Upstream

Why Trust Techopedia

What Does Upstream Mean?

In computer networks, upstream refers to sending data from the client or local computer to the server or remote host. Upstream transmissions can take several forms, and the speed at which the data is transferred from the local machine to a server is known as the upstream rate.

Advertisements

Upstream is the opposite of downstream, which refers to data transferred from a server to a local machine.

When referring to Internet nodes, a node that is closer to the Internet backbone is said to be upstream of a node than that is farther away from the backbone.

Techopedia Explains Upstream

Upstream traffic can be generated by uploading files or sending emails to a server. Upstream can also refer to signals transmitted from an end user’s computer to a cable service provider. Moreover, upstream speeds are extremely important for peer-to-peer software users.

Typically, downstream traffic is more voluminous than upstream traffic. Asymmetric DSL services render slower upstream speeds than downstream speeds. This is done by reserving less bandwidth for upstream traffic and providing more bandwidth for downstream traffic.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.