Bandwidth, Throughput, and Latency Basics
Understand the simple measures that decide how fast a connection feels.
Measuring a Connection
"Fast" has several meanings. Three measures describe a network: bandwidth, throughput, and latency — each a different part of the experience.
What Bandwidth Means
Bandwidth is the most data a connection can carry per second, like a pipe's width — measured in bits per second (Mbps, Gbps). It is a capacity limit.
All lessons in this course
- The Internet as a Network of Networks
- What Happens When You Visit a Website
- Internet Service Providers and Backbones
- Bandwidth, Throughput, and Latency Basics