Network Ping/Latency • page 1/1 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

So I haven't found anything re this in the forums, apologies if it is there.

I'm wondering has anyone actively monitored their Ping/Latency - Lichess does display it but I'm wondering why it fluctuates so wildly. Mine is usually around 24/25ms but it does often increase to 700ms+.
I know I am talking about fractions of a second here but I have noticed a marked improvement when it is lower in my bullet games, not winning every game or anything near that but I have noticed I finish a lot more games with 20+ seconds on the clock.
Is this all in my head or has anyone else noticed that?
I have gone so far as to change my DNS and WiFi channel in order to keep the ping at a minimum.
Anyone any thoughts on the subject?

So I haven't found anything re this in the forums, apologies if it is there. I'm wondering has anyone actively monitored their Ping/Latency - Lichess does display it but I'm wondering why it fluctuates so wildly. Mine is usually around 24/25ms but it does often increase to 700ms+. I know I am talking about fractions of a second here but I have noticed a marked improvement when it is lower in my bullet games, not winning every game or anything near that but I have noticed I finish a lot more games with 20+ seconds on the clock. Is this all in my head or has anyone else noticed that? I have gone so far as to change my DNS and WiFi channel in order to keep the ping at a minimum. Anyone any thoughts on the subject?

StingerPuzzles

#2

DNS has nothing to do with ping. Avoiding wifi and using a hardwired connection would likely be your best option for seeing a quick improvement.

userfriendly2

edited

#3

Yeah, hardwire is not an option as I'm on mobile, was more interested in the how, if anyone knows, the ping fluctuates so much and its really just for curiosity sake, I'm not good enough to be worried about an extra few seconds in a bullet game BUT I did notice a tangible difference when the ping is down to 23ms compared to 850ms(readings from Lichess) Download speeds are through the roof so I'm sure it's not that.

Has anyone actually tried to reduce this when playing, if I'm noticing an extra 10 or 15 seconds then I'm sure that could equate to a lot of extra victories for the higher level players?

And thanks for clearing that up about DNS.

Yeah, hardwire is not an option as I'm on mobile, was more interested in the how, if anyone knows, the ping fluctuates so much and its really just for curiosity sake, I'm not good enough to be worried about an extra few seconds in a bullet game BUT I did notice a tangible difference when the ping is down to 23ms compared to 850ms(readings from Lichess) Download speeds are through the roof so I'm sure it's not that. Has anyone actually tried to reduce this when playing, if I'm noticing an extra 10 or 15 seconds then I'm sure that could equate to a lot of extra victories for the higher level players? And thanks for clearing that up about DNS.

jebbam edited

#4

Hi,

Ya, DNS really isn't the issue here.

As a total geek running a bot on lichess, I've looked into their network. The servers are in Gravelines, France hosted at OVH, a huge Internet hosting company. You can get an account there yourself. I think their servers are in GRA2, which is one of the data centers, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, if you are that close to lichess.org on the network, you pretty much won't see any significant dropouts at all. The latency will be ~0.15 ms.

In other words, the delays you are seeing are most likely between you and lichess. It's not their servers being slow.

Mobile phones typically are bad for latency. Anything hard wired is better. The type of network connection you have will matter a lot. Bandwidth isn't as important as latency.

Or use your mobile phone and move to Northern France. :)

Hi, Ya, DNS really isn't the issue here. As a total geek running a bot on lichess, I've looked into their network. The servers are in Gravelines, France hosted at OVH, a huge Internet hosting company. You can get an account there yourself. I think their servers are in GRA2, which is one of the data centers, but I'm not sure. Anyway, if you are *that* close to lichess.org on the network, you pretty much won't see any significant dropouts at all. The latency will be ~0.15 ms. In other words, the delays you are seeing are most likely between you and lichess. It's not their servers being slow. Mobile phones typically are bad for latency. Anything hard wired is better. The type of network connection you have will matter a lot. Bandwidth isn't as important as latency. Or use your mobile phone and move to Northern France. :)

userfriendly2

#5

France sounds nice