what is bandwidth?

[MzKiaMarc3l]

What is bandwidth? What is its purpose and what should it be set on?

[Rolig Loon]

If you really want to know, ask Wikipedia >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing).

I suspect that you don't really.  You really want to know where to set your Maximum Bandwidth setting in Preferences.  The general answer is "Don't mess with it."  Linden Lab sets your Maximum Bandwidth at a reasonable default value that is more than adequate for almost anything you want to do in SL. 

If you really want to mess with it, though, first find out what your average download bandwidth is now by doing the test at http://www.speedtest.net/ .  That will tell you how many Megabits of data per second your Internet connection can deliver to your computer (that's your download bandwidth).  Then set the Maximum Bandwidth in Preferences in your viewer to no more than 75% of that number.  Unless you have a really primitive Internet connection, you'll find that the number is way more than 1.0 Mb/sec (that's 1000 Kb/sec), which is all that you really need for SL.  That's why I said you really don't need to change th4e default setting.  Your own download bandwidth is way more than you need for SL. 

[Nalates Urriah]

Rolig is right. But, answers do vary. I think the best information comes from the Firestorm Viewer Developement Team. They recommend 80% of your download speed or 1,500, whichever is smaller.

The viewer has changed considerably since the Max Bandwidth setting was built into the viewer. In the early days most SL information was transmitted using the UDP protocol, which was fast but had no error correction. In those days we were always dealing with corrupted cache files and you still see recommendations from the ignorant to clear cache to solve any problem. 

Now most of the data moved by SL servers travels via the HTTP protocol, which has error correction and is way faster than it was years ago. Data moving to and from the viewer via HTTP is NOT affected by the Max Bandwidth setting. Max Bandwidth ONLY affects the UDP pipeline.

The Lab is transitioning to have all SL data for content transfer via HTTP. In the end they will only use UDP for scene updates. When an avatar moves or turns that info is sent by UDP. If a car moves, anything moves, changes color, whatever that info is sent to all those that can see it via UDP.

Eventually the Max Bandwidth setting will be removed and all the network protocol and speed settings will be handled automatically by the viewer or operating system.

So, unless you are having connection issues, don't mess with it.