desktop-DGS-1005G/dp/B003X7TRWE
You'd connect it to your modem/router and then plug the machines into it. That way they bypass the slow network hardware when they connect to each other. You can also get a gigabit modem/router like this one to replace your current router:
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-655-Extreme-N-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B000LIFB7S
It's more expensive but you don't have as much equipment hooked up and it should be easier to setup.
I already have a gigabit switch attached to my modem/router which seems to result in slow transfer rates.
Should I use a separate switch used exclusively between the computers in question? Possibly having 3 or more computers.
If I use a switch do I still need to use cross over cables?
You never need to use crossover cables with the modern Macs. Apple has a list of older machines that need them:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2274?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
but even for the older ones they aren't needed for network hardware.
Then why did I have to use a crossover cable from the original posting? I used a crossover cable between the two macs and it worked great. (they were later model macs.)
I already have a gigabit switch attached to my modem/router which seems to result in slow transfer rates.
So back to the original thread for Mac to Mac transfer with the crossover cable, it only works with two Macs and I don't have to use a crossover cable?
So can I do this with more than one mac, one being an older Mac Pro? Would I be able to use a separate switch not attached to my modem/router, used exclusively between three or more computers and benefit from the fast transfer speed?
You should be able to use either a crossover cable or patch cable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-MDIX#Auto-MDIX
"The confusion of needing two different kinds of cables for anything but hierarchical star network topologies prompted a more automatic solution.
Auto-MDIX automatically detects the required cable connection type and configures the connection appropriately, removing the need for crossover cables to interconnect switches or connecting PCs peer-to-peer. As long as it is enabled on either end of a link, either type of cable can be used."
Do you have wifi disabled on each to make sure that the computer-to-computer connection is happening over the wired network? What is the speed you are getting from the transfer? You can copy a 2GB+ file and measure the time. The maximum you can get is 125MB/s but if you use hard drives and not SSDs, your drive write speeds are probably not that fast so you might top out at 50MB/s in which case, a 2GB file would take 40 seconds.
The modem/router shouldn't affect your transfer speed between computers. Try disconnecting the modem/router though and doing a transfer and see if you get the same speed connecting the computers directly. If you still get slow speeds, check all the cables are cat 5e cables or better - if you have a cat 5 cable somewhere, you'll only get 12.5MB/s tops.
I disconnected the ethernet cable connection to both the imac and macbookpro from the modem/router which is I assume why I got the fast transfer speed.
I however turned on WiFi so that I would be able to connect to the internet, that shouldn't affect the mac to mac connection, correct?
When you say peer to peer, is that only between two computers? Can I still do this mac to mac transfer with more than two computers if I added a switch between the three macs?
So plugging the modem/router into your switch drops the Mac to Mac connection speed down? What's the model of your gigabit switch?
It shouldn't if the Mac decides to connect the machines over ethernet and not over wifi. If you manually connect with the right ethernet IP, it won't do it over wifi.
If you enable file sharing on all of them you can transfer between them all on the switch.