Bandwidth

[feda alshahwan]

I need to measure the bandwidth of a certain TCP /IP . Is that possible please?

[Tim Holloway]

YMMV.

Actually, the term "bandwidth" is rarely accurate for networking, since what most people really want to know is the data transfer rate, not the actual raw bits-per-second. Bandwidth is the physical upper limit on the transmission mechanisms, but data transfer rate varies with the network equipment, media conditions, and routing. Higher bandwidth generally equates to higher data transfer, but the actual relationship depends on how data is packaged, including the modulation techniques used.

In mobile devices this can vary considerably, since the primary networking channesl are radio based, via the phone systems and/or WiFi (and/or Bluetooth). These are systems which adjust their bandwidth based on the strength and noise levels of their underlying radio signals.

[Tim Holloway]

Oh, but in practical terms, you just stream data from the client to the server (and, if applicable, backwards as well). See how long it takes, and that's the effective data transfer rate for that particular hardware and conditions.