Compare planning capacities and calculate the throughput your workload may require. Check server port options and traffic terms separately before choosing a service.
10 / 20 / 40 / 100 Gbps planning references · Service availability is confirmed separately.
10Gbps
20Gbps
40Gbps
100Gbps
BANDWIDTH EXPLORER
How Much Bandwidth Do You Actually Need?
Compare theoretical line rates and the calculator’s planning bands. Size the requirement from your workload inputs, not its category alone.
10 Gbps
10 Gbps planning reference.
The calculator selects 10 Gbps for a requirement above 1 Gbps and up to 8 Gbps. At 1 Gbps or less, it returns “Up to 10 Gbps”; this is not a minimum purchase requirement.
Workloads to measure
High-traffic websites
APIs and SaaS platforms
Game infrastructure
Media delivery
Large file distribution
Multi-service environments
THEORETICAL LINE RATE
10 Gbps
0100 Gbps
Theoretical throughput
1.25 GB/s
Theoretical hourly transfer
≈ 4.5 TB/hour
Measure normal and peak traffic. A workload category does not establish its required port speed.
Theoretical figures assume continuous full utilization and do not account for protocol overhead, application performance, storage limits, routing conditions, remote network capacity, or other factors.
These workload categories have no fixed capacity requirement. Confirm the chosen server’s port options, traffic allowance and availability.
COMPARE
How the Capacity Band Is Selected
The same six boundaries apply to both calculator modes. Upper boundaries are inclusive; each following band starts strictly above the previous boundary.
Requirement used by calculator
Planning capacity
0–1 Gbps
Up to 10 Gbps
Above 1–8 Gbps
10 Gbps
Above 8–16 Gbps
20 Gbps
Above 16–32 Gbps
40 Gbps
Above 32–80 Gbps
100 Gbps
Above 80 Gbps
Custom network planning recommended
Data Transfer uses the estimated peak rate. Streaming uses the rate including your selected headroom. These bands are planning guidance, not plans, reserved capacity or measured network performance.
PLANNING
Bandwidth Isn’t Just About Traffic Volume
Concurrent Users
A workload serving thousands of simultaneous connections behaves very differently from one transferring the same amount of data gradually.
Content Size
Video, software packages, backups, large media assets, and datasets consume capacity much faster than ordinary web pages.
Traffic Patterns
Sustained traffic and short bursts place different demands on the network.
Application Architecture
CDNs, caching, origin architecture, database design, and application efficiency all affect the bandwidth required at the server.
Storage Performance
A 100 Gbps network interface cannot deliver 100 Gbps of application data if the underlying storage or application stack cannot keep up.
WORKLOADS
Start With Your Workload
Streaming
Bandwidth requirements depend heavily on stream bitrate and concurrent viewers.
Example: 10 Mbps × 100 viewers = 1 Gbps
Example: 10 Mbps × 500 viewers = 5 Gbps
Example: 10 Mbps × 1,000 viewers = 10 Gbps
Calculated examples show stream bitrate × concurrent viewers, with 0% planning headroom. They are not supported viewer counts or performance guarantees; overhead and bitrate peaks require separate allowance.
NETWORK DESIGN
Capacity Is Only Part of the Network.
High bandwidth is useful only when the surrounding infrastructure is designed to support it.
High-Capacity Network Interfaces
Compare the calculated requirement with the actual server port specification; a port rating is not measured application throughput.
Multiple Capacity Options
Review the service’s current port options and traffic terms. The four comparison capacities are not universally available plans.
Traffic Visibility
Collect your own normal and peak traffic measurements to check the planning inputs; this tool does not display live traffic.
DDoS Protection
Confirm protection scope for the chosen service separately; a bandwidth recommendation does not specify attack mitigation capacity.
Confirm interface options, traffic visibility and protection scope for the specific service you choose.
CALCULATOR
Estimate Your Bandwidth Requirement
Starting example: 10 MB per transfer, 100,000 transfers per day and a 3× peak multiplier. Replace these inputs with your own measurements.
Values from 0 to 10,000.
Whole numbers from 0 to 1,000,000,000.
Values from 1 to 100.
PLANNING ESTIMATE
Total daily transfer
1 TB/day
Estimated daily-average rate
92.59 Mbps
Estimated peak throughput
277.78 Mbps
SUGGESTED CAPACITY BAND
Up to 10 Gbps
Daily bytes = transfer size × transfers. Average bit rate = daily bytes × 8 ÷ 86,400 seconds. Peak estimate = average rate × multiplier.
Starting example: 8 Mbps per viewer, 1,000 concurrent viewers and 20% planning headroom. Replace these inputs with your workload requirements.
Data Transfer uses the estimated peak. Streaming uses the requirement including your chosen headroom. A planning band does not reserve capacity or guarantee performance.
NETWORK PLANNING
Not Sure Which Capacity Fits?
Tell us what you're running, your current traffic levels, expected growth, and traffic profile. We'll help identify a suitable network configuration.
No. Network speeds are normally expressed in gigabits per second (Gbps), while file sizes are expressed in gigabytes (GB) and byte-based throughput in gigabytes per second (GB/s). Eight bits equal one byte, so 10 Gbps has a theoretical maximum of approximately 1.25 GB/s.
Does a 100 Gbps port guarantee 100 Gbps application throughput?
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No. Actual throughput can depend on server configuration, storage performance, application architecture, protocol overhead, routing, remote network capacity, and other factors.
Should I always choose the highest bandwidth available?
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Not necessarily. The appropriate capacity depends on workload characteristics, peak usage, expected growth, concurrency, and the amount of network headroom required.
What's the difference between bandwidth and traffic?
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Port capacity is a nominal bit rate, expressed in Mbps or Gbps. Throughput is the rate actually delivered. Data transfer is a quantity over time; a monthly traffic allowance is a commercial limit on that quantity, not a port speed.
Can bandwidth requirements change as my project grows?
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Yes. User growth, higher concurrency, larger files, new services, higher video bitrates, and increased distribution volume can all increase network requirements.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Build Around the Traffic You Expect.
Choose infrastructure with enough network headroom for today's workload and tomorrow's growth.
