why is it a standard to use bps for connect rate and Bps for transfer rate?

C

curtains

New Member
Just wondering why its a standard to use bps (bit/s) for connect rates and Bps (byte/s) for transfer rate.

I've been thinking to myself they could use Bps for connect rates too? or have i missed something in the equation why they don't use it?

Is it a matter of less confusion by using bps for connect rate and Bps for transfer rate? cause the current bps and Bps is pretty confusing already for most people.

Anyone know the reasoning behind using bit/s for connect rate and byte/s for transfer rate?
 
Hi Curtains,

It can be confusing for many people with the way the bits and bytes are used in talking about data transmission and storage. Technically you could use Bytes per second for a connection rate (ex: 100Mbit/s = 12.5MByte/s) or bits per second for a transfer rate (1MByte/s = 8Mbit/s). They are interchangeable as one Byte is made up of eight bits.

It is common for bits to be used for connection rates (as in 10/100/1000Mbit Ethernet or 8Mbit internet connection) as the bit is the smallest quanta of digital data. Most data, however, is transmitted and stored in 8-bit packages (Bytes) or multiples thereof. As computer users we have also been conditioned to think of file sizes in terms of Bytes.

I hope that helps your understanding and answers your question.
 
I understand how bits and bytes works, I was never confused about that.

I was just wondering at his day and age where we don't really use bits (interms of dta) anymore why don't we just use bytes aswell why don't we use bytes for connection rates too?
 
I think it's pathetic that the 'bit' exists in public knowledge at all. Bigger numbers = better n' all that, yeah yeah, but come on...
 
curtains said:
I was just wondering at his day and age where we don't really use bits (interms of dta) anymore why don't we just use bytes aswell...
Click to expand...

The most probable answer: file sizes are huge in "bits". Would you prefer seeing your 6.72MB file listed/referred to as 5505024 bits? It is easier to use smaller numbers/terms. Also, as I mentioned above regarding bits and bytes, data is commonly referenced and stored in computer systems as bytes of data.


... why don't we use bytes for connection rates too?
Click to expand...

linkin said:
^ yeah, unfortunately for us, stupid people think a higher number is better/faster :P
Click to expand...

Say hello to marketing...
 
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