Where's the fastest place to put my server? How much does it matter?
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A data-driven analysis of how server geographic location affects web latency, using real access logs (~1M requests, 143k unique IPs) combined with WonderNetwork ping data across ~240 cities. Results show the east coast of North America (especially New Jersey/New York) offers the best median latency for English-language sites, while CDNs (~40ms) outperform even the best server location (71ms). The post also covers why roundtrips matter so much, how CORS preflight requests add hidden latency, why HTTP/3 won't eliminate JS/CSS bundling, and why bandwidth improvements outpace latency improvements. Data limitations including GeoIP accuracy and WonderNetwork coverage are honestly discussed.
Table of contents
Why location mattersA quantitative approachThe resultsGeneralityGratuitous roundtripsBandwidth improves quickly but latency improves slowlyContact/etcSee alsoSort: