Redirects users to the resource that has the least latency (fastest response time) close to them.
How It Works
Concept:
- You deploy your application in multiple AWS regions
- Route 53 measures latency between user and each region
- Route 53 directs user to the region with lowest latency
- Result: Fastest experience for the user
Example:
User in Germany asks: "Where is myapp.com?"
Route 53 checks latency:
- US East: 150ms
- EU West: 20ms ← Lowest!
- AP Southeast: 300ms
Route 53 responds: "Go to EU West server"
How Latency is Measured
Latency is based on traffic between users and AWS Regions
- AWS has actual data on network latency between locations and regions
- Route 53 uses this data to make routing decisions
- NOT based on geographic distance (it's network performance)
Example:
- User in India
- Server in Singapore (geographically closer)
- Server in Mumbai (AWS region with better network)
- Route 53 might pick Mumbai if it has lower latency, even if Singapore is closer
Setup Example
You deploy your app in 3 regions:
| Region |
Server IP |
Latency Record |
| US East 1 |
11.22.33.44 |
myapp.com → us-east-1 |
| EU West 1 |
55.66.77.88 |
myapp.com → eu-west-1 |
| AP Southeast 1 |
99.11.22.33 |
myapp.com → ap-southeast-1 |
When users from different locations visit:
User in New York:
- Latency to US East: 10ms ← Lowest
- Latency to EU West: 80ms