Bufferbloat: when a download wrecks the order latency
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 2:25 pm
A home router has a queue for outgoing and incoming packets. When the connection is saturated, for example by a large upload or a streaming video, packets wait in the queue, and latency climbs to hundreds of milliseconds or more. This is bufferbloat.
For traders, the effect is brutal. A cloud backup running in the background can push the ping from 15 to 400 milliseconds without any visible sign. Order confirmations delay, and the platform may even show a disconnect.
Test it by running a ping to the broker while saturating the line with a speed test. If latency soars, the router queue is the culprit.
Fixes include enabling smart queue management or quality of service on the router, limiting bandwidth for other devices, or using a separate connection for trading. Some routers support algorithms designed to keep latency low under load.
Scheduling heavy transfers outside trading hours also helps.
A calm network is invisible until it fails.
How does the ping behave to the broker while another device uses the connection heavily?
For traders, the effect is brutal. A cloud backup running in the background can push the ping from 15 to 400 milliseconds without any visible sign. Order confirmations delay, and the platform may even show a disconnect.
Test it by running a ping to the broker while saturating the line with a speed test. If latency soars, the router queue is the culprit.
Fixes include enabling smart queue management or quality of service on the router, limiting bandwidth for other devices, or using a separate connection for trading. Some routers support algorithms designed to keep latency low under load.
Scheduling heavy transfers outside trading hours also helps.
A calm network is invisible until it fails.
How does the ping behave to the broker while another device uses the connection heavily?