This document introduces several key networking performance metrics:
- Bandwidth refers to the capacity or transmission speed of a network link.
- Throughput is the actual number of bits that can be transmitted through a network in a given time period.
- Latency is the delay incurred as data travels from source to destination. It includes propagation delay, transmission delay, queueing delay, and processing delay.
- Bandwidth-delay product represents the number of bits that can fill the transmission pipeline between two points, and is calculated as the bandwidth multiplied by the latency. It provides a measure of the buffering required to keep a link fully utilized.