Throughput

Throughput measures the rate at which data, items, or tasks are successfully processed or transferred by a system over a specific period. It quantifies the actual "work done" or volume moved per unit of time, serving as a core measure of **performance** and **capacity**.

Throughput applies to various areas, from computer networks and storage devices to processors and manufacturing systems.

Overview

Throughput represents how much 'stuff' gets from one point to another, or how many operations are finished within a second, minute, or hour. Higher throughput generally means a more efficient or powerful system for its task.

It's different from a system's *potential* capacity; while a system might have a theoretical maximum rate, its actual throughput can be lower due to various limiting factors.

Contexts of Use

The concept of throughput is used in different parts of computing and technology:

Network Throughput

In **networking**, this is the actual rate at which data is successfully delivered over a connection or through a network device. It's usually measured in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second (Bps) (e.g., Mbps, Gbps). Network throughput is often less than the theoretical Bandwidth due to factors like protocol overhead, network congestion, Latency, and errors.

Storage Throughput

For **storage devices** like hard disk drives (HDDs) and SSDs, storage throughput measures how fast data can be read from or written to the device. This is commonly shown in bytes per second (e.g., MB/s, GB/s) for large, sequential operations, and in **IOPS** (Input/Output Operations Per Second) for many small, random operations (like database access).

Processor/System Throughput

For **processors** or entire computer systems, throughput can refer to how quickly tasks are completed or instructions are executed. This might be measured in instructions per second (IPS) for a CPU, or transactions per second (TPS) for a database system. It shows how many operations the system can handle in a given time.

Measurement

The units for measuring throughput depend on what's being measured:

• Data Transfer: Bits per second (bps, Kbps, Mbps, Gbps) or Bytes per second (Bps, KBps, MBps, GBps).
• Operations/Tasks: Operations per second (OPS), Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS), Transactions per second (TPS), instructions per second (IPS).

Throughput vs. Bandwidth (Networking)

In **networking**, Bandwidth is the maximum theoretical capacity of a communication channel – think of it as the *width* of a pipe (how much water *could* potentially flow). Throughput, on the other hand, is the *actual volume* of data that successfully flows through that channel under current conditions (how much water *actually* flows per second). Throughput can be equal to, but never more than, the bandwidth. Things like network congestion or protocol inefficiencies can make throughput much lower than bandwidth.

Throughput vs. Latency

Throughput and Latency are distinct but related performance measures:

• Throughput is a measure of volume or rate (how much per second).
• Latency is a measure of time or delay (how long it takes for the first bit or operation to start or finish).

A system can have high throughput but also high latency (like a very wide but very long tunnel) or low throughput but low latency (like a narrow, very short tunnel).

Factors Affecting Throughput

Actual throughput is influenced by various factors, including:

• The theoretical capacity of the system (Bandwidth, processor speed, storage interface speed).
• Bottlenecks in other parts of the system (e.g., a slow CPU limiting storage performance).
• Network congestion (for network throughput).
• Protocol overhead.
• Errors and retransmissions.
• The type of workload (e.g., sequential vs. random access for storage).

See also

• Bandwidth
• Latency