Computing Dictionary
data transfer rate definition
communications (Or "throughput, data rate", "transmission rate") The amount of
data transferred in one direction over a link divided by the time taken to transfer it, usually expressed in bits per second (bps), bytes per second (Bps) or
baud. The link may be anything from an interface to a
hard disk to a radio transmission from a satellite.
Where data transfer is not continuous throughout the given time interval, the data transfer rate is thus an average rate that will be lower than the peak rate. The peak or maximum possible rate may itself be lower than the
capacity of the communication channel if the channel is shared, or part of the signal is not considered as data, e.g.
checksum or
routing information.
When applied to data rate, the multiplier
prefixes "kilo-", "mega-", "giga-", etc. (and their abbreviations, "k", "M", "G", etc.) always denote powers of 1000. For example, 64 kbps is 64,000 bits per second. This contrasts with units of
storage where they stand for powers of 1024, e.g. 1 KB = 1024 bytes.
The other important characteristic of a channel is its
latency.
The
bandwidth of a channel determines the data transfer rate but is a different characteristic, measured in
Hertz. [Relationship?]
(2008-02-08)
