What is Ping Rate?

What is Ping Rate?

Another metric of internet connection quality is ping – a measurement of the connection’s response time or latency.

Latency is measured by sending a small packet of data from your computer to a web host and then waiting for a response. The term ping is derived from SONAR technology, with the sent packets roughly analogous to the acoustic “ping” used to detect objects.

Typically measured in milliseconds, your ping rate informs you about the response time of your internet service connection.

A faster ping rate indicates a more responsive internet connection, that is, it takes less time for a signal to be sent from your computer to the server, and for a response to be returned.

While fast ping rates aren’t essential for all kinds of internet use, they shine in any situation where a low delay connection is required. Video conferencing, online gaming, or using cloud-based software such as Google Drive or Creative Suite Cloud edition will benefit hugely from a lower latency connection.

Ping is determined by several factors. The type of internet connection you have, the type of local network your computer is connected to, bandwidth allocations, and even the distance between your internet connection and the server you are trying to reach will all affect your connection’s latency.