What does the term 'latency' refer to in networking?

Latency in networking refers to the time taken for data to travel from the source to the destination. This encompasses the delays that may occur during the transmission process, which can be influenced by various factors such as the speed of the connection, the number of devices the data must pass through, and network congestion. Measuring latency is crucial for understanding the performance of a network, as high latency can lead to noticeable delays in data transfer, impacting the overall user experience, particularly in real-time applications like video conferencing and online gaming.

While the speed of a connection, physical distance between devices, and the amount of data transferred are relevant networking concepts, they do not specifically define latency. Speed, for instance, relates to how fast data can be sent but does not address the timing aspect of when data begins its journey and reaches its final destination.