How to Use FastTransfer with Docker

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 PostgreSQL

Here's a complete example of using FastTransfer with Docker to transfer data between SQL Server database and PostgreSQL database 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.

3. FastTransfer Console Logs

2026-03-02T15:51:45.375 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- The "FastTransfer_Settings.json" file does not exist. Using default settings. Console Only with loglevel=Information
2026-03-02T15:51:45.377 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- FastTransfer - running in trial mode – trial mode will end on 2026‑03‑27 - normal licensed mode will then start (24 day(s) left).
2026-03-02T15:51:45.377 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Starting
2026-03-02T15:51:45.377 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- FastTransfer Version : 0.16.0.0 Architecture : X64 - Framework : .NET 8.0.24
2026-03-02T15:51:45.377 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- OS : Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Process ID : 1
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Generated Run ID : ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Connection Type : mssql
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source SqlInstance : sql22,1433
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Database : tpch
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Trusted Connection : False
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source User : migadmin
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Schema : tpch10
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Table : orders
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Type : pgcopy
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Server : host.docker.internal:5432
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Database : tpch
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Schema : tpch_1_copy
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Table : orders
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Trusted Connection : False
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target User : pytabextract_pguser
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Columns Map Method : Name
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Degree : -4
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Distribute Method : Ntile
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Distribute Column : o_orderkey
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Bulkcopy Batch Size : 1048576
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Load Mode : Truncate
2026-03-02T15:51:45.378 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Use Work Tables : False
2026-03-02T15:51:45.379 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Encoding used : Unicode (UTF-8) - 65001 - utf-8
2026-03-02T15:51:45.517 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Connection String : Data Source=sql22,1433;Initial Catalog=tpch;User ID=migadmin;Password=xxxxx;Connect Timeout=120;Encrypt=True;Trust Server Certificate=True;Application Name=FastTransfer;Application Intent=ReadOnly;Command Timeout=10800
2026-03-02T15:51:45.517 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Connection String : Host=host.docker.internal;Port=5432;Database=tpch;Trust Server Certificate=True;Application Name=FastTransfer;Timeout=15;Command Timeout=10800;Username=pytabextract_pguser;Password=xxxxx
2026-03-02T15:51:45.517 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Source Database Version : Microsoft SQL Server 2022 (RTM-CU2) (KB5023127) - 16.0.4015.1 (X64)  	Feb 27 2023 15:40:01  	Copyright (C) 2022 Microsoft Corporation 	Developer Edition (64-bit) on Linux (Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS) <X64>
2026-03-02T15:51:45.517 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Target Database Version : PostgreSQL 15.15 (Ubuntu 15.15-1.pgdg22.04+1) on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Ubuntu 11.4.0-1ubuntu1~22.04.2) 11.4.0, 64-bit
2026-03-02T15:51:45.634 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Degree of parallelism was computed to 5 (=> 20\4)
2026-03-02T15:51:45.870 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Ntile DataSegments Computation Completed in 235 ms
2026-03-02T15:51:45.872 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Start Loading Data using distribution method NTile
2026-03-02T15:51:45.884 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Start Loading Data using distribution method NTile
2026-03-02T15:51:45.891 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Start Loading Data using distribution method NTile
2026-03-02T15:51:45.900 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Start Loading Data using distribution method NTile
2026-03-02T15:51:45.911 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Start Loading Data using distribution method NTile
2026-03-02T15:51:54.233 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load Query 3 for o_orderkey between 36000003 and 48000003 : 3000001 rows x 9 columns in 8360ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.288 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load Query 1 for o_orderkey between 12000001 and 24000001 : 3000001 rows x 9 columns in 8415ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.330 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load Query 4 for o_orderkey between 48000004 and 60000000 : 2999997 rows x 9 columns in 8458ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.349 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load Query 0 for o_orderkey between 1 and 12000000 : 3000000 rows x 9 columns in 8476ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.442 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load Query 2 for o_orderkey between 24000002 and 36000002 : 3000001 rows x 9 columns in 8569ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Total rows : 15000000
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Total columns : 9
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Total cells : 135000000
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Rows Throughput : 1702771 rows/s
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Cells Throughput : 15324949 cells/s
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Transfert time : Elapsed=8809 ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Total time : Elapsed=9135 ms
2026-03-02T15:51:54.443 +00:00 -|-  -|- ca195802-59f7-4b13-85e8-0bb73e8f7b32 -|- INFORMATION -|- tpch.tpch_1_copy.orders -|- Completed Load

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.

Want to try it on your own data? Download FastTransfer and get a free 30-day trial.