Both what is bandwidth, network speed and performance are concepts that are often they tend to get confused or mix, something logical because it is not that they are the same, but if we can say, that they are similar.

The problem is that when talking about these types of concepts we tend to fall into misleading comparisons or comments that can confuse us and, in the end, make it unclear when one ends and the other begins.

In any case, it is not strange that these types of errors are made, since they are often so ingrained in our way of speaking. Even those of us who know their differences call them a bad name.

We are going to make it clear that each of these three concepts isso that you do not make more mistakes and you are clear about what you are talking about.

Index of contents:

What is network bandwidth?

Network bandwidth is a measure that tells us the maximum capacity of a device, which can be wired or via WiFi, to transmit data over a network connection in a certain period of time.

The normal thing is that we see this capacity represented in bits, kilobits, megabits or gigabits that can be transmitted in 1 second.

One thing we need to make clear is that Bandwidth is not a measure of network speed.a common mistake, but what it tells us is the capacity that the transmission can reach at a given moment.

The more bandwidth we have, the more data we can send and receive at the same time. That is, if we have a router that is capable of transmitting at 1 Gbps, but our connection is 600 Mbps, the speed of our connection will be the latter, but knowing that we have a margin of 400 Mbps still unused.

network speed

The speed of our network (Internet) is what provided to us by our Internet Service Provider (ISP)that is, the one that we hire when we also include mobile phones and television, for example.

The speed of the network generally It is measured in Kilobits per second (Kbps), Megabits per second (Mbps), or Gigabits per second (Gbps).

As you saw in the previous case, if we have contracted 600 Mbps, that is the speed of our network, regardless of whether our router can handle more. As is normal, no company is going to place a router that cannot handle our speed.

We must differentiate between two kinds of speeds that we can experience On one hand, we have the downwhich is what we use to download any type of information or file from the Internet, and the going upwhich is the one used when we upload a file to the cloud or a video to YouTube, to give you two examples.

network performance

Network throughput is the amount of real traffic flowing when you perform a real-time measurement or the rate of data delivery during a specified period of time. It is usually measured in packets per second, bytes per second, or bits per second.

Although the bandwidth and the speed of the network are two theoretical concepts that allow us to measure the performance of the network, we can say that this concept is the amount of data processed

and successfully transmitted over the network.

Throughput is different from bandwidth, since it takes into account the packages lost in transit. This data is what marks how a network works in real time, taking into account all the parameters that influence its operation.

In conclusion…

So that everything is clear and the three concepts are well differentiated, although it may seem that they overlap.

Recall that network bandwidth is a theoretical concept that determines the maximum amount of data a network device will transfer, network speed is the maximum rate for data transfer, and throughput is the amount of data successfully transmitted over a connection.