Fast Copy in Dataflows Gen2

Fast Copy in Dataflow Gen2 is now Generally Available, a game-changing feature designed to accelerate large-scale data ingestion while driving cost efficiency. Built on the same robust backend that powers Copy Activity in Data pipelines, Fast Copy unlocks rapid, and scalable data movement for your analytics workflows. 

Why Fast copy matters 

When dealing with massive datasets, performance and cost quickly become critical. Fast Copy addresses these challenges by delivering: 

• Shorter processing times – Ingest large volumes of data in a fraction of the time. 

• Cost efficiency – Reduce compute overhead and optimize your dataflow costs. 

• End-to-end performance boost – Quickly ingest into staging areas and seamlessly transform at scale using SQL DW compute.

How Fast Copy Works 

Fast Copy leverages a serverless, parallel architecture to fully utilize: 

• Network bandwidth 

• Data store IOPS 

• Compute scaling across workloads 

This allows dataflows to move data as efficiently as possible, maximizing throughput and minimizing bottlenecks. 

In a recent benchmark, loading a 6 GB CSV file into a Lakehouse table in Microsoft Fabric with Fast Copy resulted in an 8x performance improvement and 3x cost savings compared to traditional ingestion methods. 

Getting Started with Fast Copy 

Using Fast Copy is effortless: 

• When you create a new Dataflow Gen2, Fast Copy is automatically enabled. 

• For datasets larger than 100 MB or 5 million rows, Dataflow Gen2 automatically switches to the Fast Copy backend—no manual configuration required. 

• After running a refresh, simply check the Refresh History. The entity status will indicate whether Fast Copy was used. 

Supported Data Sources 

Fast Copy supports a wide range of connectors, including: 

• ADLS Gen2 

• Azure Blob Storage 

• Azure SQL Database 

• On-Premises SQL Server 

• Oracle 

• Fabric Lakehouse 

• Fabric Warehouse 

• PostgreSQL 

• Snowflake 

An on-premises data gateway is also supported, enabling high-performance transfers from on-premises systems directly into Dataflows Gen2. 

Start Optimizing Today 

Fast Copy makes it easier than ever to accelerate your ingestion workflows, cut costs, and build a high-performance foundation for your analytics in Microsoft Fabric. 

Start optimizing your data processing today with Fast Copy in Dataflows Gen2—and experience the speed, efficiency, and scale you’ve been waiting for.