About this interactive
The lesson's six measurements:
- **Bandwidth:** what the connection can carry in total, for example 64 kbps.
- **Throughput:** what is left for the devices after the line's own signaling. 64 kbps less 8 kbps of signaling leaves 56 kbps.
- **Goodput:** throughput less the data that arrives bad and has to be resent.
- **Latency:** how long data takes to get across. A speed test's ping time is a round trip.
- **Jitter:** how consistently data arrives. Bursts with long gaps garble video and voice.
- **Bursting:** an ISP letting a connection go above its purchased speed, for a set volume and time.
Speeds are in bits per second (a lowercase b); storage is in bytes (a capital B).
What you'll learn
- Name the connection measurement a reading or symptom describes: bandwidth, throughput, goodput, latency, jitter or bursting
- Tell bandwidth (what the line can carry), throughput (what is left after signaling) and goodput (the good data, after resends) apart
Aligned to
CompTIA Network+
5.4
Given a scenario, troubleshoot common performance issues.
Cisco CCST Networking
1.2
Differentiate between bandwidth and throughput
Key terms
- Bandwidth
- The maximum rate of data transfer across a network path, typically measured in bits per second.
- Throughput
- The actual rate of usable data transfer across a network after subtracting overhead and signaling, representing what devices can effectively communicate.
- Goodput
- The rate of successfully delivered, usable data after accounting for retransmissions and errors, representing the effective application-level data transfer rate.
- Latency
- The time delay between sending a request and receiving a response over a network.
- Jitter
- The inconsistency or variability in the timing of data delivery across a network, which can disrupt real-time applications like video conferencing and gaming.
- Bursting
- A network feature that allows data transmission to temporarily exceed a connection's purchased speed limit for a short duration to handle peak demand.
Topics
Bandwidth
Throughput
Goodput
Latency
Jitter
Bursting
Interactive
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