The Distance from Data to You in Edge Computing

How does data transfer work between the browser, the server, and the database? You may be surprised at the distances that data has to travel.

In recent months I’ve been taking a closer look at how data transfer works between the browser, the server, and the database, and have built a prototype application using Next.js and deployed it to Vercel to help visualize and calculate the distances that data has to travel between them.

I’ve been asking folks on Twitter to “submit their edge” so I can build up a better picture of where in the world requests to and from my databases are coming from. If you like, please go ahead and anonymously submit your edge.