User's Guide

3.2 Overview and Terms
ClearCube Technology, Inc. 21
Bandwidth
The capacity of the network, or the quantity of bits per second that can travel through the
transfer medium.
Round-trip latency
The time it takes a packet to travel from one device to a destination and the reply to come
back to the original host. For example, the ping command measures round-trip latency.
Bridge
A network device used to transparently connect two sides of the same network. The two
network halves that run through the bridge appear as the same network.
Router
A network device used to connect two different networks. Each side of the router appears as
two different networks.
Latency and bandwidth affect usability; however, they are not cumulative in nature for keyboard,
video, and mouse activities. Latency and bandwidth significantly affect file transfers from USB
mass storage devices.
Latency: ClearCube tests show that the average number before users begin noticing delay is just
over 17 milliseconds (35 milliseconds round trip), though users consider systems usable at over
25 milliseconds (50 milliseconds round trip).
Bandwidth: For video performance the following performance characteristics can be seen.
Figure 10. Bandwidth effect on user experience
For strict 2D text or still image applications, bandwidth as low as 3 Mbps is acceptable.
Network bandwidth and latency in your environment can result in users perception issues in the
following areas:
No effect
Notice effect
Usable