Which term describes the data rate actually achieved on a network?

• A. Bandwidth.
• B. Throughput.
• C. Latency.
• D. Encoding.

Answer: (B)

Throughput is the data rate actually achieved on a network. It measures how much useful data is transferred per second after accounting for overhead, retransmissions, and other inefficiencies that occur in real conditions. Bandwidth, in contrast, represents the maximum capacity of the link under ideal conditions, not what you necessarily get in practice. Latency is the delay or time it takes for data to travel from one end to the other, not the amount of data transferred per second. Encoding refers to how bits are represented for transmission, which affects how signals are sent but not the actual data rate. So throughput best captures the real performance you experience on the network.