Wirebook › Glossary › Bufferbloat
What is bufferbloat?
In one sentence: Lag caused by a router queueing too much data when the line is full, so small game and call messages wait behind big downloads.
A little more
When a big download or upload fills an internet line, the router lines up the extra data in a waiting area called a buffer. If that buffer is huge, every tiny message from a game or a video call has to wait at the back of a long queue. That slowdown is called bufferbloat.
It is why the game lags the moment someone else starts downloading, even on fast internet. Routers with smart queueing fix it by keeping the queue short and letting small messages go past the big ones.
See it in action
- 1What happens when you open a web page?Follow one click from your keyboard to a server and back: DNS, the padlock handshake, HTTP, tunnels and painting the page.6 min · interactive
- 14How can lots of people play the same game together?Share a pretend park with friends in other houses: every move is a message to a shared world on a server.7 min · interactive
- BonusWhy does the game lag when someone starts a download?Your internet line is a shop with one checkout and a download is a shopper with endless trolleys.9 min · interactive
Do it for real
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