In data communication, the transmission medium is also known as channel . The capacity of a channel is the maximum amount of signals or traffic that a channel can carry . It is measured in terms of bandwidth and data transfer rate.
Bandwidth
- Bandwidth of a channel is the range of frequencies available for transmission of data through that channel.
- Higher the bandwidth, higher the data transfer rate.
- Normally, bandwidth is the difference of maximum and minimum frequency contained in the composite signals.
- Bandwidth is measured in Hertz (Hz).
1 KHz =1000 Hz
1 MHz =1000 KHz = 1000000 Hz
Data transfer rate
- Data transfer rate is the number of bits transmitted between source and destination in one second.
- It is also known as bit rate.
- It is measured in terms of bits per second (bps).
- The higher units for data transfer rates are:
- 1 Kbps=210 bps=1024 bps
- 1 Mbps=220 bps=1024 Kbps
- 1 Gbps=230 bps=1024 Mbps
- 1 Tbps=240 bps=1024 Gbps
