Latency, also known as delay, is the time interval between the initiation of a request or data transmission and the receipt of the corresponding response or acknowledgment, typically measured in milliseconds (ms). Latency encompasses various components of delay in data communication, including propagation delay (time for signals to travel through the medium), transmission delay (time to transmit data over the network), processing delay (time for data processing at intermediate nodes), and queuing delay (time spent waiting in network buffers). Low latency is desirable for real-time applications, such as online gaming, video conferencing, and financial trading, to minimize response times and ensure optimal user experience.
