Does it affect the speed of download when downloading multiple files on one computer vs. downloading one file on multiple computers?

Question

We have 100Mbps internet connection and all of the machines have 1Gbps network cards. If we have several large downloads to complete, which scenario (if any) would be more efficient?

• Downloading all of the files on one computer
• Splitting the download so that several computers are downloading one file each

I'm inclined to believe that since the internet has a smaller bandwidth than the network cards of each machine, it wouldn't make a difference to the overall time taken to download the files as no machine's network connection would be the bottleneck.

Answer 1

It would depend on the machines. For instance if you do have a very slow HDD or a harsh AV you might see some issues if you download multiple files. But its unlikely.

To improve the download time, downloading those files sequentially might improve it. Assuming that the source server is able to saturate your download. That way you would get the individual files faster completed.

With your network configuration and the little other information you have provided your internet connection and/or source servers are the likely bottlenecks.