Bandwidth Delay Product Calculator
Calculate the Bandwidth Delay Product (BDP) for network connections. BDP represents the maximum amount of data that can be in transit on a network link.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the bandwidth of your network connection (in bps, Kbps, Mbps, or Gbps).
- Enter the Round-Trip Time (RTT) in milliseconds.
- The calculator displays the Bandwidth Delay Product in bytes, KB, and MB.
- Use this to determine optimal TCP window size and understand network capacity.
Bandwidth Delay Product Formula
BDP is calculated from bandwidth and round-trip time:
Example: 100 Mbps bandwidth with 50 ms RTT: BDP = 100 Mbps × 0.05 s = 5 Mbits = 625 KB. For 1 Gbps with 10 ms RTT: BDP = 1 Gbps × 0.01 s = 10 Mbits = 1.25 MB.
Full Description
The Bandwidth Delay Product (BDP) is a critical network metric that represents the maximum amount of data that can be in transit on a network link at any given time. It's calculated by multiplying the bandwidth (data transfer rate) by the Round-Trip Time (RTT, the time for a packet to travel to the destination and back). BDP is essential for optimizing TCP performance and understanding network capacity.
BDP determines the optimal TCP window size for maximum throughput. If the TCP receive window is smaller than the BDP, the connection cannot fully utilize the available bandwidth because the sender must wait for acknowledgments before sending more data. For high-bandwidth, high-latency connections (like satellite links or long-distance connections), BDP can be very large, requiring large TCP windows for optimal performance.
This calculator helps you determine BDP for your network connection. Enter bandwidth and RTT, and it calculates the BDP. Use it to optimize TCP settings, understand network capacity, plan network configurations, or troubleshoot performance issues. BDP is fundamental to network optimization and performance tuning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bandwidth Delay Product (BDP)?
BDP is the maximum amount of data that can be in transit on a network link at any given time. It's calculated as Bandwidth × Round-Trip Time (RTT). BDP represents the "pipe size" of the network connection.
How is BDP calculated?
BDP = Bandwidth × RTT. For example, 100 Mbps bandwidth with 50 ms RTT: BDP = 100 Mbps × 0.05 s = 5 Mbits = 625 KB. This means up to 625 KB of data can be in transit simultaneously.
Why is BDP important?
BDP determines the optimal TCP window size for maximum throughput. If the TCP window is smaller than BDP, the connection won't fully utilize available bandwidth. BDP helps optimize network performance and understand connection capacity.
What is a good BDP?
BDP depends on your connection. High-bandwidth, high-latency connections (satellite, long-distance) have high BDP. Low-latency connections (local network) have low BDP. For optimal TCP performance, window size should be at least equal to BDP.