Why is copying files locally on a remote machine so slow?
Let's say I have \machinename\dll. I open \machinename in Windows Explorer and do a copy/paste on the dll folder to make a backup copy of it so there will be a "dll - Copy" folder in \machinename. It's horrendously slow. I hear that Windows actually copies the folder/files to my local computer then copies them back. Why?
We can use RDP to remote into the server to make the changes, but I really don't like using RDP within another RDP session when I am connected via VPN from home.
Why can't the remote server know I am trying to copy a file and just do the copy locally on its end rather than copying everything to me just so I can copy it back?
ANSWER!
http://computer-vet.com/weblog/2008/01/28/remote-command-line-on-windows.html
I tested it and it works awesomely. It's like remote desktop for command prompts. WIN!
Answer
What a human conceptually thinks of as a "copy function" is performed by a program. By initiating the copy function from your local computer, the program is run on your local computer. It then reads each file and folder from its current location, and writes it to the destination location. The copy program doesn't know and doesn't care whether the source and/or destination are local or remote. The data flow in your case is thus:
[remote disk] -> [network] -> [local RAM] -> [network] -> [remote disk]
The copy is so slow, because all of the data has to be sent over the network twice.
If the program had been programmed to detect a remote->remote copy, and perform that more efficiently, it would be faster - alas it wasn't.
But you're already aware of the solution: turn the "network copy" into a "local copy" by starting the copy function on the machine where the files are stored.