SSH transfer speed over a LAN network

Question

When using ssh, will my files be sent over the internet or over the LAN network? How to configure correctly?

Answer 1

Depending on whether the remote machine is on the same LAN or on a remote network with the internet in between. SSH by definition is encrypted, so it will create a tunnel between your machine and the remote machine.

Answer 2

SSH is a client-server protocol. As such it will be routed directly to the remote system. For systems on you LAN traffic will be routed over the LAN. For systems on the Internet but not on your LAN traffic will route over the Internet.

Firewalls may prevent access to and/or from the Internet.

EDIT: I missed answering your title. SSH often gets QOS (Quality of Service) flagged for faster delivery over the network. This may be modified by firewalls, but I do this is often done. No configuration should be required for this to work.

The major speeed factor for SSH connections is end to end latency. This depends on available network capacity and distance between the client and server. For SCP the size of the network window may also be a factor.

Answer 3

It depends of the destination and eventually of the address you use to connect.