{"id":111037,"date":"2024-03-26T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/?p=111037"},"modified":"2026-01-28T13:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:16:53","slug":"backblaze-network-stats-real-world-measurements-from-the-backblaze-us-west-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/backblaze-network-stats-real-world-measurements-from-the-backblaze-us-west-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Backblaze Network Stats: Real-World Measurements from the Backblaze US-West Region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As you\u2019re sitting down to watch yet another episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000<\/a>” (Anyone else? Just me?), you might be thinking about how you\u2019re receiving more than 16 billion signals over your home internet connection that need to be interpreted and sent to decoding software in order to be viewed on a screen as images. (Anyone else? Just me?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In telecommunications, we study how signals (electrical and optical) propagate in a medium (copper wires, optical fiber, or through the air). Signals bounce off objects, degrade as they travel, and arrive at the receiving end (hopefully) intact enough to be interpreted as a binary 0 or 1, eventually to be decoded to form images that we see on our screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today in the latest installment of Network Stats<\/a>, I\u2019m going to talk about one of the most important things that I\u2019ve learned about the application of telecommunication to computer networks: the study of how long operations take. It\u2019s a complicated process, but that doesn\u2019t make buffering any less annoying, am I right? And if you\u2019re using cloud storage in any way, you rely on signals to run applications, back up your data, and maybe even stream out those movies<\/a> yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s get into how we measure data transmission, what things we can do to improve transmission time, and some real-world measurements from the Backblaze US-West region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Networking and Nanoseconds: A Primer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the risk of being too basic, when we study network communication, we\u2019re measuring how long signals take to get from point A to point B, which implies that there is some amount of distance between them. This is also known as latency<\/a>. As networks have evolved<\/a>, the time it takes to get from point A to point B has gone from being measured in hours to being measured in fractions of a second. Since we live in more human relatable terms like minutes, hours, and days, it can be hard for us to understand concepts like nanoseconds (a billionth of a second). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a breakdown of how many milli, micro, and nanoseconds are in one second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Time<\/th>Symbol<\/th>Number in 1 Second<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1 second<\/td><\/td>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1 millisecond<\/td>ms<\/td>1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1 microsecond<\/td>\u03bcs<\/td>1,000,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1 nanosecond<\/td>ns<\/td>1,000,000,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n

For reference, taking a deep breath takes approximately one second. When you\u2019re watching TV, you start to notice audio delays at approximately 10\u201320ms, and if your cat pushes your pen off your desk, it will hit the ground in approximately 400ms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanosecond Wire: Making Nanoseconds Real<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960s, Grace Murray Hopper<\/a> (1906\u20131992) explained computer operations and what a nanosecond means in a succinct, tangible fashion. An early computer scientist who also served in the U.S. Navy, Hopper was often asked by folks like generals and admirals why it took so long for signals to reach satellites. So, Hopper had pieces of wire cut to 30cm (11.8in) in length, which is the distance that it takes light to travel in perfect conditions\u2014that is, a vacuum\u2014in one nanosecond. (Remember: we humans express speed as distance over time.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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