What is bandwidth in VPS?

Bandwidth is the data volume that you can transfer within your VPS plan. Here, both downloads and uploads are included. The data volume is measured per time unit (usually a second). Hence, this concept can be mapped directly to the data capacity of a digital connection. Mistakenly, this term is used as a synonym of ‘network speed.’

To get a clearer idea of the difference between data capacity and data speed, let us consider an analogy. Imagine a communication channel as a water pipe. The diameter of the pipe is analogous to the bandwidth. The larger the diameter, the more water can pass through it. The speed is the actual amount of water passing per time unit.

Hence, having a large bandwidth at your disposal does not necessarily mean having a fast connection. Data speed depends on the hardware, among other factors. Hence, you should always estimate properly your bandwidth requirements. For instance, the lack of bandwidth will make access unavailable to some users if traffic exceeds certain levels. At the moment of acquiring a web hosting plan, the USA VPS provider will offer you different bandwidths. They are usually given in gigabytes or terabytes per month. In most cases, these bandwidth plans are sufficient to accommodate the traffic of average websites. In special cases, sudden traffic peaks may cause delay to access. Consider an unlimited-bandwidth plan in such a case.