ping

latency determines perceived speed, so you need to know when a VPS actually reduces delay versus when it's just marketing; you should choose a VPS if it gives closer network hops or dedicated resources, avoid vendors promising "instant speed" when routing and peering matter, and guard against the danger of high packet loss or long RTTs; measure ping and traceroute from your users' locations and run repeated ICMP/TCP tests to get reliable averages before switching hosts. Over long distances, you'll notice network latency often determines user experience, and choosing a VPS can help - but sometimes vendors overstate gains. This…