What does the term "latency" refer to in networking?

The term "latency" in networking specifically refers to the time it takes for a data packet to travel from its source to its destination. This encompasses all delays along the transmission path, including delays introduced by routing and processing at various devices such as routers and switches.

Understanding latency is crucial for various applications, especially those requiring real-time communications, such as video conferencing or online gaming, where high latency can lead to noticeable delays and degrade user experience. Low latency signifies that data is transferred quickly, while high latency indicates that there may be delays that could affect performance.

Other terms related to networking like bandwidth and throughput focus on different aspects, such as the capacity of the connection or the volume of data transmitted, making it important to distinguish latency from these related concepts.