Configuring permissions in a database system allows an administrator to define the level of access, such as viewing or modifying data, that each user or group of users has. A user might be given the privilege to run SELECT queries, which relates to viewing data, but not necessarily the ability to execute INSERT or UPDATE queries, which relate to adding or modifying data. Permissions do not inherently affect network latency or storage capacity—those aspects are related to infrastructure and data management policies, not user access rights.