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Data Transfer Calculator

Calculate file transfer time based on data size and bandwidth

Configuration

Network bandwidth speed

%

Accounts for TCP overhead, jitter, and network congestion. Default: 80%

Transfer Time

Estimated Transfer Time
10 Seconds
At 80% network efficiency

Theoretical vs Actual

Theoretical (100% efficiency)
8 Seconds
Actual (80% efficiency)
10 Seconds
25.0% slower than theoretical due to network overhead

How to calculate data migration time?

Data transfer time depends on three key factors:

  • Data Size: The total amount of data to transfer (e.g., 100 GB, 5 TB)
  • Bandwidth: The network speed available for transfer (e.g., 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps)
  • Network Efficiency: Real-world utilization accounting for TCP overhead, packet loss, and network congestion (typically 70-85%)

Formula: Time = Data Size ÷ (Bandwidth × Efficiency)

Example: Transferring 1 TB over a 1 Gbps connection at 80% efficiency:

  • 1 TB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes (1 TB × 1024³)
  • 1 TB = 8,796,093,022,208 bits (1 TB × 1024³ × 8)
  • 1 Gbps = 125,000,000 bytes per second (1,000,000,000 bits ÷ 8)
  • Effective bandwidth = 125 MB/s × 0.8 = 100 MB/s
  • Time = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes ÷ 100,000,000 bytes/s ≈ 2 hours, 45 minutes

Tips: For cloud migrations, consider using dedicated transfer services (AWS Snowball, Azure Data Box) for large datasets. For network transfers, monitor actual throughput and adjust efficiency expectations based on latency and packet loss.