How do data storage locations affect network latency in cloud computing?

Network latency has a significant impact on user satisfaction, and the physical distance between users and servers is the biggest factor in the latency problem. Problems such as application and processing latency can always be solved by adding more computing resources, but long-distance data packets always take time (for example, from London to New York), which depends largely on the physical constants of the speed of light.

Because most cloud computing providers are currently located in the United States, the problem of network latency in the American continent can be tolerated by users. But if you have a large percentage of users in Europe or Asia, choosing a cloud provider in the right area is critical.

The following statistics can be consulted. Verizon Enterprise said the average network latency in North America was about 40 milliseconds, while the transatlantic network latency between the United States and Europe was about 80 milliseconds. This means that a European user faces twice times more network latency problems than American users, leading to many service complaints and low productivity.

For companies that are more concerned about accessing resource security through public Internet, some cloud computing providers provide them with a private wide area network connected to their facilities. Aside from the issues of Edward Snowden and the NSA (the fact that private WANs are inherently unsafe), this approach does not achieve the desired goal.

Cloud computing services are designed to provide enterprise users with a new way of doing business. But waiting three months to connect a new WAN line to a particular building or data center (the most common case in most cases) is not in line with the idea that cloud computing advocates. Cloud computing is primarily about paying for fast configuration, use, and avoidance of cumbersome ITIL processes.

It is a mistake not to deploy hosting services simply by considering the price of cloud computing. Private WAN connectivity is not a public cloud computing solution because they limit the services that you can only use for a particular vendor in a particular geographic location.