Latency???

[gjspear]

what does latency of an internet connection mean? Isn't its speed the only factor determinig its performance?

 

[n0cmonkey]

latency is how long it takes to get somewhere. Bandwidth (what I think you meant by speed) is only telling you how much is coming through at one time.

EDIT: High bandwidth + high latency sucks for games. Low bandwidth + low latency is probably better for games. High bandwidth + low latency = the best.

 

[Torghn]

Latency *really* only comes into play with games. If you have a high latency connection you're downloads can still be quick as the delay is only when requesting the file. A friend of mine has a high latency 2.5Mb internet connection, but the latencys are so high games run about the same speed as dial up. His downloads are awsome though.

 

[L3Guy]

<< Latency *really* only comes into play with games >>


I have a co-worker on a sat feed that has great downloads.
However, telnet to the practice rack is "bad". He has to use dial-up
for telnet. Because of the low bandwidth requirements, it works fine.

While games are a good example, a number of applications can be affected by latency.

Regards;

Doug

 

[ProviaFan]

Latency can be noticable with regular browsing. I have, for example, browsed on a cable connection, and a T1. While the cable had faster DL speeds, the T1 was noticably snappier when navigating through a site. (of course the lower latency of his cable connection could have simply been due to a crappy provider)
Edit: I didn't finish typing my sentence.

 

[Tallgeese]

<< High bandwidth + low latency = the best. >>

Don't you mean to say:

High bandwidth + low latency = THE SHIZNIT!

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<< High bandwidth + low latency = the best. >>

Don't you mean to say:

High bandwidth + low latency = THE SHIZNIT! >>



Nope, dont mean that at all