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Skillsoft Content
Providing accurate bandwidth requirements and typical 'profile' for each type of elearning content is not possible. Estimating the bandwidth for elearning is not the same as calculating a typical transactional system, where you know the size of the data been transferred, maximum transactions and the timings of this. eLearning is a very dynamic environment, more akin to web browsing, and the very nature of learning means that one learner may move through a course very quickly, while another takes the same course at a slower rate. We can however provide some basic information on how the elearning courses work and provide at the end a rough estimation of bandwidth required.
For interactive playing of the content, online data is transferred throughout the student's 'training time' with each 'asset' been downloaded when requested. Some technologies used, however, require 'larger' downloads (usually less than 100Kb) at the outset and then minimal or no traffic while the training is taken. This is the case, for example, with software simulations in IT courses, where an Adobe Flash movie is downloaded that contains all the required assets for the next 5-10 activities. Other times it could be basic HTML/graphics with a size less than 10Kb.
A very broad approximation of bandwidth required can be made by using an average of the amount of data that an hour of training would require. However it is important to understand as mentioned above that Skillsoft elearning is not a continuous stream of data over the hour period; there will be periods where there is no data transferred. Based on our current library of content, the typical data that would be transferred to the user from Skillsoft for an hour of training with non-video course content is 5Mb. For video-based learning activities content, Skillsoft is targeting a maximum bandwidth of 1.2 Mbps.