Fast File Transfers
Some ideas:
Use cpio
Use a faster encryption method than default with SSH
Parallel rsync (pssh)
Use NFS
http://serverfault.com/questions/39027/easiest-way-for-fast-transfer-of-files-between-linux-servers
http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/natty/man1/parallel-rsync.1.html
http://rightsock.com/~kjw/Ramblings/tar_v_cpio.html