I don't know what is best, but can tell some better solution from real life experience
1.use ssh
2.to restore/import big dump if you don't have ssh then bigdump(http://www.ozerov.de/bigdump.php) is a nice tool
3.for large database and slow bandwidth, take backup of large tables in single.
4.Use high speed and dedicated internet con
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Sabuj Kumar Kundu
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