Lower Latency

[ZERO]

This year our game server provider will be adding new datacenters and pop locations in Europe and Asia. Now while our server will still be in DC this does mean that we will have a direct internal fiber line going to these locations. This will cause a huge drop in latency in these parts of the world. For those in Europe you may see pings as low as 40ms! These expansions are planed to be operational at the end of the year:


Typically areas within 100miles of a pop or datacenter will see very low lag depending on their ISP and home network configuration.

Each of the points of presence we add in Asia and Europe effectively wrap our 40ms ring around millions of users that may have previously relied on several hops on several providers to get to the SoftLayer network, and as a result, we’re able to power a faster and more consistent network experience for those users.

I hope that those of you that play outside the US will enjoy the lower pings and hopefully this will also allow us to better fill the servers at night!

[anex]

This is good to hear seeing as when it hits 6pm in Europe my ping sky rockets to 190ms

[Xerenix]

Extremly good news for me

[Spasm]

Extremly good news for me

I was thinkin about you when I read that lol

[Fluffy Frufflebottoms]

This year our game server provider will be adding new datacenters and pop locations in Europe and Asia. Now while our server will still be in DC this does mean that we will have a direct internal fiber line going to these locations. This will cause a huge drop in latency in these parts of the world. For those in Europe you may see pings as low as 40ms!

How did they manage to exceed the speed of electromagnetic propagation in a vacuum over optical fiber? Do they charge extra for breaking the laws of physics?

[ZERO]

The primary issue with latency in europe is the number of hops and the equipment used at the exchange. For some areas there will only be 1 hop to their local exchange this will make it so that pings there are basally the same that people playing in Seattle see.

[Evil]

Sounds awesome. Let's game on!

[Fluffy Frufflebottoms]

Heh, the distance between Washington, DC and Seattle is a good bit shorter than the distance between Washington, DC and London. In the straightest line possible, the link to London shown on the map would be just around 6,000 kilometers. With c at ~300,000 km/s, (6,000/300,000) = 0.02s = 40ms RTT. The refractive index of an optical fiber at 1550 nm is about 1.5 (if you're feeling optimistic and generous.) (300,000/1.5) = 200,000 km/s. (6,000/200,000) = 0.03s = 60 ms RTT in a generous and optimistic estimation. In the real world, though, all but the most expensive undersea links hover around 75-78 ms RTT, so expecting lower than 90 ms RTT from the server to clients in Europe would likely leave people fairly disappointed.

[SCRIBBLE]

Heh, the distance between Washington, DC and Seattle is a good bit shorter than the distance between Washington, DC and London. In the straightest line possible, the link to London shown on the map would be just around 6,000 kilometers. With c at ~300,000 km/s, (6,000/300,000) = 0.02s = 40ms RTT. The refractive index of an optical fiber at 1550 nm is about 1.5 (if you're feeling optimistic and generous.) (300,000/1.5) = 200,000 km/s. (6,000/200,000) = 0.03s = 60 ms RTT in a generous and optimistic estimation. In the real world, though, all but the most expensive undersea links hover around 75-78 ms RTT, so expecting lower than 90 ms RTT from the server to clients in Europe would likely leave people fairly disappointed.

You forgot to factor in the size of the tubes.

[brett friggin favre]

Heh, the distance between Washington, DC and Seattle is a good bit shorter than the distance between Washington, DC and London. In the straightest line possible, the link to London shown on the map would be just around 6,000 kilometers. With c at ~300,000 km/s, (6,000/300,000) = 0.02s = 40ms RTT. The refractive index of an optical fiber at 1550 nm is about 1.5 (if you're feeling optimistic and generous.) (300,000/1.5) = 200,000 km/s. (6,000/200,000) = 0.03s = 60 ms RTT in a generous and optimistic estimation. In the real world, though, all but the most expensive undersea links hover around 75-78 ms RTT, so expecting lower than 90 ms RTT from the server to clients in Europe would likely leave people fairly disappointed.

Fluffybaby...I love you...but it's a weekend and you just exceeded your MPP (math per post) allowance. This is a very serious offense. Now I'm going to have trouble watching football today because my brain, which was happy in its resting state, is now defunct.