What is Bandwidth in Networking?

The maximum data transfer rate of a network or Internet connection is known as bandwidth or network bandwidth. It establishes how much data may be transmitted over a specific connection in a specific length of time. The more data a network can send and receive over its channel, the more bandwidth it has. Be careful not to mistake bandwidth with similarly-sounding concepts like data rate and throughput. Bandwidth deals with the measurement of capacity rather than data transfer speed.

In this article we will discuss the following topics regarding bandwidth:

• What is meant by bandwidth in a network?

• Why is bandwidth important?

• What are the Types of Bandwidth?

• How is bandwidth calculated?

• What is a network bandwidth hog?

• What are the most bandwidth-consuming Applications?

• What is the required bandwidth at home?

• What is the required bandwidth at business?

• What are the bandwidth issues?

• How to Monitor Bandwidth?

• What is the difference between throughput and bandwidth?

• What is the difference between latency and bandwidth?

• What is the difference between bandwidth and internet speed?

• What is Bandwidth Management?

• How to Optimize Network Bandwidth?

• How Does Bandwidth Management Work?

• What are the Advantages of Bandwidth Management?

• What are the Bandwidth Management Tools?

What is meant by Bandwidth in a Network?

A network's maximum ability to transport data through a wired or wireless connection in a specific amount of time is referred to as a bandwidth in computer networks. The amount of bits, megabits, kilobits, or gigabits that can be transferred in a second is typically used to describe bandwidth. A home and its equipment can only take in a maximum of 25 megabits of data per second if a person's bandwidth rate is 25 Mbps. The idea that bandwidth serves as a gauge for network speed is a prevalent one. It just counts the most data that may be sent through an internet connection in a specific period of time.

Why is Bandwidth Important?

The amount of bandwidth available is restricted. There is a certain amount of capacity available at each particular deployment area, such as a house or workplace. This can occasionally be brought on by the physical restrictions of the network equipment, such as the modem or router, the cabling, or the wireless frequencies being utilized. In other cases, a network administrator, internet service provider, or WAN carrier will deliberately rate-limit bandwidth.

The bandwidth of several connected devices must be shared. Certain gadgets use a lot of bandwidth, such as TVs that transmit 4K video. A webinar, in contrast, often consumes far less bandwidth. More bandwidth is necessary to maintain acceptable speeds across several devices, despite the fact that speed and bandwidth are not equivalent.

What are the Types of Bandwidth?

Several types of bandwidth can accommodate both faster and slower data transfer rates. Symmetric and asymmetric bandwidth are the two primary forms.

Although the majority of internet users desire high speeds, the best kind of bandwidth to utilize will vary depending on the cost, the number of file transfers required, and whether the network is private or public.

• Symmetric Bandwidth: Symmetric bandwidth occurs when the volume and speed of data and file transfers between two locations are equal in both directions. This indicates that the amount of data that may be downloaded and uploaded is equal.

  Symmetric bandwidth can facilitate greater file-sharing at a quicker pace and aid in the elimination of internet bottlenecks since data transmission rates are identical in both directions. Remote employees and medium-sized to large-sized businesses benefit greatly from symmetric bandwidth. Symmetric bandwidth connections are advantageous for individuals or organizations that:

  • video conference
  • have a VPN with several users
  • get cloud-based software and make use of collaboration solutions like UCaaS
  • upload documents and data to the cloud
  • require fast upload and download rates
  • demand dependable connections

• Asymmetric Bandwidth: Asymmetric bandwidth occurs when the pace of data flow is not the same in both directions. This indicates that the downstream data transmission is faster than the upstream data transfer (or download speed) (or upload speed).

  Because downloading files and media is more frequent than uploading, upstream data transmission with asymmetric bandwidth is quicker. High download speeds are supported by conventional at-home digital subscriber lines (DSLs), but upload rates are frequently poor. Asymmetric bandwidth is useful for those who merely use the internet to browse and for small companies with few employees. Asymmetric bandwidth is advantageous for persons or companies who require:

  • support for public networks
  • decreased network costs
  • rapid download times
  • access to the internet for browsing the web
  • a solitary place that isn't connected to a wider network

How is Bandwidth Calculated?

Although bandwidth is often represented in bits per second (bps), modern network cables have a much larger capacity, which is why it is now more frequently expressed in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps).

The data capacity of a bandwidth connection might be symmetrical, meaning it is the same in both directions (upload and download), or asymmetrical, meaning it is not symmetrical. Upload capacity is frequently lower than download capacity in asymmetrical connections; this is characteristic of consumer-grade internet broadband connections. Symmetric bandwidth is more often seen in WAN and DIA networks that are of enterprise quality.

Certain bandwidth estimates have become more difficult due to technological advancements, and they may differ depending on the type of network link being utilized. For instance, compared to copper Ethernet alternatives, optical fiber employing various light waves and time-division multiplexing may transport more data across a connection at one time, thereby increasing its bandwidth.

The spectrum of frequencies that operators may get licenses for from the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for usage in the United States is described as bandwidth in mobile data networks such as Long-Term Evolution, LTE, and 5G. Other than the company that holds the license to it, no one else is permitted to utilize this spectrum legally. In order to reach the highest bandwidth that the hardware can deliver, the carrier can then employ wireless methods to carry data over that spectrum.

On the other hand, the Wi-Fi spectrum is thought to be unlicensed. As a result, anyone with a Wi-Fi router or access point (AP) may set up a wireless network. The spectrum is subject to change, thus this statement should be taken with caution. As a result, when other Wi-Fi APs seek to use part or all of the same frequencies, Wi-Fi bandwidth may suffer.

A bandwidth test may be used to determine effective bandwidth, which is the greatest reliable transmission rate a link can offer on any particular transport technology. A bandwidth test measures the length of time it takes for a particular file to leave its point of origin and successfully download at its destination in order to assess the link's capability.

It is therefore required to find out where programs and data are stored and figure out the average bandwidth requirements for each user and session after evaluating bandwidth usage throughout the network.

Use these four methods to determine how much bandwidth a network uplink or internet broadband needs:

• Choose the programs that will be used.

• Find out how much bandwidth each program needs.

• Add the anticipated number of concurrent users to the application requirements of each application.

• Total the application bandwidth figures.

The same technique is used to assess bandwidth requirements for public or private clouds through Wide Area Networks (WANs) or internet networks. Yet, compared to WAN or DIA connections, a local area network (LAN) or wireless LAN's available bandwidth is often much higher. Thus it's essential to precisely estimate bandwidth needs and to track link consumption over time. Network engineers can assess if a WAN/DIA link has enough bandwidth or if a capacity increase is required by keeping track of the amount of bandwidth consumed during the day, week, month, or year.

Applications and services run slowly on networks with limited bandwidth.

What is a Network Bandwidth Hog?

A person who regularly consumes an excessive quantity of Internet bandwidth is referred to as a "bandwidth hog". Regular online browsing does not often consume a lot of bandwidth, thus additional activities are typically needed to increase the levels significantly. A person could be seen as a bandwidth hog if, for instance, he often downloads files or streams a lot of media. Oftentimes, providers of Internet services identify bandwidth hogs based on how their consumption differs from that of the typical customer.

Internet service providers (ISPs) frequently refer to consumers as "bandwidth hogs" in order to limit their access to bandwidth or assess varying costs based on the amount of consumption. Some people who disagree with this way of thinking contend that there isn't really a need for Internet bandwidth and that the label "bandwidth hog" is an unjust one. Regarding whether or not it is permissible for businesses to limit bandwidth for particular types of internet activities, this issue has caused some debate and legal disputes.

Certain online actions have been singled out by businesses as typical bandwidth-hog behaviors. They often involve the use of file-sharing programs like BitTorrent and internet service streaming of complete movies. If some form of limiting is not put in place, some experts claim that bandwidth hogs might potentially pose issues for other users.

What are the Most Bandwidth-Consuming Applications?

Data limits and limitations apply to all Internet services. By imposing limits on those who use the most bandwidth, internet service providers must balance the bandwidth usage of their users. The same applies to satellite Internet. It's crucial that you utilize your data sensibly on all high-speed Internet services. Your system may be sluggish without your knowledge because of some of the apps, programs, and websites you use the most frequently. You may reduce the impact of sites that use a lot of data on your bandwidth by taking basic measures to detect and avoid them. The most bandwidth-consuming applications are outlined below:

• Video Streaming Services: Video streaming applications like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and others have grown in popularity. Yet one of the major consumers of high-speed Internet traffic is video. You may adjust your video quality to make these applications and streaming services use fewer data, therefore reducing part of the drain. Set the video quality to Standard Definition (SD) rather than High Definition (HD) in the app's settings. The difference between SD and HD on a smaller screen, like a laptop, won't be as evident, even if HD is often ideal for your extremely large TV. You'll be able to use your data for longer.

• Music Streaming Services: The popularity of music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora has grown recently as well. Streaming services for music and audio utilize less bandwidth than those for video. But, you may keep your music downloaded offline rather than streaming it live if you need to free up some data on your high-speed satellite Internet service.

• Social Media Websites: Normal social media surfing won't consume a lot of high-speed Internet bandwidth. Yet, some of the disadvantages that users of social media may experience include movies and advertisements on some sites downloading and playing automatically. Video consumes a lot of bandwidth, thus videos that play automatically on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can consume data even when you aren't actively watching videos. By going to the settings of each app and deselecting video auto-play, you can prevent this. By doing this, you may avoid watching any movies other than the ones you desire online.

• Online Games: Games played online include those played on consoles and personal computers. Everything that uses the Internet to play computer games will consume some data. Games that rely on downloadable music and video from the Internet consume the most bandwidth.

  Several gaming consoles include web browsers and can connect to the Internet; you may stop the browser after using it to ensure there aren't any open sessions draining your data while the console isn't in use. Furthermore, make sure that your video quality is set to SD rather than HD here if you stream content using your console (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, etc.).

• Video Chatting Applications: Particularly now that more individuals are staying in and working from home, Skype and FaceTime are well-liked communication tools. But, they can consume a sizable quantity of your high-speed Internet plan's data allowance. Limiting the video size and resolution is one approach to aid in reducing the amount of data utilized.

• Wi-Fi with High More Connected Devices: The possibility for data depletion increases with the number of Wi-Fi connected gadgets you have. Check your mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, and speakers to make sure they aren't wasting your data while not in use by keeping an eye on background app refreshes, video quality, and other features.

You can browse a lot of websites and applications without using a lot of data. While sending or receiving emails, for instance, data use is normally low unless you are sending or receiving huge files, movies, or photographs. Moreover, online browsing and social media use will consume a restricted amount of data provided the proper settings have been added so that websites don't instantly stream all video upon arrival. By changing your settings, you may continue browsing on your high-speed Internet connection without being concerned about data use.

What is Required Bandwidth at Home?

It's crucial to evaluate which services and devices you use the most when determining how much Internet speed or bandwidth you require. Although it might not be as much as you believe, some use more bandwidth than others.

Understanding the distinction between upload and download speed is useful when considering your Internet speed. Upload speed is the rate at which data may be sent over your connection (i.e. uploading photos to Facebook or emailing files). The download refers to how rapidly data may be received via your connection (i.e. streaming videos or surfing the web). The bandwidth needs of some of the most popular services are broken down below:

• Streaming Video: One of the most bandwidth-intensive hobbies is streaming videos, including TV episodes, movies, and other types of media. Depending on the provider and the video quality you are streaming in, the necessary amount of bandwidth may change.

  • Netflix - 3 Mbps download for SD and 5 Mbps download for HD
  • YouTube - 2.5 Mbps download
  • Amazon Prime - 1 Mbps download for SD and 5 Mbps download for HD
  • HBO Max - 5 Mbps download
  • Disney Plus - 5 Mbps download
  • ESPN Plus - 2 Mbps download
  • Hulu - 3 Mbps download for on-demand content and 8 Mbps download for live TV

• Streaming Music: Music streaming uses a relatively little amount of bandwidth. To avoid using your Internet when listening to music, several streaming services even let you download your music.

  • Spotify - 96 Kbps download
  • Apple Music - 256 Kbps download
  • Amazon Music - 500 Kbps download
  • Pandora - 150 Kbps download

• Online Gaming: A very minimal amount of bandwidth is normally needed to play games online, but there are also upload and download speed requirements.

  • PS4 - 3 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload
  • XBox One - 3 Mbps download, .5 Mbps upload
  • Google Stadia - 10 Mbps
  • Nintendo Switch - 3 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload

• Cameras and Home Security Systems: Wi-Fi-based cameras and security systems consume a lot of your Internet bandwidth and require a fast upload and download speed.

  • Nest - 150 - 4000 Kbps upload per device
  • Ring - 2 Mbps upload and download per device
  • SimpliSafe - Cameras require 0.75 Mbps - 2 Mbps upload per device

• Visual Conference: While video conferencing, you send and receive data, thus your upload and download speeds must be adequate.

  • Zoom - 2 Mbps download and upload
  • Skype - 1.5 Mbps download and upload

What is Required Bandwidth at Business?

List all the popular online activities and note how much bandwidth each one uses when determining your small business's bandwidth requirements. Then double that sum by the number of workers who will be doing those jobs concurrently. For instance, small firms that need numerous users to participate in a video conference simultaneously will need more bandwidth. It is advisable to take into account the unique internet requirements of your small business as the figure you compute is merely an estimate. You might just require 1 to 1.5 Mbps per employee if you have a small brick-and-mortar retail establishment that mainly utilizes the internet for email and social media marketing. Add 10 to 15 Mbps just in case you run a small business that depends significantly on the internet, such as a law firm that has to send video depositions or a graphic design studio that collaborates extensively online.

What are the Bandwidth Issues?

We are aware that sluggish network performance results from low bandwidth, and that attempts to process huge volumes of data slowly usually make bandwidth problems worse. Typical activities that may result in issues with bandwidth are as follows:

• watching films on Netflix and YouTube
• transmission of large files between computers (greater than 100 megabytes in size)
• continuous data flow (e.g. surveillance footage from security cameras)
• using the internet to get files

Any of the aforementioned actions can significantly exacerbate bandwidth problems in a network and should only be taken when there is little to no network activity, such as overnight.

Low bandwidth can cause poor network performance, however, not all slow networks are due to bandwidth problems. When a network slows down, IT staff frequently just increase bandwidth, but this isn't always the greatest option because it adds expense and just solves the symptom of the problem rather than solving the actual problem.

A network monitoring technique should be used to identify a network issue. These programs may monitor a network to the location of the slowness and analyze the data to determine which routers or ports were using more resources than necessary; if this is the case, a bandwidth problem is probably present.

How to Monitor Bandwidth?

Before you can track consumption, you must be familiar with how to check bandwidth usage. By frequently monitoring bandwidth utilization and assessing each potential source of bandwidth consumption, you may identify bandwidth issues.

Understanding the bandwidth you have available is the first step in checking bandwidth consumption. By monitoring bandwidth utilization with an automated bandwidth analyzer, IT administrators may detect each device's bandwidth usage, which is often expressed in Bps. Your internet service provider may give estimates of device bandwidth utilization, but a bandwidth monitoring service is much more likely to provide an accurate picture of how much bandwidth your devices actually use during normal business activities.

You're off to a fantastic start in bandwidth monitoring if you have a tool to check the bandwidth utilization of the devices on your network. An ongoing evaluation of device performance is necessary for bandwidth management. Checking bandwidth is different from monitoring bandwidth, though, as you'll need to immediately identify sluggish internet connections and find the bottleneck during the monitoring step.

The WAN (wide area network), which links your LANs (local area networks) to the internet, is where bandwidth monitoring often takes place. To find the root cause of poor bandwidth, you must employ a multifaceted approach to network monitoring. This will enable you to see the problematic devices as soon as they are detected.

The best option is an automated bandwidth monitoring tool since bandwidth monitoring needs to be completed fast. Bandwidth monitor tools can provide historical data and current information about your internet usage. A thorough bandwidth monitoring program will be able to spot bandwidth limits and establish alarm levels for when your bandwidth is becoming too low. Your monitoring tool assists in keeping track of how much traffic particular devices are utilizing on a LAN level. IT administrators identify the devices or apps putting a burden on the network bandwidth by using device traffic monitoring, which enables them to determine the underlying cause of bandwidth overutilization.

What is the Difference Between Throughput and Bandwidth?

On the surface, bandwidth and throughput seem to be comparable, but in reality, they couldn't be more unlike. Consider bandwidth as a conduit and throughput as water to illustrate the link between the two, which is the most used comparison. More water or data may flow through a pipe or bandwidth at once as it gets bigger.

As a result, in a network, the throughput informs you how many packets are really being carried, whereas the bandwidth specifies how many packets may be sent and received simultaneously between devices.

To put it another way, throughput informs you how many packets are really being successfully transported whereas bandwidth gives you a theoretical measurement of the number of packets that may theoretically be transferred. As a result, throughput is a more significant indicator of network performance than bandwidth.

Despite the fact that throughput is the most accurate phrase for describing network performance, bandwidth still has an impact on it. For example, bandwidth has a big impact on how quickly a web page loads in a browser. So, the speed of some services would be impacted by the amount of bandwidth you have available if you were going to employ web hosting for an application.

Key	Bandwidth	Throughput
Definition	Bandwidth is the maximum quantity of data that can be transmitted through a channel in a specific period of time.	Throughput is defined as the actual measurement of data moving across a medium at any given point in time.
Measurement Unit	It is measured in bits per second.	Throughput is measured according to bandwidth. So, it can be measured in bits per second.
Layer	Physical Layer of OSI model.Any Layer of the OSI model.
Dependency	There is no dependency. Latency does not affect the bandwidth.	Throughput is dependent on latency.
Impact	Bandwidth is not impacted by physical obstructions.	Throughput is highly impacted by external interference, network devices, and transmission errors.
Analogy	Speed of water coming out of a tap in a particular time frame.	Actual water flew out of a tap in a particular time frame

Table 1. Bandwidth vs Throughput

What is the Difference Between Latency and Bandwidth?

In contrast to latency, which describes the delays that affect how soon data reaches your devices, bandwidth represents the quantity of data that your connection can process. Even though they are extremely unlikely, there is one significant connection between them: If your bandwidth is limited, latency may be increased. This is due to the fact that larger files will take longer to load in your browser if your internet connection can only send a particular amount of data per second, such as 5 megabits.

Here's another perspective on the matter: Latency does not impact bandwidth, but bandwidth does affect latency. Using the highway as an example, the bandwidth is analogous to the width of the road, and the traffic is analogous to the data that needs to go from one location to another. No matter how many lanes the motorway has, it won't matter if the cops set up a checkpoint there. The automobiles will take more time to get where they are going.

The same holds true for your internet connection's bandwidth and latency. You'll suffer delay regardless of how many megabits per second your ISP permits you to download if the data must stop for a security check or travel via several sites.

What is the Difference Between Bandwidth and Internet Speed?

While it is incorrect, speed and bandwidth are frequently used interchangeably. The misconception may be caused in part by internet service providers' (ISPs') marketing, which confuses the two by alluding to faster speeds when they really mean bandwidth.

In essence, speed is the rate of data transmission, while bandwidth is the amount of space available to support that speed. Again using the analogy of water, bandwidth is the amount of water that can be carried through a conduit in a given amount of time, whereas speed is the rate at which water can pass through a pipe.

What is Bandwidth Management?

By allocating specific amounts of bandwidth to each network device and application that uses it, bandwidth management, also known as bandwidth control, regulates the quantity of data flowing through a system. It enables the alleviation of network bottlenecks or congestion and ensures sufficient bandwidth for important business applications.

Similar to rationing, bandwidth management is an idea. Several nations had to establish a fixed quantity of items, such as paper towels, rubbing alcohol, and canned goods, for each customer at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rationing makes sure that everyone receives what they need and protects customers from any negative repercussions of a supply shortfall. For each device or application, bandwidth is "rationed" in bandwidth control.

How to Optimize Network Bandwidth?

When a network link is overloaded, network engineers have a number of choices. The most popular option is to expand the bandwidth. This can be done by increasing the link's physical throughput capacity or by conceptually distributing traffic across many lines via port aggregation and load balancing. These methods, however, are not always feasible.

ISPs or network managers may purposefully change the data transfer rate (up or down), a practice known as bandwidth throttling. Throttling bandwidth can be done for a variety of purposes, including reducing network congestion, especially on public access networks. ISPs may employ throttling to limit the amount of bandwidth used by a certain user or group of users. For instance, a service provider can offer a selection of upload and download bandwidth using tiered pricing. ISPs can utilize bandwidth throttling to balance network consumption among all customers.

Net neutrality proponents have questioned the use of bandwidth throttling on the internet, claiming that the tactic may be abused for political or commercial ends and unjustly targets particular demographics.

If an ISP is limiting bandwidth, a speed test may be performed to find out. Speed tests measure the speed between a device and a test server using the internet connection of the testing device. Speed testing is offered by ISPs on their own websites. Moreover, independent testing is available from companies like Speedtest. It is typically advised to run repeated tests throughout the day on various servers accessible through the speed test site because numerous variables might alter the results of a speed test. Furthermore, it is advised to do a speed test using a wired connection.

In order to stop spam or mass email transmission through a server, data transfer throttling purposefully limits the quantity of data transmitted or received across a network. It might be seen as an additional type of bandwidth throttling. Data transmission slowing can stop the online spread of computer viruses, worms, and other malware if it is used on a wide enough scale.

Tools for monitoring network bandwidth are available to assist locate performance problems, such as a malfunctioning router or a machine that is taking part in a distributed denial-of-service assault while infected with malware. Bandwidth monitoring enables network managers to more effectively plan for potential network expansion by highlighting the areas where bandwidth is most required. Administrators can use monitoring tools to see whether their ISP is meeting the terms of their contract's service-level agreement.

How Does Bandwidth Management Work?

Several methods exist for managing bandwidth. Network managers, for instance, can manage bandwidth on an application-by-application basis and allocate extra bandwidth for video streaming services and communication systems since these applications use a lot of bandwidth. Other programs can use less bandwidth.

The IP address of a device, however, can be used by Internet service providers (ISPs) to conduct bandwidth management. If a corporate user is given the IP address, they can allot extra bandwidth. Depending on the subscriber's plan, assigning less bandwidth may be provided for IP addresses related to residential customers.

What are the Advantages of Bandwidth Management?

One of the major advantages of bandwidth control is that it minimizes network congestion, which occurs when several devices or applications use the same network at once and consume data. Without proper bandwidth control, all data-consuming programs would compete for consumption, slowing down connections. But, with bandwidth control, the devices or apps are limited to using the bandwidth that is allotted to them.

The capacity to prioritize apps that are essential to an organization's operations is provided by bandwidth management. Hotels, for instance, can give their management systems more bandwidth while giving hotel guests less.

No matter how much bandwidth is available on your network, uncontrolled bandwidth utilization might cause a sluggish connection. While some may have less or no bandwidth available, some programs may consume more than is necessary. The regulation of bandwidth allocation and network traffic flow can assist ensure that key applications have access to the resources they require.

What are the Bandwidth Management Tools?

Implementing bandwidth control may be done using a variety of devices and programs. Examples include:

• Routers: The main job of a router is to "route" traffic to its intended destinations. Yet, you may still utilize it to construct some sort of traffic analysis-based bandwidth restriction.

• Bandwidth limiters: By restricting bandwidth based on a predetermined set of rules, bandwidth limiters monitor and prioritize traffic. They are intended primarily for bandwidth management, unlike routers.

• Tools for traffic shaping: Using traffic shaping technologies is another means of managing bandwidth. These programs slow down specific types of network traffic to make room for more crucial hardware or software.