CN Final Exam: Bandwidth

Bandwidth

the amount of data that can flow from one place to another at any given amount of time.

Bandwidth is the measure of the capacity of a network medium to carry data. It is the amount of data that can move between two points on the network over a specific period of time, typically one second.

usually measured in:

• Kbps (Kilobits per second)

• Mbps (Megabits per second)

Which layer does bandwidth operate in

• Physical Layer: Defines the physical connection and data transmission rate.

• Data Link Layer: Manages data transfer within the network, impacting effective bandwidth through error checking and flow control.

What is indicated by the term throughput?

the measure of the bits transferred across the media over a given period of time

Explain:
Throughput is the measure of the transfer of bits across the media over a given period of time. Throughput is affected by a number of factors such as, EMI and latency, so it rarely matches the specified bandwidth for a network medium. The throughput measurement includes user data bits and other data bits, such as overhead, acknowledging, and encapsulation. The measure of the usable data transferred across the media is called goodput.

Difference between throughput and bandwidth

Bandwidth sets the potential speed; throughput shows the actual performance.

Throughput is often lower due to network congestion, errors, etc.