Bandwidth in networks is the max capacity of a wired/wireless communications link to deliver data through a network connection in a certain amount of time. Bandwidth is typically defined as the number of bits, kilobits, megabits, or gigabits that may be sent in one second.
The bandwidth of a data connection determines how much data can be sent and received at the same time. The volume of water that's able to flow through a conduit can be a similar comparison to a bandwidth. With a higher capacity of a communication link, a bandwidth can handle more data, like the large diameter of a pipe can allow more water to flow through it. As a bandwidth grows, the cost of a network connection also grows. From this, a DIA (Dedicated Internet Access) link of 1 Gb per second will be more expensive than a DIA capable of 250 mbps.
The bandwidth of a web page can also determine how quickly it can load in a browser. This is important to consider when choosing a web hosting platform like Google or Yahoo. A bandwidth used for a high-graphics website can have at least 10 Gb. A lower bandwidth will be used for a simpler website. A higher bandwidth will also allow you to download stuff quicker like a faster internet connection.
Down below are some common usages of bandwidth:
1. Bandwidth can be increased to help give more people stable internet by increasing the throughput capability of the network. They can also split traffic across multiple lines with port aggregation and load balancing.
2. ISPs can use bandwidth to purposely slow the rate of data travel across a network. The reason for smaller bandwidths is to reduce network congestion (Crowded with more people using it at once).
3. Higher bandwidths can also allow data to move quicker, and allow more devices to join at the same time.
Bandwidth was measured in bits per second (bps) at first, but now, bandwidths are now measured in megabits per second (Nbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps). Bandwidth connections can be the same as each other, or can not have identical connections, speciffically in uploading and downloading. In connections that are not identical, upload capacity is lower than download capacity most of the time. Symmetrical bandwidth is more frequent in enterprise-grade WAN and DIA lines.
Network performance can be influenced by many factors. These include the maximum capacity of the connection, packet loss, delay, or unstableness can cause networks to decrease in throughput, as if less bandwidth was being used. A typical network path has several connections, which all vary in bandwidth capacities. The bottleneck (the lowest bandwidth link) can be able to reduce the capacity of all connections in the path. Several summed up links serve as one connection are used for high-quality networks. A switch uplink with four added 1 Gbps connections has a throughput capacity of 4 Gbps (as an example). If 2 of these links failed, then the bandwidth would be reduced to 2 Gbps.