High Ping & Latency

Question

Hello! I am new in the networking and IT field. I had some questions about my home network that I'm trying to solve. Some of it may be simple fixes but I am new to this. When I test my network on my gaming systems I get 50-60 Latency. When I play my online games I get anywhere between 65-90 ping... It varies. I have a Netgear CM1000 modem with DOCSIS 3.1 and a Linksys WRT1200 router. Both of them are more than capable of getting a great quality connection. My modem is new and I still didn't see a change with the upgrade so im still trying to figure out the issue. I prioritize my systems on my router and it doesn't really change. Yes I am directly connected and use CAT6.

sum_giais · Answer

Well welcome!

Ping latency as you're referring, uses a special networking protocol called ICMP. Latency, is a general term that references round trip time -- or RTT. It measures the time it takes to get from point-A (your laptop or game system) to point-B and back, usually via an ICMP packet when in the networking world but not always.

So for example if I test my latency on my Xbox One in settings.. it's likely hardcoded to test the latency to Microsoft's own servers.. which could be on the other side of the country for all I know. When considering latency, you must always keep in mind the law's of physics. There's no getting around the fact that your packet needs to traverse through electrical, fiber, and all other converters, routers, switching systems etc etc AND back. Not just your home router and cable.

ICMP is also commonly a deprioritized protocol meaning that if your router is busy servicing other traffic (your gaming traffic etc.) then it will lower the priority of your ICMP packet or drop it all together if it's busy enough. Generally though if you have higher traffic on your network / router locally due to gaming your RTT will increase. Think of it as trying to get hot water when you're doing laundry and showering at the same time... I'm sure there more possibly even better analogies.

The longer the physical distance the higher the latency basically. To give an example, if I live in Florida.. it would be roughly take 20ms to reach something in North Carolina, say 45ms to California, 140ms to Italy and 220ms to India.

There's no way to get around physics, and distance. Now if you're seeing packet loss and / or connectivity drops that's a whole other thing.

A good way to demonstrate this behaviour is by doing a traceroute (or tracert). It shows the latency hop by hop to your destination.

Some good reading...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traceroute
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc792
https://www.iso.org/ics/35.100/x/