Question Ping of Client much higher when initialised from Script then from NetworkManager

Hey folks,

I am currently creating a game using the UGS Relay and Lobby Services.
When I start my Host/Client from the GUI Buttons of the NetworkManager in the Inspector my Client (running on the same machine) has a ping of 5-10ms. However if I start my Client/Host through script with the Lobby system etc. the client suddenly has a ping of 80-120ms.

My ping measured through speed tests in the browser is ~20ms. The settings of the NetworkManager are all at default. For testing I have disabled all Server/ClientRpc's including the NetworkAnimator Component.
The ping in Unity I is measured through the RuntimeNetworkStats provided by the MultiplayerTools and through:

NetworkManager.NetworkConfig.NetworkTransport.GetCurrentRtt(clientId)

Is there anything wrong with my code, or is this ping to be expected since it is always routed through the Relay Server?

I am using Unity 2021.3.11f1 with Netcode for GameObjects 1.0.2, Relay 1.0.4, Lobby 1.0.3 and Multiplayer Tools 1.0.0.
Thanks in advance for any help, and let me know if you need more information or clarification on the issue.

To create and join the lobby I have followed TaroDev's tutorial on the topic.
Code used to create/join lobby and initialise services:
(Full code can be seen in tutorial and the linked GitHub repo)

Code (CSharp):

1.  public static class Authentication{
2.         public static string PlayerId { get; private set; }
3.  
4.         public static async Task Login() {
5.             if (UnityServices.State == ServicesInitializationState.Uninitialized) {
6.                 var options = new InitializationOptions();
7.  
8.  
9. #if UNITY_EDITOR
10.                 // It's used to differentiate the clients, otherwise lobby will count them as the same
11.                 if (ClonesManager.IsClone()) {
12.                     options.SetProfile(ClonesManager.GetArgument());
13.                 }
14.                 else {
15.                     options.SetProfile("Primary");
16.                 }
17. #endif
18.            
19.                 await UnityServices.InitializeAsync(options);
20.             }
21.  
22.             if (!AuthenticationService.Instance.IsSignedIn) {
23.                 await AuthenticationService.Instance.SignInAnonymouslyAsync();
24.                 PlayerId = AuthenticationService.Instance.PlayerId;
25.             }
26.         }
27.     }

Code (CSharp):

1.  public static async Task CreateLobbyWithAllocation(RelayHostData data)
2.     {
3.         // Create a relay allocation and generate a join code to share with the lobby
4.         var a = await RelayService.Instance.CreateAllocationAsync(MAX_PLAYERS);
5.         var joinCode = await RelayService.Instance.GetJoinCodeAsync(a.AllocationId);
6.  
7.         RelayHostData relayHostData = new RelayHostData
8.         {
9.             Key = a.Key,
10.             JoinCode = joinCode,
11.             MaxPlayers = MAX_PLAYERS,
12.             Port = (ushort) a.RelayServer.Port,
13.             AllocationID = a.AllocationId,
14.             AllocationIDBytes = a.AllocationIdBytes,
15.             IPv4Address = a.RelayServer.IpV4,
16.             ConnectionData = a.ConnectionData
17.         };
18.  
19.         var lobbyOptions = new CreateLobbyOptions
20.         {
21.             IsPrivate = !data.IsPublic,
22.             Data = new Dictionary<string, DataObject>
23.             {
24.                 {Constants.RelayJoinKey, new DataObject(DataObject.VisibilityOptions.Member, joinCode)},
25.                 //{Constants.GameTypeKey, new DataObject(DataObject.VisibilityOptions.Public, data.Type.ToString(), DataObject.IndexOptions.N1)},
26.                 //{Constants.DifficultyKey, new DataObject(DataObject.VisibilityOptions.Public, data.Type.ToString(), DataObject.IndexOptions.N2)}
27.             }
28.         };
29.        
30.         _currentLobby = await Lobbies.Instance.CreateLobbyAsync(data.LobbyName, MAX_PLAYERS, lobbyOptions);
31.  
32.         Transport.SetHostRelayData(relayHostData.IPv4Address, relayHostData.Port, relayHostData.AllocationIDBytes, relayHostData.Key, relayHostData.ConnectionData);
33.  
34.         Heartbeat();
35.         PeriodicallyRefreshLobby();
36.         Debug.Log($"Lobby Created; Lobby Code: {_currentLobby.LobbyCode}; Relay Code: {joinCode}");
37.     }
38.  
39.   public static async Task JoinLobbyWithAllocation(string lobbyId) {
40.             _currentLobby = await Lobbies.Instance.JoinLobbyByIdAsync(lobbyId);
41.            
42.             var a = await RelayService.Instance.JoinAllocationAsync(_currentLobby.Data[Constants.RelayJoinKey].Value);
43.  
44.             Transport.SetClientRelayData(a.RelayServer.IpV4, (ushort)a.RelayServer.Port, a.AllocationIdBytes, a.Key, a.ConnectionData, a.HostConnectionData);
45.  
46.             PeriodicallyRefreshLobby();
47.         }

 

That is the round-trip-time (RTT aka "ping") to the nearest backbone of your ISP or a big network hub in your area. This will almost always be the most optimistic ping you can get to any location on the net.

You have to measure the RTT to the relay server you're connecting with! RTTis always the time from your computer to some specific other computer over a network, so it depends on what other end you're pinging.

It looks like that relay server is reachable only with a RTT of 80-120 ms for you. Depending on where you are in the world in relation to the relay server you're connecting to and whether you connect to the Internet via cable or Wifi, that RTT could be either regarded as high or quite good actually.

You should maybe try to have someone test the RTT to the relay server on their end, and they shouldn't be in the same area as you, to see with what RTT they'll end up with.

And yes, when connecting through a relay, the relay does what its name implies: it relays information, or data packets, between two connected endpoints. So all traffic is going through the relay. I'm not sure if Unity's Relay server also checks if direct connection or NAT punchthrough can be established between two endpoints, but I think I remember reading that it (currently) does not.

 

Thank's for your clarifications. I am aware that the "browser" ping is not what to expect from connecting to Unity Servers and that ISP's also do not pick the fastest route depending on the contract Unity has with them.
Nonetheless the ping of 80-120ms seems relatively high to me. I could also test the client in my university, which is still roughly in the same area, but is in the broadband education network and therefore has very good internet speeds. There I could get a ping of 50ms.
The region that gets picked when starting the host is Europe-west4. From the Unity Doc I assume this is the Netherlands server, so maybe this ping is just the best I can do, especially if you account for non-ideal ISP routing. ( I'm in Germany)

If anyone else has experience with what ping one can expect from Unity's Relay Service please let me know.

 

Hi Kip,

thank you for your detailed explanation.

For me the ip address in the inspector of Unity Transport does not change on starting a host/client and stays at the localhosts address. However console logging the ip address of the allocation does work, but I just wanted to mention it for completeness sake.

Pinging the relay server from my console results in request timeouts and the server receives 0 packets. So measuring my ping to the server that way does not seem to work.