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Hankyu Kim's blog

What is Latency?

/ 1 min read

Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from the source to the destination. It encompasses various delays encountered during data transmission.

Transmission Delay

Transmission delay is the time required to send all the bits of a packet into the transmission medium. This delay is influenced by the data rate of the link.

Propagation Delay

Propagation delay is the time it takes for a signal to travel from the sender to the receiver. It is calculated as the ratio of the link length to the propagation speed in the specific medium.

Processing Delay

Processing delay is the time it takes for routers to examine the packet header and determine the best path for forwarding. This delay depends on the router’s performance and the current network traffic.