Beginner8 min readFoundations of Distributed Systems
Latency vs Throughput vs Bandwidth
Comparing packet delay benchmarks, overall network transport capacities, and data volume processing rates.
What you'll learn
- Latency
- Throughput
- Bandwidth
TL;DR
Comparing packet delay benchmarks, overall network transport capacities, and data volume processing rates.
Concept Overview
Latency and Throughput are two vital metrics of system performance. Latency measures the time delay of a single action from start to finish, while Throughput measures the total volume of actions processed in a given timeframe.
Key Architectural Pillars
1
Latency
The time delay for an operation to complete. Typically measured in milliseconds (ms).
2
Throughput
The rate of successful operations completed per second. Measured in Requests Per Second (RPS) or Queries Per Second (QPS).
3
Bandwidth
The maximum theoretical capacity of a communication channel to transmit data.
More in this module
What is System Design?
Introduction to high-level architecture planning, standard requirements engineering, and modern scaling metrics.
30 Must-Know Concepts
Crucial, highly frequent distributed terminology checklist including elasticity, SLO, SLA, and SPOFs.
Scalability
Deep-dive into horizontal vs. vertical scaling patterns and handling exponential resource growth curves.