How is network consumption calculated in a web transaction?

The calculation of network consumption in a web transaction is designed to reflect the time taken from the initiation of a request to the completion of the corresponding response. The correct formula, which includes both the time taken to send the request and the time taken to receive the response, is represented by the sum of two distinct time intervals: the time from when the request starts until the action starts, and the time from when the response ends until the response starts.

By tracking the duration between when the request is initiated and when it has fully completed (which is when the response has been received), one can accurately measure the network consumption involved in the entire transaction. This is critical for understanding application performance, as it helps identify any delays or inefficiencies in the network layer that may impact user experience.

The other options do not accurately capture the complete duration involved in a web transaction's network consumption. For instance, the only looking at the response or action times fails to account for the total time being measured, which involves both sending and receiving data. Hence, the chosen answer provides a comprehensive assessment of network consumption during a web transaction.