Low latency vs. High latency

If you have made attempts to purchase a router online you have probably encountered terms like latency, bandwidth, ping-rate or throughput. To some people the words seem alien while to others they refer to the same thing.

Latency refers to the amount of time it takes to send a packet of data from one location to the servers and back. High latency means it takes you longer to receive information you have requested from the servers while low latency means the time is shorter. Latency is measured in milliseconds.

What you want when purchasing a router is one with low latency; high latency rates are often caused by overloaded servers, the idea of jumping data from one network to another or poor data packing.

Is latency and internet speed the same?

Most of the time you see the term internet speed being advertised in marketing materials it is actually referring to bandwidth. Bandwidth is a term that refers to the rate at which data moves over a particular network. If you have a router with higher bandwidth then it means you have more information been delivered. Bandwidth is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

It is not automatic that when you have high bandwidth it results in a good web experience. If you have high latency levels then it means your web pages will load slowly in spite of the high bandwidth. This is because with high latency it takes longer for a packet of data to be delivered to the servers and back. High latency may pose serious problems when you are streaming live videos or in web pages that have many logs. The ideal router is one that offers low latency and high bandwidth.

Understanding latency vs. bandwidth vs. throughput

Imagine your internet connection was a pipe. How wide or narrow a pipe is determined by bandwidth. A wider pipe means you have more water flowing (in our case more data), while a narrow pipe constricts water flowing. Latency refers to the time it takes to transfer packets of data from your location to the servers and back. In this instance, you want to experience the least amount of delay. Throughput refers to the amount of data you are capable of transferring at any given time – the more the better.

How to minimize high latency

If you plan on using your internet connection for gaming or streaming live videos then you know the challenge that comes with high latency. The lack of communication between multiple online players could be what causes a gamer to win or lose a game. If you want to know your latency then you need to measure your ping rate (this is a kind of internet speed test that shows you the performance of your router).

Consider using a CDN

CDN stands for content delivery network and it represents a network of geographically located servers that help to minimize latency. The CDN bring server networks close to you, hence reducing the distance a request has to travel to a server. With a CDN a request will be forwarded to the closest point of presence meaning you are capable of retrieving data without necessarily going to the original server.

Your communication link

There many ways through which people access the internet- dial-up modem, cable or satellite. If you are using satellite you will enjoy high bandwidths coupled by high latency. If you are experiencing high latency you may want to reduce how you connect to the internet.

Prefetching and browser catching

Prefetching is a technique where your browser performs certain tasks like DNS lookups in the background while you are accessing a webpage. Prefetching has the benefit of reducing latency by ensuring that latency intensive processes occur in the background hence enhancing web experience.

Browser caching is where a browser cache particular web resources so that when you log in to a particular web page again it does not need to send the same requests to servers again. If the number of server requests are reduced you are going to experience low latency.

Shut down inactive programs

If you are going to be doing some live video streams or play online multiplayer games it is wise to close down server intensive applications like YouTube or Skype. These programs have the capacity to drain your bandwidth and increase your latency by increasing the number of server requests.

Boost your RAM

Before you are start playing graphic intensive games it is prudent to ensure that you have fulfilled the minimum hardware requirements to play a certain game on your computer. If there is a mismatch with the game requirements you are going to experience some form of lag. Most of the times boosting your RAM will sort some of your gaming issues, while at times you may be forced to upgrade your drivers.

Use wired connections

If you plan on using your internet for high intensive games then it is recommended you ditch the Wi-Fi and get a wired connection. Wi-Fi tends to have multiple dead spots in the house which may increase your latency. A high quality router with multiple Ethernet ports will be highly recommended.

Keep your hard drive clean

Viruses and malware have the potential of increasing your latency. It is recommended that you defrag your hard disk frequently and keep your firmware up to date. Having an anti-virus is the surest way to keep your computer and Internet network free from malware. While playing online games it is recommended that you disable software updates on your computer as these have the potential of increasing lag. Sometimes you maybe forced to disable your firewalls during high intensive gaming sessions and them enabling them later on

Conclusion

It can be irritating surfing the net only to be confounded with high latency. This means it takes you longer whenever you type in a command. The situation is worse for gamers as they require quick and prompt action.

FAQ

Which is better high latency or low?

Low latency is better as latency is defined as a delay in sending data packets over a network.

What is acceptable latency?

It is normal to experience latency with any connection. 20 to 40ms is considered optimal