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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11A fixed SFTP ceiling of 1.2 MB/s looked like a network or storage problem. In Termphin, Mikołaj Badyl traced it to the SSH cipher preference: his one-machine benchmark measured 1.2 MB/s for AES-256-GCM and 51.0 MB/s for ChaCha20-Poly1305 in the app’s pure-Dart crypto path. That is a roughly 43× difference in the cipher benchmark—not a promise that switching ciphers will make every SFTP transfer 43 times faster.
Why a steady 1.2 MB/s SFTP rate raised suspicion
Badyl reports that Termphin transfers repeatedly stopped at 1.2 MB/s across different servers, networks, and file sizes. He investigated the network path, disks at both ends, and SFTP buffering, but says none explained the same fixed ceiling.
A stable, unusually round rate can be a clue that the limiting factor is local processing rather than a variable network path. As Badyl puts it, “A suspiciously round, suspiciously stable number is worth more attention than a slow one that varies.” That is a troubleshooting clue, not proof: the cause still needs to be isolated.
What the cipher benchmark measured
Badyl benchmarked cipher primitives on one machine. Each cipher processed the same 32 KB payload 256 times, and the benchmark reported throughput. His headline comparison uses two authenticated ciphers:
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| Cipher | Reported throughput | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| ChaCha20-Poly1305 | 51.0 MB/s | Authenticated cipher result reported by Badyl. |
| AES-256-GCM | 1.2 MB/s | Authenticated cipher result reported by Badyl. |
| Difference | Roughly 43× | 51.0 divided by 1.2; a primitive benchmark comparison, not a full SFTP-transfer result. |
Other reported results were 74.7 MB/s for raw ChaCha20, 51.7 MB/s for AES-128-CTR, 37.4 MB/s for AES-256-CTR, and 1.2 MB/s for AES-128-GCM. Raw ChaCha20 is unauthenticated, so it is not a like-for-like alternative to authenticated AES-GCM; the meaningful headline comparison is ChaCha20-Poly1305 versus AES-256-GCM.
Why the AES-GCM result was slow in this case
Termphin used the dartssh2 library, whose default cipher order put AES-GCM first, according to Badyl. He says that in the app’s pure-Dart crypto path, AES could not use the CPU AES instructions that accelerate it on supported hardware. He attributes the particularly low GCM result to GHASH—the authentication component of GCM—being expensive in software when the relevant carry-less multiplication instruction was unavailable.
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The other AES results help define the claim: AES-CTR measured 37–51 MB/s in the same benchmark. Badyl’s explanation is not that AES is inherently slow in software, but that GCM’s authentication work became the bottleneck in this runtime and hardware context. A different runtime or machine with hardware acceleration may behave differently.
What changed in Termphin
Badyl says Termphin now supplies its own cipher preference for the SSH handshake, ordering ChaCha20-Poly1305 first, AES-CTR next, and AES-GCM after that. AES-GCM remains available as a fallback if a server offers no other cipher in that list; the described list omits CBC ciphers.
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This is an implementation choice reported for Termphin, not a universal configuration recommendation or current documentation for every version of dartssh2. SSH cipher selection is negotiated between client and server, so a preferred cipher only helps when both sides support it. The article does not establish whether the library’s current defaults have changed since Badyl published his account.
What the 43× figure does—and does not—mean
- It is a one-machine result. Badyl says absolute throughput differs on phones and across devices.
- It measures cipher primitives, not a complete SSH session. Framing, protocol work, and round trips add overhead that the microbenchmark does not capture.
- It is not an end-to-end transfer forecast. A full transfer cannot exceed the throughput of its underlying cipher, but the benchmark does not show the transfer rate a different system will achieve.
- It is not a blanket verdict on AES-GCM. The reported limitation depends on the software crypto path and access to hardware acceleration.
- It is not independently replicated evidence. The figures are Badyl’s measurements, not a universal expectation for SSH or SFTP clients.
How to investigate a similarly fixed SFTP ceiling
- Check whether the rate is truly stable. Compare transfers across file sizes, destinations, and times. A ceiling that barely changes is a reason to examine local CPU or crypto limits, not a diagnosis by itself.
- Rule out the obvious endpoints and path. Check network conditions, source and destination storage, and the client’s SFTP buffering before attributing the cap to encryption.
- Identify the negotiated SSH cipher. Consult the client’s connection details or logs, then check which ciphers the server supports. Do not assume the library’s default preference is the cipher actually negotiated.
- Compare like with like. If benchmarking, compare authenticated ciphers with authenticated ciphers, and test in the same runtime and hardware context as the transfer. Do not compare raw ChaCha20 against an authenticated cipher as though they provide equivalent protection.
- Change preference only when supported and appropriate. A client-side order can influence negotiation, but it cannot make an unsupported cipher available on the server. Preserve a compatible fallback rather than assuming one preference suits every host.
- Validate with a real transfer. A primitive benchmark can reveal a likely bottleneck; measure end-to-end SFTP performance after a configuration change to see whether the actual workload improves.
Badyl’s broader lesson is that “A library default encodes an assumption about where the code will run.” A default suited to hardware-accelerated AES may be a poor fit for a software-only crypto path, even when the network and disks are healthy.
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