I have a question about network bandwidth calculations.  I do not need a specific answer to recommended bandwidth requirements, but, wanted better understand what I am calculating.

I am not a network engineer, so do not really understand if the calculations are correct.  So, I am trying to figure out if the results are close to expected or way off the mark........

Here is the scenario:

 -  40 users in an office accessing office 365. 

 - consuming Lync, SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange

 - If I were to assume that this customer is average (just take a number in the middle)

 -  The bandwidth results I calculated are around 3 MBits/sec for the Internet line requirements

So, two questions....

1) Does this calculated number (3MBits) seem reasonable or does it appear to be way off?  (Have I made a mistake with the bandwidth calculators?).  If way off... is it too high or low.......

2) Is there any advantage for the purchase of a much bigger internet line (for example 100 GB).  Or would the majority of this line not be utilized and it would be a waste of money?

Hi,

As far as I know, we can use some calculators to estimate network bandwidth requirements before you deploy for the first time or migrate to Office 365.

Detailed info:

       

Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator: Estimates the bandwidth required for a specific set of Outlook, Outlook Web App, and mobile device users in your Office 365 deployment.

Lync 2010 and 2013 Bandwidth Calculator: Enter information about users and the Lync Online features you want to deploy, and the calculator helps you determine bandwidth requirements.

OneDrive for Business synchronization calculator: Provides network bandwidth approximations based on usage patterns from user profile data.

Network tools. Test and validate your Internet bandwidth to determine download, upload, and latency constraints. These tools will help you determine the capabilities of your network for migration as well as after youre fully deployed.

• Microsoft Message Analyzer 1.1: Message Analyzer is an effective tool for troubleshooting network issues. Message Analyzer captures, displays, and analyzes protocol-based messaging traffic and system messages. Message Analyzer also lets you import, aggregate, and analyze data from log and trace files.

• Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4: Captures network traffic and allows you to view and analyze it. Look for HTTPS/SSL time-outs that are set too low on proxies, firewalls and router and also look for excessive retransmits.

• Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer: Tests connectivity in your Exchange Online environment.

• Determine your download, upload, and latency between your on-premises environment and the nearest Microsoft cloud services data center.

Reference:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Network-planning-and-performance-tuning-for-Office-365-e5f1228c-da3c-4654-bf16-d163daee8848

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_in_education/archive/2013/08/20/do-you-have-any-bandwidth-calculators-for-office-365.aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn850362.aspx

Hope it's helpful.

Regards,

George Zhao
TechNet Community Support

Good questions Rafost;

There are many variables to consider for a user when estimating network traffic. Some of the variables are:

1. The Office 365 service offerings that your organization has subscribed to.
2. The type of task the users client computer is performing (for example, the number of the pages opened).
3. The performance of your Internet browser software (for example, Word Online and Excel Online).
4. Other variables.

Because these variables are unique to each customer environment, as a result, we are not able to provide the accurate official bandwidth requirement for a user. However, we can calculate the average network traffic for each user based on the following assumptions.
a. An average interaction (page load) transfers approximately 100 KB.
b. A typical user generates about 36 interactions (page loads) per hour.
c. About 10 percent of a company's users will be active at the same time.
For detailed steps and the example, please see: BPOS bandwidth / network requirements Company

Helpful discussion..