| Bits per second and bytes per second are two measurements for data transfer rates. Although the two can be used to describe the same processes, they are not equivalent. A bit is the smallest unit of data on a computer—a 1 or a 0. A byte is 8 bits and represents a single character (a number, letter,
or symbol). Therefore, bps measures the number of bits that can be transmitted in a second. Bps measures the number of Bytes per second, which is eight times more data than bps. As with bit and Byte, the initial b is treated differently in bps and Bps
to help users differentiate between the two terms.
The term bps is used mainly to describe transmission speeds across networks and the Internet (both dial-up and broadband). Modems and other networking devices are measured in bps. Originally, connection speeds were measured in terms of baud, but that practice
has fallen out of favor in recent years. The terms bps and baud are related but are not the same.
In digital systems (including network connections), bps is often used to express the bandwidth of a connection (the amount of data that can flow through it), but the two terms are not interchangeable. Bandwidth measures total capacity, or space; bps measures
the speed at which data travels through that space. (If two files, one large; one small, are traveling through a certain bandwidth connection, the large file will consume more space and therefore travel more slowly than a small file. The bandwidth of
the connection will remain constant, but the bps will not.) Bandwidth is also used in reference to analog systems, where bps has no validity.
Both Bps and bps are used to describe transfer rates between a computer and its components. Bps is most often used to describe data transfer rates between the computer and storage media, such as hard drives and tape drives. On the other hand, bps is more
commonly found describing transmission speeds across ports and other peripheral connectors—serial, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), and USB (Universal Serial Bus).
This can be a trifle confusing to many users but, fortunately, the distinction of which is used when doesn’t really matter. The important issue is to make sure you are comparing apples to oranges (bits to bits, or bytes to bytes) in any comparison you make
between components. |
