🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <xeno.720907922@pv34ad.vincent.iastate.edu> xeno@iastate.edu (Gary L Snethen) writes:
[...]
>Perhaps I'm way off key here, but I don't understand why the speed of light
>forms any bottleneck.  It is always possible to build faster networks, by
>simply sending more bits in parallel.  Are we discussing only a particular
>network architecture?

The data tranfer rate is a function of the speed of signal
transmission, the number of signal changes per unit time, the amount
of data transferred by each signal change, and the switching
time overheads. 

The speed of a network relates to how fast a message can be delivered,
which mostly relates to the speed of signal transmission and switching
overheads.   Obviously, if the message is "large", other factors
become more significant.

Architectural considerations also impact on both data rate and speed.
Not to mention the loading of the network with other traffic.

As an exercise, to help clarify the concepts, you might like to
contrast the differences involved in responding to keystrokes from a
dumb terminal, with what is involved in transferring a file, both over
a network.

Sitting in front of my work station, I tend to be more interested in
my perceptions of the responsiveness of the system as a whole, which
includes not only speed and data rate, but many other factors.  (I'm
sitting at the end of a 2400 bps line!)



Gavin
-- 
Tomorrow's Society                              | flower_g@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
    Depends on                                   ----------------------------
Today's Children  - help us raise them properly! 
*******  These comments have no known correlation with dept. policy!  *******