Latency, Competition, and Device Aging: Why Cloud Connectivity Can Be Slow
Fast cars, eventful days, multitasking – these seemingly small, everyday things accustom us to a dynamic pace of life. So much so that any unexpected delay can throw us off emotional balance. For example, a slow internet connection that prevents us from completing work within the planned timeframe.
Almost everyone has encountered slow internet, often at the most inconvenient time. Our clients have also reported issues to the technical support team when connecting to Jumis Pro cloud solutions. In such situations, we send our users a tool to test the internet speed from their specific device to the database location.
Request and wait for a response
This tool, known as a "ping test," shows the latency duration in data delivery or reception. There can be fast internet that quickly transfers large amounts of data but with high latency. This means the response takes a long time.
The "ping" operation can be illustrated with a simple example: imagine a tunnel with a person standing at each end. One person at the tunnel's end calls out to the other and starts counting until the other hears the call and responds. That's the response time. Similarly, this happens in the Jumis Pro cloud solution. After every click or action that retrieves some data stored in the cloud, there's a waiting period for the response. This is especially noticeable when a single action requires multiple requests simultaneously. For example, generating a report with multiple parameters – date, partner, account. Afterward, the data can travel quickly to the next action.
All operations are fundamentally based on the internet connection, which typically has two indicators: download speed and upload speed, but the stability of this connection is also very important.
A cable doesn't always lead to the computer
Internet connections can vary, but primarily there are wired internet and mobile internet.
When using wired internet, the device is connected to the global network via a cable. We encounter this type of internet very often, but upon closer inspection, it turns out that the cable is only used up to the router, not directly to the computer. The connection from the router to the specific computer is established via a WiFi wireless signal.
The router is the first device that ensures data protection; it operates with the help of software and is regularly updated, so it's recommended to restart the router regularly. The main question regarding speed is whether one computer or multiple computers are connected to this device. If there are many computers, the internet "speed" is divided among the connected devices. Very often, we encounter situations where these routers are outdated both morally and physically, resulting in significant internet latency.
That's why, for transferring large amounts of information or working quickly in cloud services, it's more productive to connect to the internet directly via cable.
One tower – hundreds of users
Mobile internet users often complain that Jumis Pro technical support ends work at 5:00 PM, and then cloud performance slows down.
What is the principle behind mobile internet operation? Let's imagine a situation: a village with 100 residents, each with their own device using mobile internet. Its operation depends on the capacity of the specific tower.
Let's assume our village has a dedicated mobile internet tower. At night, 99 residents are asleep, dreaming of a pleasant next day, while one sits at their computer, downloading movies and sending photos from their last trip to a friend. In this case, the mobile internet tower interacts with only one device, and the user is happy because the internet connection is perfect and everything happens quickly. Morning arrives, residents wake up, pick up their mobile devices, and start reading news about events in Latvia and the world. At this moment, the nighttime user notices a decrease in internet speed because the mobile tower is now serving all 100 residents.
As the workday begins, 50 residents head to another village, disconnecting their mobile devices from the specific tower, while another 30 children go to school, also disconnecting from the tower. During the day, only 20 people remain connected to the specific tower. As a result, there's no significant load on the internet connection, and each user doesn't experience a decrease in internet performance. Evening comes, and all residents return home, turn on their devices, and connect to the tower, creating high demand for the internet, and the average speed drops. This is why cloud work slows down after working hours.