Data obtained from ping: is it round trip or one way?

Solution 1:

It will usually take more then those two options.

Ping measures just the time from client, to server, and back again (rtt - round trip time)

Usually databases use TCP, so you first need to send a SYN packet to start the TCP handshake (to simplify let's say 15ms* + cpu time, then you recieve and SYN/ACK (15ms+cpu time), send back an ACK and a request (atleast 15ms + cpu time), then the time for the DB to process the query, and then the time (15ms + cpu) to get the data back, and a bit more to ack, and close the connection.

This is ofcourse not counting the authentication (username/password) to the database, and no encryption (ssl handshakes/DH or whatever is needed).

*half of a round trip time, assuming the route there and back is symmetrical (half the time to get there, and half to get back... cpu processing time for ping reply is very short)

Solution 2:

The ping time is round trip. If you think about it -- how could it measure the one way time? So it will take 30ms plus the query time.