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How to Use FastTransfer with Docker

Pierre-Antoine Collet
Pierre-Antoine Collet, ARPE.IO Developer
2026-02-18 · 4 min

The FastTransfer Docker image allows you to easily integrate this high-performance data transfer utility into your data integration workflows and automation pipelines, without having to install FastTransfer directly on your machines.

Why Use FastTransfer with Docker?​

The official arpeio/fasttransfer Docker image offers several advantages:

  • Simplified deployment: No installation required, just Docker
  • Portability: Works anywhere Docker is installed
  • Automatic updates: Images automatically updated with each new version and weekly security patches
  • Native integration: Compatible with Kubernetes, Docker Compose, Airflow, and other orchestrators
  • Multi-source support: Transfer data between SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and more

Prerequisites​

  • Docker 24+ installed on your machine
  • A valid FastTransfer license (≥ 0.14.0)
  • Access to source and target databases

Pull the Docker Image​

The image is available on DockerHub. You can use the latest version or a specific version:

# Latest version
docker pull arpeio/fasttransfer:latest

# Specific version
docker pull arpeio/fasttransfer:v0.15.0

Example: Transfer Data from SQL Server to SQL Server​

Here's a complete example of using FastTransfer with Docker to transfer data between two SQL Server databases in parallel.

1. Prepare Your License​

Since version 0.14.0, the license is passed directly as a parameter:

export licenseContent=$(cat ./FastTransfer.lic)

2. Run FastTransfer in Docker​

docker run --rm \
  arpeio/fasttransfer:latest \
  --sourceconnectiontype "mssql" \
  --sourceserver "host.docker.internal,1433" \
  --sourceuser "SrcUser" \
  --sourcepassword "SrcPass" \
  --sourcedatabase "source_db" \
  --sourceschema "dbo" \
  --sourcetable "orders" \
  --targetconnectiontype "pgcopy" \
  --targetserver "host.docker.internal:5432" \
  --targetuser "PgUser" \
  --targetpassword "PgPass" \
  --targetdatabase "pg_db" \
  --targetschema "dbo" \
  --targettable "orders" \
  --paralleldegree 12 \
  --parallelmethod "Ntile" \
  --distributekeycolumn "o_orderkey" \
  --loadmode "Truncate" \
  --license "$licenseContent"

Command Details​

  • host.docker.internal: Allows access to databases running on your host machine
  • --sourceconnectiontype "mssql": Source connection type for SQL Server
  • --targetconnectiontype "pgcopy": Target connection using Postgres PGCOPY
  • --method "Ntile": Parallel distribution method based on the specified key column
  • --distributekeycolumn "o_orderkey": Column used to distribute data across parallel workers
  • --paralleldegree 12: Uses 12 parallel threads for optimal throughput
  • --loadmode "Truncate": Truncates target table before loading
  • --license: Your FastTransfer license passed inline

To discover all the possibilities of the Docker image, check out the complete documentation.

Conclusion​

The FastTransfer Docker image greatly simplifies the deployment and use of FastTransfer in your data integration environments. Whether for database-to-database transfers, CSV imports, or complex ETL pipelines, Docker provides the flexibility and portability required by modern data architectures.

Try it now and share your feedback!