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Speed Chart - Jargon
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| How speed is measured in the two major aspects of computer
jargon: |
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| Data - How
data is measured: |
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Data is measured on your hard drive (i.e.- file sharing and
FTP programs measure transfer speeds).
Kilo is 1,024 and Mega is 1,048,576.
Examples:
1,048,576 B = 1,024 KB and 1,048,576 KB = 1,024 MB
Bytes / Bits - Lower case b means bit and upper case B means
Byte. There are 8 bits to a Byte.
more>>
To see more about this see
our Byte Chart page for more
details. |
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| Communication -
How communication devices are
rated: |
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Kilo means 1,000 and Mega means 1,000,000.
Examples: 56k modem and 10Mbit Ethernet
KB stands for Bytes and Kb
stands for bits (eight bits to a Byte). |
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| Internet Access Speed - Differences in
measuring |
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KB / Kb |
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The
abbreviation for bit is a lowercase "b"; the abbreviation
for byte is an uppercase "B". Their are 8 bits in a Byte.
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Modem |
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Dial up modem speed is
measured in Kilo and Mega bits. Dial up modem speeds
are pretty much tapped out at their high end of 56Kb due to
the noise that exists on standard
POTS copper telephone
lines. A few companies have toyed with filtering
systems to help quiet the lines but with the newer packet
lines taking over the market place we may someday see these
POTS lines disappear altogether. |
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DSL |
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Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a broadband internet service
that is delivered right through your regular phone line and is
often supplied by your local telephone company. Although it uses
your phone lines, it does not interfere in anyway with you
telephone, caller id, answering machine or other telephone
equipment. It is typically available in speeds from 144Kb to
3Mb, but even faster speeds are available from some providers. |
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aDSL |
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A type of DSL common for residential use is Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL). It is asymmetrical in the sense that it
can download (receive) data much faster than it can upload
(send) data. Typical internet surfing mainly involves
downloading data from web servers, so this asymmetry works out
fine for home use. Plus this asymmetry often allows for large
cost savings. |
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sDSL |
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A type of DSL that is common for business use is Symmetric
Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL). With SDSL you get the same
bandwidth (speed) in each direction. Although it is typically
much more expensive than ADSL, it is better if you are running a
web server or conducting other activities which would require a
lot of data to be sent. |
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Cable |
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Cable internet access is generally offered by the same
companies that provide cable TV. It works on the same coaxial
cable that the TV signal comes in on, but doesn't effect your TV
signal. Therefore you can use the internet and watch TV at the
same time. Typically, cable internet access provide a maximum of
1.5 - 6MB of bandwidth on the system. However, everyone on your
network segment is sharing that bandwidth, so performance can be
much lower, especially if a lot of people in your neighborhood
use the service. Some cable providers may limit your individual bandwidth,
so that you will never see the peak bandwidth even when your
network segment is clear. |
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Satellite |
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With satellite internet access, data is sent
between a small satellite dish at your home and the
satellite in space. This data is then relayed to a
base station that has a direct connection to the
internet and acts as a hub. Especially for those in
rural areas that cannot get DSL or Cable internet
access, a satellite ISP can be a good way to get
broadband service. Some satellite systems use
a phone line and others use a in-sight tower system to send
upstream requests. |
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to suggest additions, corrections or make comments.
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