Challenge!

You are asked "which has the higher bandwidth: a 1 Gbps network connection, or a person walking between two computers with a full 1TB of storage device in their pocket?"


What constraints will you put on your answer to ensure that the scope of your response is correct?

Source: Page 71 of The Pragmatic Programmer (20th Anniversary Edition)

So, which has the higher bandwidth?

The storage device contains the information we need to be transferred

We know the speed at which the person walks

We know the distance between the machines

We are not accounting for the time it takes to transfer information to and from the storage device

The overhead of storing data is roughly equal to the overhead of sending it over a communication line

Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.

— Andrew S. Tanenbaum

https://archive.org/details/computernetworks02tane/page/56/mode/2up