1. What is Effective Bandwidth?

Effective bandwidth is the actual usable bandwidth of a network connection when accounting for latency. It represents the throughput that can be realistically achieved considering the delay in the network.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the effective bandwidth formula:

Where:

• \( BW \) — Raw bandwidth (bps)
• \( \text{Latency} \) — Round-trip time (seconds)
• \( \text{Packet Size} \) — Size of data packets (bits)

Explanation: The formula accounts for how latency reduces the effective throughput of a connection, especially for small packets or high-bandwidth connections.

3. Importance of Effective Bandwidth

Details: Understanding effective bandwidth is crucial for network design, performance tuning, and application optimization. It helps determine realistic data transfer rates.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter bandwidth in bps, latency in seconds, and packet size in bits. All values must be positive numbers.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Why does latency affect bandwidth?
A: Latency creates delays between packets, reducing the rate at which data can be transmitted, especially for protocols that wait for acknowledgments.

Q2: How does packet size affect effective bandwidth?
A: Larger packets amortize the latency cost over more data, resulting in higher effective bandwidth.

Q3: What's a typical effective bandwidth percentage?
A: For TCP/IP networks with typical latencies, effective bandwidth might be 50-90% of raw bandwidth depending on conditions.

Q4: Does this apply to all network protocols?
A: The effect is most pronounced for acknowledgment-based protocols like TCP. UDP is less affected but has other limitations.

Q5: How can I improve effective bandwidth?
A: Reduce latency, increase packet size, or use protocols that pipeline requests without waiting for acknowledgments.