Calculating data throughput: how fast is your bandwidth really

Data throughput is the amount of data units per time period when calculating the data transfer rate. Data throughput indicates how many bits can be transmitted and received per second. For this reason, the data transfer rate is also called the bit rate, since this is the smallest possible unit of data.

Calculating data throughput - this is how the formula works

The formula for the calculation is derived from C = D/t. C is the data transmission rate, D the amount of data and t the time.

1. In the data transmission of Internet is usually calculated in bits, because the smallest transmitted data unit is bit.
2. Inside a system bus or much more hardware internally is rather calculated in bytes, which corresponds exactly to eight times a bit.
3. When formulating the data transmission, therefore, pay attention to MB/s or Mbit/s, since the former transmits exactly eight times as much data.
4. This must be paid particular attention when connecting an Internet line, since these specifications often confuse users and tempt them to make a wrong purchase.

Calculate data throughput: How to do it online

1. On the website heise.de you can find a data throughput calculator, which performs an exact calculation for various default settings or your own specifications.
2. Through the drop-down menus, you can also change the units and see exactly how this affects the number of bits or bytes.
3. It's worth it to juggle a few numbers before starting a download or setting up a connection and calculate the best deal for yourself.