Network Bandwidth

Description:

Network bandwidth is the amount of data (usually measured in {Mega/Giga/Tera/Peta}Bits) that get from place A to B in a certain time frame (1 second). Simply put, as a technology it is the amount of communication that one can put through a single line for the lowest costs.

Forces Stimulating the Development of High Bandwidth Infrastructure:

• Internet popularity
• Corporate Networks, (24 hours a day development over the globe)
• Illegal software: MP3 music, DivX Xvid movies, games.
• Research which benefits from high performance computing: weather predictions, seimological research, planetary observations, military etc.
• Government investing in ICT infrastructure
• Fibre Optics
• Strive for adding interactivity to the Internet
• Advantages of server based applications
• Commercial potential of content that require a lot of bandwidth

#games like MMORPGs
#on-line meetings
#high quality Internet Radio/TV
#direct software distribution (instead of shipping CD kits)

Forces Inhibiting High Bandwidth Infrastructure Development:

• Costs:

1. Switching equipment
2. Fibre/copper
3. Deployement

• Wireless technology (high latenceny alternative)
• Sattelite technology (high latenceny alternative)

Technical:

• Attenuation (signal reduction): Caused by fibre impurities.
• Trade-off between bandwidth and distance between repeaters (cost).
• Modal dispersion (multi-mode fibre limit)
• Chromatic dispersion (single-mode fibre limit)
• High/expensive connector precision for single-mode fibre connections. In general, higher bandwidth solutions also between different types of fibre optic solutions are just more expensive.

Paradigms:

Bandwidth is proportional to infrastructure, which is dependent on investments. Investments are dependant of potential clients, which are the users of bandwidth. The more users, the more investments but also, the more bandwidth needed.

Q:So what really drives increases in bandwidth?

A:Increasing demand from consumers/businesses, which is reflected by extra infrastructure investments.

Experts:

Google

Timing:

High performance computing initiatives, and the increasing usage of the internet greatly influency network bandwidth demands.

Web Resources:

[1] Fibre Optic Technologies