¿Qué es la Latencia?
Network latency is the time it takes for data to travel from its source to its destination. Measured in milliseconds (ms), it represents the delay between sending a request and receiving a response. Low latency is critical for responsive web applications, real-time communication, and gaming.
Cómo Funciona
Latency is the sum of propagation delay (physical distance), transmission delay (data over the link), processing delay (routers/servers), and queuing delay (waiting in network buffers). The round-trip time (RTT) is the total time for a request and response, which is what most tools measure.
Por Qué Importa
High latency makes websites feel slow, disrupts video calls, and degrades real-time applications. For web performance, every 100ms of latency reduces conversion rates. CDNs, edge computing, and protocol optimization (HTTP/2, QUIC) help minimize latency.
Problemas Comunes
- Geographic distance causing high baseline latency
- Network congestion during peak hours
- Too many network hops increasing cumulative delay
- Unoptimized server-side processing adding latency