Bits per Second is A measure of data transmission speeds, the amount of bits transferred in a single second. Typically, speeds are measured in kbps (1000 bits per second).
Note: kBps (with a capital B) denotes bytes per second.
Bits per second is the standard measure of bit rate speed. However, millions of bits can be transferred in a second and measuring in single bit units can be cumbersome. To simplify data transfer rates, an International System of Units prefix is used. These include kilo, mega and giga.
What Does Byte Mean?
A byte is a storage unit capable of representing a single character, such as a letter, number or symbol. Technically speaking, a byte is a sequence of binary bits in a serialized data stream in data transmission systems. In most computers, one byte is equated to eight smaller units called bits, although the size of a byte has always been dependent on hardware.
As specified in IEC80000-13 and IEEE 1541, the symbol for byte is an upper-case “B”.
A byte is capable of holding a string that is needed in larger application processing. For large amounts of memory, prefixes are added to bytes. For example:
- Kilobyte = 1024 bytes
- Megabyte = 1048576 bytes
- Gigabyte = 1073741824 bytes.
Most computer applications compare size and transfer rates in larger multiples of bytes like kilobytes and megabytes.
Some programming languages also make use of bytes as a data type. For example, C and C++ makes use of bytes as a data type and define bytes as the addressable unit for data storage capable of holding a single character.
What Does Megabit (Mb) Mean?
Megabit (Mb) is a data measurement unit applied to digital computer or media storage. One Mb equals one million (1,000,000 or 106) bits or 1,000 kilobits (Kb). The International System of Units (SI) defines the mega prefix as a 106 multiplier or one million (1,000,000) bits. The binary mega prefix is 1,048,576 bits or 1,024 Kb. The SI and binary differential is approximately 4.86 percent.
Central processing units (CPU) are built with data control instructions for bits–the smallest data measurement unit. Bits are magnetized and polarized binary digits that represent stored digital data in random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM). A bit is measured in seconds and characterized by high-voltage 0 (on) or 1 (off) values. Mb continue to apply to a number of measurement contexts, including: Internet/Ethernet data: Download and data transfer rate (DTR) speeds as megabits per second (Mbps). Data storage: 16-bit game cartridges with eight-Mb storage, including Mega Drive (Genesis) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Random-access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM): For example, a double-data-rate three (DDR3) chip contains 512Mb. Web files transfer as megabytes (MB). For example, a network connection with an eight Mbps DTR must reach a Web DTR of one megabyte (MB) per second (MBps). In 2000, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) incorporated the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) formal approval of SI metric prefixes (for example, MB as one million bytes and KB as one thousand bytes). Newly added metric terms include: Kibibyte (KiB) equals 1,024 bytes. Mebibyte (MiB) equals 1,048,576 bytes. Gibibyte (GiB) equals 1,073,741,824 bytes.
What Does Bit Mean?
A bit, short for binary digit, is defined as the most basic unit of data in telecommunications and computing. Each bit is represented by either a 1 or a 0 and this can be executed in various systems through a two-state device. A computer not only initiates multiple instructions that can manipulate and test bits, but it also performs these instructions and stores accumulated data in eight-bit parcels called bytes.
bit is the most basic unit in computer machine language. All instructions that the computer executes and the data that it processes is made up of a group of bits. Bits are represented in many forms either through electrical voltage, current pulses, or by the state of an electronic flip-flop circuit. Most positive logic devices represent the binary digit 1 as a logical true value, while 0 is a logical false. The difference between them is expressed via voltage levels. In the most basic sense, this is how information is expressed and transmitted in computing.
Bits may be used to describe a computer’s processing power in terms of the number of bits a computer can process at one time. In graphics, the number of bits used to represent each dot will reflect the quality, color and clarity of the image. Bits are also widely used to measure network transmission, or the number of bits per second transmitted over a network.
In a computer, the most common storage unit is a byte, which consists of eight consecutive bits and is equivalent to one alphanumeric character. Computer storage components, such as disks, files and databases, tend to have storage capacities expressed in bytes rather than bits.
What Does Data Transfer Rate (DTR) Mean?
A data transfer rate (DTR) refers to the speed at which a device or network component can send and receive data. This can also be referred to as throughput, although data transfer rate applies specifically to digital data streams. Data transfer is often measured in megabytes per second, although other measurements can also be used.
DTR is important in assessing various devices and technologies. In general, the data transfer rate reflects changes and improvements in digital technologies, where newer systems like solid-state electronics have resulted in much higher data transfer rates within only a few decades.
Although data transfer rate can be measured in different units depending on the situation, DTR can be calculated with the formula:
DTR = D ÷ T
Where:
DTR = Data Transfer Rate
D = Amount of Data
T = Time
It is important to distinguish a data transfer rate from a data storage capacity, where similar measurements can apply. It is also important to view the data transfer rate for a given device or technology in context. Certain factors can cause bottlenecks in data transfer speeds, including the data source, load on processors, or results of multi-use systems allocating a certain amount of capacity to any given process. That means that a device might not have a practical data transfer rate as advertised without certain key conditions being implemented.
What Does Megabyte (MB) Mean?
Megabyte (MB) is a data measurement unit applied to digital computer or media storage. One MB equals one million (106 or 1,000,000) bytes. The International System of Units (SI) defines the mega prefix as a 10 multiplier or one million (1,000,000) bits. The binary mega prefix is 1,048,576 bits or 1,024 Kb. The SI and binary differential is approximately 4.86 percent.
Central processing units (CPU) are built with data control instructions for bits being the smallest data measurement unit. A bit, the smallest data measurement unit, is a magnetized and polarized binary digit that represents stored digital data in random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM). A bit is measured in seconds and characterized by logical values 0 (off) or 1 (on). Eight bits equal one byte. Bytes measure device communication speed in thousands of bytes per second.
Megabytes continue to apply to a number of measurement contexts, including digitally supported computer and media data, memory and software according to file format as well as compression and drive capabilities. MB measures text format, bitmap images, video/media files or compressed/uncompressed audio. For example, 1,024,000 bytes (1,000 × 1,024) often represents the formatted aptitudes of a 3.5-inch hard drive floppy disc with 1.44 MB (1,474,560 bytes). Internet files are often measured in MBs. For example, a network connection with an eight MBps DTR must reach a web DTR of one megabyte (MB) per second (MBps).
In 2000, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) incorporated the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) formal approval of SI metric prefixes (for example, MB as one million bytes and KB as one thousand bytes).
