Bandwidth Compression

The magnitude of Internet usage has accelerated significantly over the past few decades, with networking becoming the preferred tool for communications and conducting business. Information sharing over the Wide Area Network (WAN) is easy and immediate, and equips business people and individual users with technology that can aid in communications and multitasking. Companies reliant on Information Technology (IT) are mushrooming with remote site locations and branch offices interlinked by technically powered applications over the network. Among the key requirements in maintaining efficient data transmission over the network is the concept called Bandwidth. Traffic regulation and bandwidth control are crucial for users as well as Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Bandwidth is the rate of data transmission, i.e., the maximum amount of information, which is transmitted along a channel within a given period of time. It can be further defined as: the reduction of bandwidth, which is required for transmitting a given amount of data within a specified time; the reduction of the time required for transmitting a specified amount of data in a given bandwidth. Bandwidth is a communication channel’s width. If the channel’s width is wide, then large amounts of information can be transmitted at a much faster rate. The bandwidth is the prime determinant of the transmission capacity and is measured in bits per second (bps). Bandwidth compression is reducing the normal bandwidth of a data-transmitting signal without reduction in the information/data content of the signal. It is effectuated by making use of data compression techniques.

Bandwidth and latency are the two major factors that are critical for network performance. In telecommunication systems, bandwidth is a term that is used to imply the measure of available/consumed data in bits, kbits, etc. Bandwidth is also called data transfer rate as it determines the speed of data transfer and the information load it carries. Companies that run high-end applications over the network for communication and business, require higher bandwidth in order to transmit voluminous data and run critical applications. Assessing the latency levels will help in determining if bandwidth has to be increased. Bandwidth bottlenecks can be overcome by using proven technology and technology solutions.

Internet-based applications are rapidly expanding and the need to transfer and maintain voluminous amount of data is quite challenging. WAN saturation occurs when there is a huge bulk of mission critical WAN applications being transmitted over the network. This impacts and decreases network performance, causing IP traffic congestion. As a result, crucial flow of data is obstructed. In order to overcome the hassles of network traffic congestion, Corporate organizations began purchasing additional bandwidth from carriers. But this solution may not be cost effective or efficient for all Information Technology (IT) oriented companies due to costs and market situations. Optimizing the traffic throughput by using bandwidth compression, data compression, Quality of Service (QoS), traffic monitoring etc., allow companies to maintain their networks and lessen the effects of Internet data traffic.

Efficient usage of bandwidth is of prime concern to service providers since it maximizes profits and satisfies customers that require varying levels of bandwidth and WAN access. Bandwidth optimization is considered to be a significant component in business networking, as information transfer and throughput are determined by bandwidth usage. Bandwidth costs can be reduced to a great extent by applying bandwidth optimization techniques. The three major categories in bandwidth optimization are Efficiency, Compression, and Omission.

In telecommunications, Bandwidth compression is an established technique to compress data files without having an impact on the integrity of the content. Corporate organizations and ISPs curtail bandwidth costs by employing techniques such as bandwidth compression, wherein the pages are optimized, unnecessary spaces and breaks removed, data compressed to the maximum limit, all the while maintaining clarity. Bandwidth compression will substantially maximize throughput in a digital communication system. The data files are compressed and then sent over the network.

In many cases, due to technical and cost factors, the telecommunication infrastructure can handle the amount of data transferred through the network, only by using compression techniques. Many companies transmit mass volumes of data over the Wide Area Network, and this usually results in traffic congestions and long time requirements for transmittal. Oftentimes this is not acceptable specially when commerce is dependent on efficient data transfer. Compressing data ensures that data is transferred quickly and efficiently. On the server, the data files are compressed and then transmitted over the network. The widely recognized algorithm on the Web for real-time compression is “gzip.” Compression of images in various formats such as JPG, PNG, GIF, etc., is also done and thereby bandwidth usage is reduced. Bandwidth compression depends on data patterns, which can be expeditiously represented. Network administrators need to check and identify applications that consume significant bandwidth and systematically allocate the bandwidth available to those applications and services that are critical for business. Compressed bandwidth ensures better utilization of bandwidth and improved network performance.