Which term describes the amount of data a network can handle per unit time?

Which term describes the amount of data a network can handle per unit time?

• A. Bandwidth
• B. Network load
• C. Latency
• D. Throughput

Answer: (A)

Bandwidth is the capacity of the network link—the maximum amount of data that can be carried per unit time, typically measured in bits per second. It defines the upper limit of what the channel can handle. In practice, the actual data rate you observe is throughput, which can be lower due to overhead, congestion, and other factors. Latency refers to the delay before data begins moving, not the amount of data per second, and network load describes current traffic levels rather than the channel’s capacity. So the term that describes the maximum data rate the network can handle per unit time is bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the capacity of the network link—the maximum amount of data that can be carried per unit time, typically measured in bits per second. It defines the upper limit of what the channel can handle. In practice, the actual data rate you observe is throughput, which can be lower due to overhead, congestion, and other factors. Latency refers to the delay before data begins moving, not the amount of data per second, and network load describes current traffic levels rather than the channel’s capacity. So the term that describes the maximum data rate the network can handle per unit time is bandwidth.