Bandwidth limitations of network loopback device?

Question

I have several JVMs that all listen to TCP 80 each bound on their own 127.0.100.1 -> 127.0.100.255 range.

Is there a theoretical limit to the effective bandwidth that can be pushed through the LO device? Is this simply a limitation of the kernel and TCP stack vs. the limitations of a 'regular' network interface?

Answer 1

You're correct, there's no NIC-speed issues, just your CPU/s, kernel and stack.