What is bandwidth?
Bandwidth is how much information can move through a network at once. Similar to the size of a pipe-the bigger the pipe, the more water can flow through it. When you use the internet, you’re using bandwidth to send and receive data.Bandwidth works in both directions:
- Uploading (sending data)
- Downloading (receiving data)
When there’s not much traffic on the network compared to its capacity, data moves quickly and smoothly. But when there’s a lot of traffic close to the network’s limit, data starts to slow down.
Bandwidth limitations
ITS tracks bandwidth usage to protect the quality of the campus network service. Network administrators identify anomalies in traffic, such as spikes in usage, and follow up as appropriate. Devices whose level of network activity is sufficiently large as to interfere with the normal business activity of the university may be blocked from the campus network.
Bandwidth for university housing
Bandwidth in university housing may depend on the network capabilities available in a particular area of campus. See the How to Get Online Guide for more information
Network traffic monitoring and privacy
Network traffic refers to the digital data that is moving across a computer network at any given time. Network administrators monitor network traffic as one method to ensure that bandwidth is available for academic, research, and administrative uses in alignment with the university’s mission. UCSC takes privacy very seriously. ITS monitors network traffic and bandwidth usage strictly to protect the quality of the network service and only tracks the quantity of your usage, not the content of your usage.