Definition
Latency refers to the time delay between a request being sent and a response being received, essentially measuring the lag in data transmission. This delay occurs due to factors like the physical distance data must travel, the processing time at each network hop, and network congestion. In practice, latency impacts the perceived speed and responsiveness of applications and services. Understanding latency is crucial for network engineers and architects to optimize performance and user experience. For instance, high latency in online gaming can lead to frustrating gameplay due to delayed actions. It is often confused with bandwidth, which measures the volume of data that can be transmitted, not the speed of transmission. Latency is a key concept tested in certifications like Security+, Network+, and AWS Certified Solutions Architect.