In IT, throughput refers to the amount of data that enters and goes through a system.
Throughput can be used to refer to how quickly a computer sends data through its components, including processor, buses and storage devices.
It is used in analysing internet performance to describe the number of data requests handled in a given period by a website server.
This means it is effectively synonymous with digital bandwidth consumption.
What’s slowing your throughput?
Within computing, throughput can refer to the data transfer rates for disk drives or other forms of storage.
Throughput is also used outside the IT industry, for example in referring to the output of a factory line in manufacturing.
Throughput is affected by a number of factors. These include any physical limitations of the system doing the processing or the available power in the system.
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These factors can be affected by congestion or error correction.
In addition, the end-user behaviour can affect throughput.
