CODEWITHSUNDEEP
network-programming
Katana24
Katana24

Reputation: 8959

Does changing the data rate of a line increase throughput?

I'm using IT Guru's Opnet to simulate different networks. I've run the basic HomeLAN scenario and by default it uses an ethernet connection running at a data rate of 20Kbps. Throughout the scenarios this is changed from 20K to 40K, then to 512K and then to a T1 line running at 1.544Mbps. My question is - does increasing the data rate for the line increase the throughput?

I have this graph output from the program to display my results:

enter image description here

Please note it's the image on the forefront which is of interest

Upvotes: 0

Views: 159

Answers (1)

Seth Noble
Seth Noble

Reputation: 3303

In general, the signaling capacity of a data path is only one factor in the net throughput.

For example, TCP is known to be sensitive to latency. For any particular TCP implementation and path latency, there will be a maximum speed beyond which TCP cannot go regardless of the path's signaling capacity.

Also consider the source and destination of the traffic: changing the network capacity won't change the speed if the source is not sending the data any faster or if the destination cannot receive it any faster.

In the case of network emulators, also be aware that buffer sizes can affect throughput. The size of the network buffer must be at least as large as the signal rate multiplied by the latency (the Bandwidth Delay Product). I am not familiar with the particulars of Opnet, but I have seen other emulators where it is possible to set a buffer size too small to support the select rate and latency.

I have written a couple of articles related to these topics which may be helpful:

Upvotes: 1

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