Will a long ethernet cable increase my latency?

[Zakamutt]

^. Basically I'm considering moving my computer quite a bit farther away from the router, like 5+ metres of cable further. Apart from general problems with getting the wire there, I also wonder about this.

 

[Linaze]

You need not worry. Roughly a hundred metres should work just fine without an amplifier.

 

[Nuclear]

I'm using a 40m one right now.

 

[Dr Super Good]

like 5+ metres of cable further. Apart from general problems with getting the wire there, I also wonder about this.

That will increase your latency by about 25 ns to 50 ns (maybe a bit more if a lot of hand shaking must occur). Seeing how internet communication is in the order of ms, you can ignore this increase and it certainly will not be even measureable by standard hardware. Your computer probably generates more network latency due to another hardware interrupt happening before but not completing by the time a network related hardware interrupt occurs.

If you are using gigabit Ethernet it might drop bandwidth considerably depending on cable quality and environmental noise but it should still remain beyond 100 mbps which is the most commonly deployed Ethernet at the moment. Factoring in latency caused by bandwidth loss might also come to a few ns but again can be ignored.

 

[Nuclear]

This question can also be answered by the following experiment:

1. Take a 1 meter long copper stick, bend it so that it will go to both holes of an electric plug and stick it in an electric plug. You should feel a shock.

2. Repeat the experiment with a 5 meter long copper stick. Did you notice more delay between the plugging and the shock?

 

[Dr Super Good]

1. Take a 1 meter long copper stick, bend it so that it will go to both holes of an electric plug and stick it in an electric plug. You should feel a shock.

2. Repeat the experiment with a 5 meter long copper stick. Did you notice more delay between the plugging and the shock?

The copper stick will likely vaporize into a plasma ark before you feel any such shock leaving you horribly burned and scared. That is unless it trips a circuit breaker.

 

[saphiree]

The copper stick will likely vaporize into a plasma ark before you feel any such shock leaving you horribly burned and scared. That is unless it trips a circuit breaker.

I think you just sucked the last "fun" out of me

 

[Nuclear]

Damn you DSG, always knowing stuff I didn't take into consideration and ruining my posts.

Then measure the delay with the plasma arc appearing.

edit:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu0AOCu5bFQ