The speed of Google Cloud VPN is up to 250,000 packets per second per tunnel for the combined incoming and outgoing traffic. This translates to roughly 1 Gbps to 3 Gbps of bandwidth, depending on the average packet size within the tunnel.
Here's a breakdown to better understand these figures:
-
Packets Per Second (PPS): The primary limiting factor is the number of packets that can be processed. Google Cloud VPN tunnels are engineered to handle a maximum of 250,000 packets every second.
-
Bandwidth (Gbps): The actual bandwidth you achieve depends on the size of the packets being transmitted. Larger packets mean more data per packet, leading to higher bandwidth.
- Example: If the average packet size is relatively small, the tunnel might achieve closer to 1 Gbps. Conversely, if the average packet size is larger, the bandwidth could reach up to 3 Gbps.
-
Ingress and Egress: The 250,000 packets per second limit applies to the sum of both incoming (ingress) and outgoing (egress) traffic within the tunnel. You are not limited to 250,000 PPS in each direction, but rather across the entire tunnel.
Therefore, while the raw processing capability of a Google Cloud VPN tunnel is fixed at 250,000 packets per second, the real-world bandwidth will vary based on the characteristics of your network traffic. Factors like TCP overhead and fragmentation will influence the average packet size and, consequently, the achieved bandwidth.
