Companies of all types depend on the Internet and private data networks to move large amounts of data over long distances. Media companies need to move large video and image files between production sites ranging from across town to across the globe, and transfer finished content to distributors. National and international corporations need to move sensitive data securely and reliably.

Standard data transfer protocols such as FTP use TCP based technology to transmit data packets and are susceptible to inherent performance inhibitors in imperfect networks. Because TCP requires all packets to be received in the correct order, its performance suffers from latency – the time it takes to get acknowledgement that packets have been received at the other end, before which the next group of packets (or a resend of the same group) can be sent. Latency is particularly problematic across large geographic distances. Another performance limiter, packet loss, occurs with network congestion. Increasing bandwidth won’t help TCP performance, as it won’t reduce latency or loss. Fluctuating network performance slows TCP transmission further and may even require multiple attempts to transfer files. You never know exactly when a file will get through, if it gets through at all.

The Copper Advantage – Secure, Reliable, Fast File Transfer

Digital Rapids Copper is a software solution designed to overcome these limitations. Copper lets you move your data or media reliably across town, across the country or around the world with a predictable delivery time and speeds many times faster than FTP. Copper transforms the file into Copper data packets that can be received in any order, allowing Copper to use a UDP based transport mechanism much like streaming video. Packets can be sent without waiting for an acknowledgement from the receiver, eliminating the problem of latency. Each Copper data packet contains some information about the entire file, so if a packet is lost, Copper simply sends one more packet – not a specific packet or an entire group – greatly reducing the effect of loss. Bandwidth utilization and throughput are maximized to near wirespeed. Resilient to the most challenging network conditions, transfer rates won’t drop off unpredictably as the network becomes busy, letting you commit to tighter schedules and maximizing your resources.

Copper includes tools to help you to manage your file transfer process such as tuneable rate control to optimize network utilization, audit tracking for guaranteed delivery, watch folders for simplified operation, and e-mail notifications for easy workflow integration. File transfers can be initiated manually or automatically, scheduled, or driven by e-mail notifications. Multiple levels of robust security including AES encryption protect your sensitive data.

Copper can be used for the delivery of any data including large video files, databases, or any other type. Further accelerating transfer performance for media distribution, optional integrated media transcoding saves time and bandwidth with compression to high-quality formats prior to transmission.

Run our Copper Simulation and see the Copper speed advantage for yourself!