Is it safe to use Windows file sharing for copying files to a remote windows server?

I have two servers in different datacenters, connected via a vpn. I want to push very large files from one server to the other.

Windows file sharing is easy, but is it safe? I know the data coming from my own server would be encrypted, but now I've got filesharing running on my backup server, which just seems like a bad idea.

Am I being overly paranoid? What's a safe, high-performance way to do this?

Thanks!

From serverfault Jesse

• Are you worried about the data being read in transit to the other server? If so, then you have no fear. The traffic is encrypted to each end point via the VPN you have setup.

  From Dusty

• usually VPN are secure, if the data travels through VPN it will be secure.

  You have to remember though that CIFS/SMB are optimized for local access, they work painfully slow on high latency connections. Using rsync of ftp is recommended.

  From Hubert Kario

• Provided that rights are set up correctly on your shares and file system and your various firewall rules are correct, then copying via CIFS/SMB will be roughly as secure as any other encrypted method. That is, after all, the point of having easy file sharing in an OS.

  Per Hubert, you might expect this to be slow, but if you use something like FTP, make sure that you are of course using with SSL instead of the old-fashioned way.

  From Johnnie Odom