S130 SDS v2.0: BLE data throughput

This chapter gives an indication of achievable BLE connection throughput for GATT procedures used to send and receive data in stated SoftDevice configurations.

Maximum throughput will only be possible when the application reads data packets as they are received, and provides new data as packets are transmitted, without delay. The SoftDevice may transfer more packets than reserved by the bandwidth configuration when data transfer is simplex (read or write only), because extra time is available in the event to transfer data.

All data throughput values apply to packet transfers over an encrypted connection using maximum payload sizes.

Table 1. Maximum data throughput with a single Peripheral or Central connection and a connection interval of 7.5 ms
Protocol	BW Config	Method	Maximum data throughput
GATT Client	HIGH	Receive Notification Send Write command Send Write request Simultaneous receive Notification and send Write command	149.2 kbps 149.2 kbps 10.6 kbps 127.9 kbps (each direction)
GATT Server	HIGH	Send Notification Receive Write command Receive Write request Simultaneous send Notification and receive Write command	149.2 kbps 149.2 kbps 10.6 kbps 127.9 kbps (each direction)
GATT Client	MID	Receive Notification Send Write command Send Write request Simultaneous receive Notification and send Write command	63.9 kbps 63.9 kbps 10.6 kbps 63.9 kbps (each direction)
GATT Server	MID	Send Notification Receive Write command Receive Write request Simultaneous send Notification and receive Write command	63.9 kbps 63.9 kbps 10.6 kbps 63.9 kbps (each direction)
GATT Client	LOW	Receive Notification Send Write command Send Write request Simultaneous receive Notification and send Write command	21.3 kbps 21.3 kbps 10.6 kbps 21.3 kbps (each direction)
GATT Server	LOW	Send Notification Receive Write command Receive Write request Simultaneous send Notification and receive Write command	21.3 kbps 21.3 kbps 10.6 kbps 21.3 kbps (each direction)

The following table Table 2 shows maximum data throughput at a connection interval of 17.5 ms that allows up to 8 LOW bandwidth concurrent connections per interval.

Only throughput for LOW bandwidth configuration is indicated. For higher bandwidth configurations, a longer connection interval would need to be used for each connection to prevent connection events from overlapping. See Scheduling for more information on how connections can be configured.

Throughput may get reduced if a peripheral link is running because peripheral links are not synchronized with central links. If a peripheral link is running, throughput may decrease to half for up to two central links and the peripheral link.

Table 2. Maximum data throughput for each connection, up to 8 connections
Protocol	BW Config	Method	Maximum data throughput
GATT - Client	LOW	Receive Notification	9.1 kbps
		Send Write command	9.1 kbps
		Send Write request	4.6 kbps
		Simultaneous receive Notification and send Write command	9.1 kbps (each direction)
GATT - Server	LOW	Send Notification	9.1 kbps
		Receive Write command	9.1 kbps
		Receive Write request	4.5 kbps
		Simultaneous send Notification and receive Write command	9.1 kbps (each direction)

Important: 1 kbps = 1000 bits per second