Latency question (1.5Mbps vs 10Mbps)

[SYNTRUSION]

My co-workers and I are in a debate regarding bandwidth and latency.

Try to picture this:

1. Two gamers own the same spec'd computer, the same model router, and the same model modem.

2. Both live within 10 miles of each other and connect to the same exact server in their city which they are equally distant to.

3. Both use the same ISP but one has a 1.5Mbps connection and the other has a 10Mbps connection.

If both players connect to the same exact server (either 32 or 64), will the player with the 10Mbps have a lower ping? Explain.

[CptainCrunch]

Bah, there are a lot of variables.

The short and simple answer without going into all the details is Yes, the 10Mbps person SHOULD have a lower ping.

The reason is not because of any magic, but that more packets can be sent and received at a faster rate. When I upgraded my DSL from 1.5 to 10, my average response time dropped 10 ms.

Now the tricky answer is what connection does the server have? If it is 1.5, then the ping will be the same, or should be.

Also, are the upload and download speed the same? I have 10Mbps download and 1.5 Upload (I think, maybe its 512K, I forget).

Crunch

[SYNTRUSION]

Well, up and down speeds will definitely be different. I have 10Mbps down and 3Mbps up. He has 1.5Mbps down and 385kbps up.

Id like to know how much client traffic approximately is and if its different when on a 16 man server as opposed to a 48/64 man server.

[CptainCrunch]

I dont think you will ever get that information unless you put a packet analyzer on your server to view it.

I mean, in theory, if distance and all that is the same, latency should be as well, but even the PCs have to be the same.

As for the 16 vs 48 vs 64, if they are full, big differences. The server has to send data to EVERYONE telling where EVERYONE ELSE is. I imagine bullet hits included.

Airstrikes cause a lot of data traffic also. I bet the heli flying around does too.

Crunch

[Soldat]

Ping is calculated on the number of hops your connection makes to hit the remote server. For best results an upload of 250K+ should be OK.

I go to Speakeasy.net to check my connection to various servers

[Cantina_Fly]

Upload for the client isn't that big a deal. You're pulling far more data then you're pushing. You only have to send data about what you're doing, moving shooting, etc, you have to download data on what everyone else on the server is doing so your client can render it.

The biggest factor really is the upload speed of the server. That's usually the single biggest factor in determining how many clients you can host. Everyone plays at the speed of the slowest player. That's why one or two people with a 200+ ping can make everyone else lag. The server has to keep everyone in sync.

[Namakan]

going from 1.5 to 10 just widens the road, your trip wont go faster. just more stuff can come through


i think

[SYNTRUSION]

going from 1.5 to 10 just widens the road, your trip wont go faster. just more stuff can come through


i think

But doesnt that affect latency? If I can get to the hop faster than he can, my latency should be lower.

[Mavrik347]

Basically imagine Mb/s means MPH, the more MPH something does the faster it shall get to the destination and back again. The less time it takes, the less your ping is.

[CptainCrunch]

going from 1.5 to 10 just widens the road, your trip wont go faster. just more stuff can come through


i think

Yes, in textbook format, that is true.

In real life, thats not what happens. Like I stated, my latency dropped 10 when I widened my road. Same PC, same DSL, same equipment, same game, same server. Same players (clan).

Thats why you cannot really answer this question honestly. You dont know what "cloud" everyone is going through and how many true hops it is to something.

There are just too many variables. Now if this was a LAN setup and you could control the factors more, then you could get a result.

Crunch

[clatch22]

10 miles is a lot of distance in the telecoms world. It's far from guaranteed traffic will be following the same path to the server. Tiscali in the UK at one stage arbitrarily routed half their traffic through servers in France. Gamers had massive pings connecting to servers in their own town.

[Sloi sauce]

There's no way COD4 or any other FPS is taking up the bandwidth that would make a 10Mbps connection advantageous.

You're probably never exceeding 50-100KBps downstream and 50KBps upstream: in order to meet this requirement, you would need an 8Mbit connection at the most...

Ping has to do with the response time/hops... if you're equidistant, both connections (all other things being equal) should have the same pings.

The only thing your buddy has going for him is the ability to download pr0n a lot faster. Good for him!