diff --git a/src/datastore_mad/remotes/downloader.sh b/src/datastore_mad/remotes/downloader.sh
index 10a5274dc0..c220eaee5d 100755
--- a/src/datastore_mad/remotes/downloader.sh
+++ b/src/datastore_mad/remotes/downloader.sh
@@ -418,6 +418,8 @@ if [ "$TO" != "-" ]; then
         convert_image
     fi
 
+    fallocate -d "$TO"
+
 elif [ -n "$CONVERT" ]; then
     convert_image
 fi
diff --git a/src/datastore_mad/remotes/fs/cp b/src/datastore_mad/remotes/fs/cp
index b3fad22750..1c37785386 100755
--- a/src/datastore_mad/remotes/fs/cp
+++ b/src/datastore_mad/remotes/fs/cp
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ if [ -n "$BRIDGE_LIST" ]; then
     multiline_exec_and_log "set -e -o pipefail; $COPY_COMMAND | $SSH $DST_HOST $DD of=$TMP_DST bs=${DD_BLOCK_SIZE:-64k}" \
                  "Error dumping $SRC to $DST_HOST:$TMP_DST"
 
-    ssh_exec_and_log    "$DST_HOST" "set -e -o pipefail; mkdir -p $BASE_PATH; mv -f $TMP_DST $DST" \
+    ssh_exec_and_log    "$DST_HOST" "set -e -o pipefail; mkdir -p $BASE_PATH; mv -f $TMP_DST $DST; fallocate -d $DST" \
                         "Error moving $TMP_DST to $DST in $DST_HOST"
 
     if [ "x$CONVERT" = 'xyes' ] && [ -n "$DRIVER" ]; then
@@ -162,6 +162,8 @@ else
         multiline_exec_and_log "$CONVERT_CMD" "Error converting $DST"
     fi
 
+    fallocate -d "$DST"
+
     FORMAT=$($QEMU_IMG info $DST | grep "^file format:" | awk '{print $3}' || :)
 fi
 
diff --git a/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh b/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
index 6543e01f9a..aafe8c00a5 100644
--- a/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
+++ b/src/mad/sh/scripts_common.sh
@@ -45,8 +45,6 @@ RBD=${RBD:-rbd}
 READLINK=${READLINK:-readlink}
 RM=${RM:-rm}
 CP=${CP:-cp}
-SCP=${SCP:-scp}
-SCP_FWD=${SCP_FWD:-scp -o ForwardAgent=yes -o ControlMaster=no -o ControlPath=none}
 SED=${SED:-sed}
 SSH=${SSH:-ssh}
 SSH_FWD=${SSH_FWD:-ssh -o ForwardAgent=yes -o ControlMaster=no -o ControlPath=none}
@@ -78,7 +76,7 @@ SCRIPT_NAME=`basename $0`
 # /some//path///somewhere/ -> /some/path/somewhere
 function fix_dir_slashes
 {
-    dirname "$1/file" | $SED 's/\/+/\//g'
+    dirname "$1/file" | $SED 's/\/\+/\//g'
 }
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -197,20 +195,22 @@ function retry_if
 # Executes a command, if it fails returns error message and exits
 # If a second parameter is present it is used as the error message when
 # the command fails
+# args: <command> [<error message>]
 function exec_and_log
 {
-    message=$2
+    _cmd="$1"
+    _msg="$2"
 
-    EXEC_LOG_ERR=`$1 2>&1 1>/dev/null`
+    EXEC_LOG_ERR=$(${_cmd} 2>&1 1>/dev/null)
     EXEC_LOG_RC=$?
 
     if [ $EXEC_LOG_RC -ne 0 ]; then
-        log_error "Command \"$1\" failed: $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
+        log_error "Command \"${_cmd}\" failed: $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
 
-        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
-            error_message "$2"
+        if [ -n "${_msg}" ]; then
+            error_message "${_msg}"
         else
-            error_message "Error executing $1: $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
+            error_message "Error executing \"${_cmd}\": $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
         fi
         exit $EXEC_LOG_RC
     fi
@@ -293,6 +293,32 @@ function exec_and_set_error
     fi
 }
 
+# Like exec_and_log but does not exit on failure. Just sets the variable
+# ERROR to the error message.
+function multiline_exec_and_set_error
+{
+    message=$2
+
+    EXEC_LOG_ERR=`bash -s 2>&1 1>/dev/null <<EOF
+export LANG=C
+export LC_ALL=C
+$1
+EOF`
+    EXEC_LOG_RC=$?
+
+    export ERROR=""
+
+    if [ $EXEC_LOG_RC -ne 0 ]; then
+        log_error "Command \"$1\" failed: $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
+
+        if [ -n "$2" ]; then
+            export ERROR="$2"
+        else
+            export ERROR="Error executing $1: $EXEC_LOG_ERR"
+        fi
+    fi
+}
+
 # Like exec_and_log but the first argument is the number of seconds
 # before here is timeout and kills the command
 #
@@ -437,21 +463,16 @@ function mkfs_command {
 }
 
 # This function will accept command as an argument for which it will override
-# the env. variables SSH and SCP with their agent forwarding alternative
+# the env. variables SSH with their agent forwarding alternative
 ssh_forward()
 {
     _ssh_cmd_saved="$SSH"
-    _scp_cmd_saved="$SCP"
-
     SSH="$SSH_FWD"
-    SCP="$SCP_FWD"
 
     "$@"
 
     _ssh_forward_result=$?
-
     SSH="$_ssh_cmd_saved"
-    SCP="$_scp_cmd_saved"
 
     return $_ssh_forward_result
 }
diff --git a/src/market_mad/remotes/http/import b/src/market_mad/remotes/http/import
index ee771d87b5..1ae2bf0320 100755
--- a/src/market_mad/remotes/http/import
+++ b/src/market_mad/remotes/http/import
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ if [ -n "$BRIDGE_LIST" ]; then
     multiline_exec_and_log "set -e -o pipefail; $CP_CMD | $SSH ${DST_HOST} $DD of=${DST_PATH} bs=${DD_BLOCK_SIZE:-64k}" \
                  "Error dumping ${IMPORT_SOURCE} to ${DST_HOST}:${DST_PATH}"
 
+    ssh_exec_and_log "$DST_HOST" "fallocate -d $DST_PATH" "Error running: fallocate -d $DST_PATH"
+
     #if [ "${DISPOSE}" = "YES" ]; then
     #TODO This should call a ds operation
     #fi
diff --git a/src/tm_mad/common/context b/src/tm_mad/common/context
index 8b09f1cf2d..ce2a4a8e07 100755
--- a/src/tm_mad/common/context
+++ b/src/tm_mad/common/context
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ function exit_error
 DST_PATH=`arg_path $DST`
 DST_HOST=`arg_host $DST`
 DST_DIR=`dirname $DST_PATH`
+DST_FILE=`basename $DST_PATH`
 
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Create DST path
@@ -65,7 +66,8 @@ log "Generating context block device at $DST"
 
 VM_ID=`basename $DST_DIR`
 ISO_DIR="$DS_DIR/.isofiles/$VM_ID"
-ISO_FILE="$ISO_DIR/$VM_ID.iso"
+ISO_FILE="$VM_ID.iso"
+ISO_PATH="$ISO_DIR/$ISO_FILE"
 
 exec_and_set_error "mkdir -p $ISO_DIR" \
     "Could not create tmp dir to make context dev"
@@ -93,11 +95,18 @@ for f in "${SRC[@]}"; do
     [ -n "$ERROR" ] && exit_error
 done
 
-exec_and_set_error "$MKISOFS -o $ISO_FILE -V CONTEXT -J -R $ISO_DIR" \
+exec_and_set_error "$MKISOFS -o $ISO_PATH -V CONTEXT -J -R $ISO_DIR" \
     "Error creating iso fs"
 [ -n "$ERROR" ] && exit_error
 
-exec_and_set_error "$SCP $ISO_FILE $DST" "Error copying context ISO to $DST"
+COPY_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+    set -e -o pipefail
+    $TAR -C $ISO_DIR --transform="flags=r;s|$ISO_FILE|$DST_FILE|" -cSf - $ISO_FILE | \
+        $SSH $DST_HOST "$TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR"
+EOF
+)
+
+multiline_exec_and_set_error "$COPY_CMD" "Error copying context ISO to $DST"
 [ -n "$ERROR" ] && exit_error
 
 rm -rf $ISO_DIR > /dev/null 2>&1
diff --git a/src/tm_mad/ssh/clone b/src/tm_mad/ssh/clone
index 11ab52c35f..d06c0fca45 100755
--- a/src/tm_mad/ssh/clone
+++ b/src/tm_mad/ssh/clone
@@ -48,16 +48,20 @@ XPATH="${DRIVER_PATH}/../../datastore/xpath.rb --stdin"
 # Set dst path and dir
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-SRC_PATH=`arg_path $SRC`
-DST_PATH=`arg_path $DST`
+SRC_PATH="$(arg_path $SRC)"
+DST_PATH="$(arg_path $DST)"
 
 SRC_PATH_SNAP="${SRC_PATH}.snap"
 DST_PATH_SNAP="${DST_PATH}.snap"
 
-SRC_HOST=`arg_host $SRC`
-DST_HOST=`arg_host $DST`
+SRC_HOST="$(arg_host $SRC)"
+DST_HOST="$(arg_host $DST)"
 
-DST_DIR=`dirname $DST_PATH`
+SRC_FILE="$(basename $SRC_PATH)"
+DST_FILE="$(basename $DST_PATH)"
+
+SRC_DIR="$(dirname $SRC_PATH)"
+DST_DIR="$(dirname $DST_PATH)"
 
 ssh_make_path $DST_HOST $DST_DIR "ssh"
 
@@ -93,15 +97,24 @@ fi
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Copy files to the remote host
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-log "Cloning $SRC in $DST_PATH"
-ssh_forward exec_and_log "$SCP -r $SRC $DST" "Error copying $SRC to $DST"
+log "Cloning $SRC_PATH in $DST_PATH"
 
-if [ -d "${SRC_PATH_SNAP}" ]; then
-    ssh_forward exec_and_log "$SCP -r $SRC_HOST:${SRC_PATH_SNAP} $DST_HOST:${DST_PATH_SNAP}" \
-        "Error copying $SRC to $DST"
-fi
+COPY_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+    set -e -o pipefail
 
-if [ -n "$ORIGINAL_SIZE" -a "$SIZE" -gt "$ORIGINAL_SIZE" ]; then
+    if [ -d "${SRC_PATH_SNAP}" ]; then
+        SRC_SNAP="${SRC_FILE}.snap"
+    fi
+
+    $TAR -C $SRC_DIR --transform="flags=r;s|$SRC_FILE|$DST_FILE|" -cSf - $SRC_FILE \$SRC_SNAP | \
+        $SSH $DST_HOST "$TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR"
+EOF
+)
+
+ssh_forward ssh_exec_and_log "$SRC_HOST" "$COPY_CMD" \
+                             "Error copying $SRC_PATH to $DST"
+
+if [ -n "$ORIGINAL_SIZE" ] && [ "$SIZE" -gt "$ORIGINAL_SIZE" ]; then
    RESIZE_CMD="qemu-img resize ${DST_PATH} ${SIZE}M"
    ssh_exec_and_log "$DST_HOST" "$RESIZE_CMD" \
        "Error resizing image $DST"
diff --git a/src/tm_mad/ssh/cpds b/src/tm_mad/ssh/cpds
index 96da4a8c2f..35cc6f3545 100755
--- a/src/tm_mad/ssh/cpds
+++ b/src/tm_mad/ssh/cpds
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.                                             #
 #--------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 
-# cpds host:remote_system_ds/disk.i fe:SOURCE snapid vmid dsid
+# cpds host:remote_system_ds/disk.i fe:SOURCE|SOURCE snapid vmid dsid
 #   - fe is the front-end hostname
 #   - SOURCE is the path of the disk image in the form DS_BASE_PATH/disk
 #   - host is the target host to deploy the VM
@@ -41,6 +41,21 @@ DRIVER_PATH=$(dirname $0)
 . $TMCOMMON
 . ${DRIVER_PATH}/../../etc/vmm/kvm/kvmrc
 
+function set_src_dst_vars
+{
+    SRC_PATH="$(arg_path "$SRC")"
+    DST_PATH="$(arg_path "$DST")"
+
+    SRC_HOST="$(arg_host "$SRC")"
+    DST_HOST="$(arg_host "$DST")"
+
+    SRC_FILE="$(basename "$SRC_PATH")"
+    DST_FILE="$(basename "$DST_PATH")"
+
+    SRC_DIR="$(dirname "$SRC_PATH")"
+    DST_DIR="$(dirname "$DST_PATH")"
+}
+
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Get Image information
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -66,14 +81,14 @@ DISK_TARGET="${XPATH_ELEMENTS[j++]}"
 # Set src path
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-SRC_PATH=`arg_path $SRC`
-SRC_HOST=`arg_host $SRC`
-SRC_TEMP_PATH=$(mktemp -u ${SRC_PATH}.XXXXXXXX)
-
 if [ "${SNAP_ID}" != "-1" ]; then
     SRC="${SRC}.snap/${SNAP_ID}"
 fi
 
+set_src_dst_vars
+
+SRC_TEMP_PATH="$(mktemp -u "${SRC_PATH}.XXXXXXXX")"
+
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Move the image back to the datastore
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -114,13 +129,35 @@ EOF
     if ssh_exec_and_log_no_error $SRC_HOST "$CPDS_CMD_EXPORT" "$CPDS_CMD_ERR"; then
         # Export creation succeeded, point SRC there
         SRC="${SRC_HOST}:${SRC_TEMP_PATH}"
+        set_src_dst_vars
     else
         log_error "Exporting failed"
         exit 1
     fi
 fi
 
-log "Moving $SRC to datastore as $DST"
-ssh_forward exec_and_log "$SCP -r $SRC $DST" "Error copying $SRC to $DST"
+log "Moving $SRC to datastore as $DST_PATH"
+
+# Copy from possibly remote host to possible remote host
+if [ "$(fix_dir_slashes $DST_HOST)" != "$DST_PATH" ]; then
+    COPY_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+        set -e -o pipefail
+        $TAR -C $SRC_DIR --transform="flags=r;s|$SRC_FILE|$DST_FILE|" -cSf - $SRC_FILE | \
+            $SSH $DST_HOST "$TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR"
+EOF
+)
+
+    ssh_forward ssh_exec_and_log "$SRC_HOST" "$COPY_CMD" \
+                                 "Error copying $SRC to $DST_HOST:$DST_PATH"
+else # Copy from possibly remote host to local
+    REMOTE_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+        set -e -o pipefail
+        $SSH $SRC_HOST "$TAR -C $SRC_DIR --transform=\"flags=r;s|$SRC_FILE|$DST_FILE|\" -cSf - $SRC_FILE" | \
+            $TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR
+EOF
+)
+
+    multiline_exec_and_log "$REMOTE_CMD" "Error copying $SRC to $DST_PATH"
+fi
 
 exit 0
diff --git a/src/tm_mad/ssh/mvds b/src/tm_mad/ssh/mvds
index 5fb97cb486..a439c39306 100755
--- a/src/tm_mad/ssh/mvds
+++ b/src/tm_mad/ssh/mvds
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.                                             #
 #--------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 
-# mvds host:remote_system_ds/disk.i fe:SOURCE vmid dsid
+# mvds host:remote_system_ds/disk.i fe:SOURCE|SOURCE vmid dsid
 #   - fe is the front-end hostname
 #   - SOURCE is the path of the disk image in the form DS_BASE_PATH/disk
 #   - host is the target host to deploy the VM
@@ -39,17 +39,47 @@ fi
 . $TMCOMMON
 
 SRC_PATH="$(arg_path $SRC)"
+DST_PATH="$(arg_path $DST)"
 SRC_HOST="$(arg_host $SRC)"
+DST_HOST="$(arg_host $DST)"
+
 SRC_PATH_SNAP="${SRC_PATH}.snap"
 
 DST_SNAP="${DST}.snap"
 
+SRC_FILE="$(basename $SRC_PATH)"
+DST_FILE="$(basename $DST_PATH)"
+
+DST_DIR="$(dirname $DST_PATH)"
+SRC_DIR="$(dirname $SRC_PATH)"
+
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Move the image back to the datastore
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-log "Moving $SRC to datastore as $DST"
-ssh_forward exec_and_log "$SCP -r $SRC $DST" "Error copying $SRC to $DST"
+log "Moving $SRC to datastore as $DST_PATH"
+
+# Copy from possibly remote host to possible remote host
+if [ "$(fix_dir_slashes $DST_HOST)" != "$DST_PATH" ]; then
+    COPY_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+        set -e -o pipefail
+        $TAR -C $SRC_DIR --transform="flags=r;s|$SRC_FILE|$DST_FILE|" -cSf - $SRC_FILE | \
+            $SSH $DST_HOST "$TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR"
+EOF
+)
+
+    ssh_forward ssh_exec_and_log "$SRC_HOST" "$COPY_CMD" \
+                                 "Error copying $SRC to $DST_HOST:$DST_PATH"
+else # Copy from possibly remote host to local
+    REMOTE_CMD=$(cat <<EOF
+        set -e -o pipefail
+        $SSH $SRC_HOST "$TAR -C $SRC_DIR --transform=\"flags=r;s|$SRC_FILE|$DST_FILE|\" -cSf - $SRC_FILE" | \
+            $TAR -xSf - -C $DST_DIR
+EOF
+)
+
+    multiline_exec_and_log "$REMOTE_CMD" "Error copying $SRC to $DST_PATH"
+fi
 
 if $SSH $SRC_HOST ls ${SRC_PATH_SNAP} >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     exec_and_log "rsync -r --delete ${SRC_HOST}:${SRC_PATH_SNAP}/ ${DST_SNAP}"