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Bandwidth

Definition

Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted over a network connection in a given amount of time.

Analogy

Think of bandwidth as the width of a pipe. The wider the pipe, the more water (data) can flow through it at once. Similarly, the higher the bandwidth, the more data can be transmitted at once.

Related terms

Latency: Latency is the delay between when data is sent and when it is received. It's like waiting for a package to arrive in the mail - even if you have high bandwidth (a wide pipe), if there's a long latency (slow delivery), it will take longer for your data to reach its destination.

Throughput: Throughput measures how much data can actually be transmitted over a network in practice. It's like measuring how many cars can pass through a toll booth in an hour - even if you have high bandwidth (a wide road), if there are too many cars trying to go through at once, throughput may be limited.

Data Transfer Rate: Data transfer rate refers to how quickly data can be transferred from one device or location to another. It's like measuring how fast you can copy files from one USB drive to another - higher data transfer rate means faster file transfers.