Latency vs Throughput -Critical Performance Concepts, Explained | Linux Today

Latency vs Throughput -Critical Performance Concepts, Explained

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Jul 7, 2015

When discussing the performance of a computer system, two concepts are absolutely critical to understand, yet often get overlooked. These are latency – or, how long it takes for some operation to occur, and throughput – or, the amount achieved in a given time. Understanding these two concepts will help you not only diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues, and build a foundation of knowledge needed for more advanced concepts.

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.