Network Latency Feature
Kernessa Woodbury avatar
Written by Kernessa Woodbury
Updated over a week ago

Latency Overview

Network Latency is the amount of time it takes for data to go from one place to another. Networks that have a longer delay or lag, have high latency while those with fast response times have low latency.

Latency Indicator

We have introduced active latency monitoring for our customer's . Depending on the color, you will know if your latency is ‘good’, 'warning' or ‘bad’.

Good 0 – 175ms


Warning 176 – 299ms

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Bad 300+ms

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Note: The Menu bar signal buoy is focused on latency measurement however, if a your connection type/method drops to long-polling or XHR, it will also turn red. This is detailed against the connect method indicator guide.

If your latency hits the ‘bad’ bucket (300+ms) and is then consistently bad after a minute, you will be presented with a message within the device UI.

BAD (300 +ms)

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Note: The latency warning will show once every 5 minutes if the poor connection persists.

The latency indicator will also turn red if a user's connection method 'drops' to long-polling or XHR

Connection Method Indicator

Your browser can be connected to a device via: Web-sockets, long-polling or XHR. Our preference is web-sockets. If you drop to one of the other connection methods, your experience in the labs may be affected.

If you connect to a device via long-polling or XHR:

  • You will get a message appear within the device you are in.

  • Your latency indicator will turn red.

This can occur on first access or during your session.

Long-Polling

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XHR

Note: These errors will show until closed. Established connection messages will show once per connection.

The Latency Indicator on the menu bar will reflect when a user's connection drops to long-polling or XHR as shown below:

Latency Troubleshooting

There are two things that effect latency:

  • Distance

  • Amount of bandwidth that you are using on your connection.

We obviously can’t do anything about your location but what we can do is check the distance between where you are in the world, in relation to the data center your Lab; is linked to. By using the site below, we can ‘ping’ the city the data center is in and you will be able to see, in real time, what your latency is/should be.

To correctly measure your ‘ping’ please enter the following places into the table on the Global Ping Statistics website:

As a ‘Source city’ please enter:

  • London, England

  • Atlanta, United States of America

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As a ‘Destination city’ please enter the closest city to your current location.

If your latency matches with the numbers shown in the table, the issue of speed within the lab device could be down to distance.

If it is bandwidth that is affecting your latency – there are a few things we can try. Such as:

  • Restart your device.

  • Turn off any streaming you may have running on your device.

  • Close other browser windows.

  • Close any unnecessary apps.

  • Disconnect other devices.

If you have been told that you are now connected to the devices via long-polling or XHR, there are a couple of things you can try.

  • Firstly, “reconnect” the device. You can do this by clicking on the icon in the image below.

  • If that doesn’t work, you can try logging out and back in again.

  • If the issue persists please contact support via the chat options and our team will liaise with you throughout the investigation process. Could it be something in your network, for example, something blocking web socket connections.

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FAQ's

Q: What Issues could I experience when I connect via long polling or XHR, instead of web sockets?

A: If your latency drops down to long-polling or XHR, you may experience a slow ‘lagged’ performance, especially over higher latency links. If you have no known issues in regards to your internet connection, please contact support and we can provide additional information in regards to troubleshooting these issues.

Still Having Issues?

Check out the articles below for more info!

Connecting to Practice Labs Devices | Practice Labs (practice-labs.com)

Still need assistance? You can reach out to User Support by clicking on the chat bubble at the bottom of your screen!

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