Suppose

4

4

end-systems are to use a link with a bandwidth of

200

200

Mbps. It may seem that in order to make the most efficient use of this link, the bandwidth should be divided equally i.e.,

200

4

=

50

4

200

​

=50

Mbps should be allocated to each host. However, in a real setting, each end-system would be able to use less than the anticipated

50

50

while avoiding congestion. Why? Because real traffic is transmitted in bursts and not in one continuous stream. Have a look at the following plot of a Wireshark traffic capture for a clearer picture.

Plot of a Wireshark traffic capture depicting three prominent bursts of traffic

Plot of a Wireshark traffic capture depicting three prominent bursts of traffic

Simultaneous bursts of traffic from all end-systems can cause more than the allocated bandwidth to be used which results in congestion and a consequent drop in performance.

Therefore, bandwidth cannot be divided and allocated equally amongst end-systems!