What Is Bandwidth Consumption?

• Bandwidth Consumption Definition

  Bandwidth Consumption Definition

  Bandwidth consumption involves utilizing a network's transmission capacity for forwarding data packets from source to destination computer. Typically, the total bandwidth harnessed in a network at any given point is less than its theoretical maximum data transmission rate.
• How to measure bandwidth consumption?

  How to measure bandwidth consumption?

  Monitoring enterprise network bandwidth consumption is essential for companies to improve their application performance, optimize resource utilization, and boost productivity. It’s also critical for smaller businesses as they can't perform bandwidth upgrades freely due to budget constraints. To observe network traffic, the simplest option is to execute an internet speed test using web-based tools. Another option involves installing a monitoring agent on every network device. For instance, you can install SNMP agents on routers, switches, and other devices to monitor their traffic.

  The third and most effective option includes leveraging bandwidth monitoring software to analyze network and device-specific bandwidth usage in real time with minimal manual efforts. It provides granular visibility into your organization's current and future bandwidth requirements by offering detailed consumption reports and visualizations.

  Most network monitoring tools use the bit per second (bit) metric as a unit of bandwidth measurement. Users seeking answers to "what is bandwidth consumption" should know that identifying the exact data transmission capacity of a network is highly complex. However, there are multiple indicators you can use for labeling the measured bandwidth.

  • Theoretical maximum denotes the best speed at which you can forward data packets over a network link under the optimal conditions. Achieving theoretical data transfer speed in a network is generally impractical.
  • Throughput is the average rate at which a device can exchange information over a network connection. It helps determine the realistic packet forwarding capacity of a network link.
  • Goodput is used to measure the total number of data chunks that are practically worthy for a receiving device. You can discard unsubstantial information like packet overhead during goodput measurements.
• What should you look for in bandwidth monitoring tools?

  What should you look for in bandwidth monitoring tools?

  Outlined below are some of the key features you should seek in bandwidth monitoring software:

  Compatibility: A bandwidth monitoring tool should seamlessly work with multi-vendor network devices. With a vendor-agnostic monitoring tool, tracking most data flows in your network (including NetFlow, Cflow, J-Flow, and others) becomes straightforward. It should also smoothly integrate with other network administration tools to offer in-depth insights regarding your overall network health and performance.

  Network traffic monitoring: A bandwidth analyzer tool should support real-time network traffic assessment to quickly determine the applications or users gobbling the maximum bandwidth in your network.

  QoS and traffic shaping: Modern businesses rely heavily on cloud apps, which require dedicated network bandwidth for smooth functioning. A bandwidth analyzer tool should have Class-based Quality of Service (CBQoS) policy optimization and traffic shaping functionality to reserve adequate bandwidth for your mission-critical apps.

  Reporting and analytics: A quality bandwidth monitoring tool should provide dashboard visualizations to help you investigate traffic data, bandwidth utilization patterns, and other performance issues in your network. It should also be able to quickly generate bandwidth utilization reports for any given period to help you track usage trends over time and adjust QoS policies accordingly.

  Bandwidth threshold alerting: This is a vital feature to look for in a network traffic monitoring tool. Leveraging this functionality, you can configure and receive instant notifications regarding excessive bandwidth usage by a particular network device and quickly fix this problem before it slows down the entire network.
• What are the common issues affecting network bandwidth?

  What are the common issues affecting network bandwidth?

  Excessive number of network devices: A network can handle a certain number of data requests effectively; overburdening it with a large number of users or devices can result in constrained bandwidth and ultimately application slowdowns or failures.

  Inappropriate network design or structure: If you put all your devices or users in a single network segment, transferring information will take more time as data packets will probably traverse every component before reaching the destination. Restructuring the network by formulating subnets is an ideal option to overcome bandwidth shortages or network congestion problems.

  Outdated or poorly configured network devices: These can dramatically reduce a network’s transmission capacity or bandwidth. Due to faulty network equipment like Ethernet cables, data might travel through a network link at an unusual pace. Therefore, replacing the network devices approaching the end of service life with new or upgraded versions is essential to prevent congestion and limited bandwidth problems.

  Bandwidth hogs: Users, devices, or applications that exploit the maximum network bandwidth. These devices, intentionally or unintentionally, try to degrade the network performance by draining the bandwidth beyond the threshold limits.
• How to reduce bandwidth usage on your networks

  How to reduce bandwidth usage on your networks

  Outlined below are some ways to restrict bandwidth usage (and improve security) in a corporate network.

  Identify malicious network devices: The presence of rogue devices, applications, or users in a network often results in unusual traffic spikes and bandwidth shortages. A bandwidth monitoring software with advanced security features can help you quickly track rogue devices and provide timely alerts regarding suspicious traffic flows in your network.

  Set up traffic prioritization policies: Some data-sensitive applications, such as video streaming, often require more bandwidth and network resources. Reserving an optimal bandwidth is critical for the smooth functioning of such apps. With network traffic analyzer tools, you can formulate relevant CBQoS policies to emphasize the packet delivery of mission-critical apps over the network. These policies help in proper bandwidth allocation and restrict devices from overburdening the network.

  Restrict access to non-business websites: After determining the baselines for your internal and external network traffic, you can instruct employees to curtail their bandwidth usage as per the prescribed limits. You can collect and assess enterprise-wide consumption data through a traffic analyzer tool. If the traffic surpasses the defined criteria, you can block certain non-business websites and bandwidth-monopolizing users to curtail overall utilization.

  Schedule system backups and updates outside peak traffic hours to ensure consistent performance and avoid bandwidth exhaustion. Most cloud apps businesses use today receive automatic software updates; it can be detrimental to the overall network stability if these security patches or bug fixes start downloading automatically during critical business hours. Implement security patches and backups when the network is not overloaded with data or users.