Data Rate Limits and Network Performance
How fast can a link go? Bandwidth is how wide the pipe is; latency is how long it is.
What this unit covers
Unit 3: Signals, Transmission Media and Transmission Impairments
- 1 Analog and Digital SignalsData must become a signal: a cable cannot carry the letter A, only energy shaped into waves and pulses. · 4 min
- 2 Transmission Media: Guided and UnguidedCopper, glass or thin air — every signal needs a road, and each road has its own speed limits and dangers. · 5 min
- 3 Transmission Impairments: Attenuation, Distortion and NoiseA signal can fade, get bent out of shape or drown in noise — meet the three ways the wire lets you down. · 9 min
- 4 Data Rate Limits and Network PerformanceHow fast can a link go? Bandwidth is how wide the pipe is; latency is how long it is. · 8 min