What does bandwidth measure in a network?

What does bandwidth measure in a network?

• A. Number of connected devices
• B. Latency
• C. Amount of data that can be transmitted over a network in a given amount of time
• D. Security level

Answer: (C)

Bandwidth is the capacity of a network link to carry data, typically measured in bits per second. It describes how much data can move across the connection in a given amount of time, like the width of a highway determining how many cars can travel side by side each second. This is about the link’s potential, not the time it takes for a single packet to travel from sender to receiver (that delay is latency). It’s also not about how many devices are connected (network size) or about how secure the data is (security level). In real use, the actual speed you experience can be lower than the bandwidth due to overhead, congestion, and other factors, but bandwidth sets the ceiling for data transfer.

Bandwidth is the capacity of a network link to carry data, typically measured in bits per second. It describes how much data can move across the connection in a given amount of time, like the width of a highway determining how many cars can travel side by side each second. This is about the link’s potential, not the time it takes for a single packet to travel from sender to receiver (that delay is latency). It’s also not about how many devices are connected (network size) or about how secure the data is (security level). In real use, the actual speed you experience can be lower than the bandwidth due to overhead, congestion, and other factors, but bandwidth sets the ceiling for data transfer.