System Design Basics || Latency vs Response Times
When it comes to measuring the performance of systems, especially in networking and software engineering, the terms "latency" and "response time" are often used interchangeably. However, these terms have distinct meanings, and understanding their differences is essential for optimizing system performance and troubleshooting effectively. What is Latency? Latency refers to the time it takes for a single data packet to travel from the source to its destination. It is the delay introduced by the system—be it due to network transmission, processing time, or other factors. In simpler terms, latency measures the delay between the moment a request is made and when it begins to be processed. Latency is often measured in milliseconds (ms). Example of Latency: Imagine you send a request to load a webpage. The latency is the time it takes for the initial request to travel from your computer to the server hosting the webpage. In the video, the example of a video confere...