The Agonizing Crawl of Cloud Uploads
I’ll admit it – I’m a bit of a cloud storage junkie. I backup nearly everything to the cloud these days, from family photos to important work documents. There’s just something so liberating about knowing all my data is securely stored and accessible from anywhere.
That is, until the upload process starts. Then, it’s like watching paint dry. Or a sloth racing a hummingbird. Seriously, why does uploading to the cloud have to be so excruciatingly slow sometimes?
I recently ran into this issue with a large project I was working on. I had hundreds of gigabytes worth of files that needed to get uploaded to Google Cloud Storage for a client. I set it all up, hit upload, and then promptly went to make a sandwich. Ten minutes later, I came back – and the progress bar had crawled all of 2%. By the time the upload finally finished, I was practically collecting my pension.
Troubleshooting the Culprit
So what’s the deal? Why does uploading to the cloud sometimes feel like trying to run through molasses? After digging into it, I found a few potential causes:
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Network Congestion: If you have a lot of other devices or people using your internet connection at the same time, that can really drag down your upload speeds. Too many Netflix streams, video calls, or gaming sessions will all eat up your bandwidth [1].
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Cloud Service Limitations: Different cloud storage providers have varying upload speed capabilities. For example, research has shown that Google Cloud Storage can be noticeably slower than just uploading to Google Drive [2][3]. The cloud service may also impose limits on concurrent uploads or file sizes.
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Local Device Performance: Believe it or not, the processing power and storage of your local device can impact cloud upload speeds. Older, less powerful computers tend to struggle more with large file transfers [4].
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Cloud Service Throttling: Some cloud providers, like pCloud, seem to intentionally throttle upload speeds after a certain point, likely to manage their own server load [5]. This can be incredibly frustrating.
Strategies for Speed
Okay, so now we know some of the potential culprits behind those glacial cloud uploads. But how do we actually fix the problem? Here are a few tips that have helped me improve my upload speeds:
1. Optimize Your Network
The first step is to make sure your local network is running at peak performance. Try to minimize other bandwidth-hogging activities when you need to do a big upload. Kick the kids off the Netflix and ask your partner to postpone their Zoom call. You could also try moving your device closer to the router for a stronger Wi-Fi signal.
2. Choose the Right Cloud Service
Not all cloud storage is created equal when it comes to upload speeds. Based on my research, Google Drive tends to outperform Google Cloud Storage for single-file transfers [2][3]. Services like Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive also generally offer faster upload speeds than more enterprise-focused options.
3. Leverage Parallel Uploads
Many cloud storage tools, including the command-line interface for Google Cloud Storage, allow you to leverage parallel or “multi-threaded” uploads [3]. This can dramatically improve transfer speeds, especially for large files or folders. Just be mindful of any limits the service may have on concurrent uploads.
4. Optimize Your Local Device
If you’re still seeing sluggish upload times, the problem may be with your local computer or device. Make sure you’re using a relatively modern machine with a decent amount of processing power and storage. Older, underpowered devices will struggle more with large file transfers [4].
Patience is a (Cloud Storage) Virtue
At the end of the day, cloud storage is an incredibly convenient and powerful tool. But the reality is that large data transfers to the cloud can still be a slow and painful process, no matter how much you optimize.
The key is to be prepared and set realistic expectations. Don’t start a 100GB upload right before an important meeting. Give yourself ample time, and be ready to let the process chug along in the background while you tackle other tasks.
With a little trial and error, you’ll find the right strategies to get your cloud uploads humming. And who knows – maybe one day the whole process will be as fast as uploading to your local hard drive. A guy can dream, right?
References
[1] Knowledge from https://community.gopro.com/s/question/0D53b00008BtgfHCAR/my-upload-speed-to-the-cloud-is-very-slow-how-do-i-fix-this?language=en_US
[2] Knowledge from https://community.spiceworks.com/t/stumped-about-slow-upload-speeds-despite-fast-speed-tests/941327
[3] Knowledge from https://stackoverflow.com/questions/54123128/slow-file-uploading-to-google-cloud-storage
[4] Knowledge from https://www.reddit.com/r/cloudstorage/comments/17j8do9/pcloud_slowing_down_upload_speed/
[5] Knowledge from https://forum.odrive.com/t/upload-speed-slowing-down-after-a-while/1607
[6] Knowledge from https://community.netskope.com/next-gen-swg-2/swg-slow-download-upload-speeds-915
[7] Knowledge from https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/jdds9b/is_upload_speed_a_problem_for_many_of_you/
[8] Knowledge from https://community.wd.com/t/upload-from-pc-to-my-cloud-home-is-very-very-slow/260446
