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bits and bytes
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Posted by: lcousins
when i woke up this morning I knew the answer to this question... after reading up on the subject I'm totally confused...
here in the uk the cable company (telewest if it helps) offers 1Mb, 2Mb and 4Mb services. Now assuming I am on the 4Mb service what is the highest sort of download speed I should expect to see (assuming that the site/server I am downloading from has the bandwidth and infasturcture to more than match my connection) since everytime i download something it is measured in KB (as in I assume bytes, not bits)
I'm after both the maths answer and the real life answer if possible, my brain is fried, you guys are my last hope to sleep happy tonight 
m.
Posted by: Bishop
bandwidth is generally measured in bits.
Obviously I know nothing about what the UK's standard is, but assuming it's the same...
comcast in the northwest US has a 3mb connection rating, soon to be upgraded to 4mb, and they claim that it's always this ratio because the number of connected users is limited via hub systems. Now, despite the flaws I could find in that claim, I generally get a hundred or so kb/s when downloading, I've seen it max out at around three fiftyish from various high load consumption servers.
uploading is capped at 25-30 kb/s, which sucks for anyone who likes to seed.
Posted by: redwench
b= bit
B = byte
1B = 8b
the factor between the K and M is going to be either 1000 or 1024, depending on the definitions theyre using.
Posted by: TwiztidJuggalo
a 3Mb connection would top out around 350-375KB, using a Mb as 1,000,000 bits. a 4 Mb would top out around 500KB using a Mb as 1,000,000 bits. Of course you won't really see this high of a download speed because of other people using the same line of cable internet. Usually I get around 230 KB download speed, but occasionally get about 300 on my 3Mb line.
-matt
Posted by: Outlaw
 Quote:
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Originally Posted by TwiztidJuggalo
a 4 Mb would top out around 500KB using a Mb as 1,000,000 bits. Of course you won't really see this high of a download speed because of other people using the same line of cable internet.
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Actually, you might see it sometimes. Kinda depends on the provider too, I guess. I have a 4Mbit line, and I do see steady speeds of over 500kB/s every now and then.
Posted by: TwiztidJuggalo
I stand corrected. Thanks Outlaw 
-matt
Posted by: Bishop
Comcast has been saying that 'everyone' gets the max speed due to their 'hub network' but I find it questionable, and I don't think it's worth interogating the poor loser they've chained to the phone for that hour.
Posted by: lcousins
well, for a bit of closure, I did get a 4Mb line installed with telewest in the uk. 4Mb download, 384Kb upload(alledgedly). during the early hours of the morning the best I've got download wise is 455KB, the best upload being a slightly more confusing 44kB, averages over the first few days of rather pointless testing downloads (microsoft service packs etc, anything big from a big network) being 380KB download and 35KB upload (to my web servers)
overall, happy
Posted by: BooRadley
Like Red said, B=Byte, b=bit. Sometimes people will cap the k, instead, like kb = kilobit, and Kb = kilobyte. It should be pretty obvious from the context. If someone says they're getting 400 Kb from their cable, they either mean bits or they mean they're a liar.
To go from kilobit to kilobyte, divide by 8.
To go from kilobyte to megabyte, divide by 1024.
To go from megabit to megabyte, divide by 8.
4mb line = 512 kilobyte (4 * 1024 / 8)
384 kilobit line = 48 kilobyte (384/8)
So you're getting 73% of your upload and 74% of your download (35/48 and 380/512, respectively)
Posted by: taco_fox
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BooRadley
If someone says they're getting 400 Kb from their cable, they either mean bits or they mean they're a liar.
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No, my parent's cable gets up to 500KB/s (4mbit cable line), and cable is capable of even faster.
Also, there shouldn't be any difference between Kb and kb. They both mean kilobit.
Posted by: redwench
one should be kibibit, and the other kilobit. id have to look up which is which though
Posted by: taco_fox
kibibit is Kib
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_prefix
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