Numbers To Know easy
What is the typical Round Trip Time (RTT) for a single network packet traveling between New York and London (Transatlantic)?
- A 1 ms
- B 150 ms
- C 1 second
- D 80 ms
Answer: D. 80 ms
Due to the speed of light in fiber optic cables, there is a fundamental physical limit to network latency. A signal crossing the Atlantic Ocean takes time; when you account for the distance and the various routers along the path, the RTT (Round Trip Time) between New York and London is usually around 70-80ms. For comparison, a signal traveling across the Pacific (NY to Sydney) takes roughly 250ms. Understanding these 'distance constants' is vital when deciding where to place your data centers to minimize the latency felt by your global users.
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