Speed tests

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Hello all,

I have a quick question about online speed tests.

I have a 3meg/800kb dsl connection. The last few days I have found it to be slow. So I decided to run a speed test. I went to dsl reports and ran the first one on the line. The results came in at: 3790 down/ 665 up. This is odd since my "max" connection speed should theoretically be 3000.

So, I went down the list and ran the 4 available speed tests. They completely fluctuated and the lowest result gave me: 1509 down / 960 up.

So, my questions are basically:

Are those online speed tests at ALL reliable?
or
Is my internet connection REALLY that unstable? Is it possible for an internet connection to fluctuate THAT much within 5 minutes of each speed test?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

LG

[mats.hogberg]

Of course. That's the way Internet works. You've got no control of the way the data travels, what bottle necks it may have to pass - nothing.
Even if you test aginst the ame server, it may fluctuate because of different # of clients runing the test at the mo - all sorts of other activity going on between you and the route your data takes to and from you affects actual data rate.

/Mats

[waheed]

I agree with mats.hogberg. Interent speeds do fluctuate that much. Im on 1Mb connection and mine can be go as slow as dial up speeds. Usually, i experince slow speeds in the morning, but fast speeds later in the day.

[thecoalman]

I'm paying for a 4000/400 line. The download speed is usually in the 3000 range but the upload is usually in the 800-900 range. If anything they usaully throttle the upload which is really odd considering my test results....

Results vary slightly each time and depending on the time of day but not by a whole lot.

[SaSi]

Your line of 3MBit/800kbit is the theoretical speed of your connection to your ISP.

Any speed test you perform will require lot's of data to travel between your PC and a number of nodes, each possibly acting as a bottleneck.

If you want to really test the ADSL speed, here is a practical approach I found to be reliable.

Select several large files for download located on reliable and well known servers (they "tend" to be fast).

Examples are the latest Nero update (large), the WinXP SP2 from Microsoft (they have large servers and large Service Packs), etc.

Chose at least 4 such files and download them with a download manager (my favourite is FlashGet, but anyone will do).

While downloading multiple files at the same time, check the overall download speed. Downloading from multiple sources helps ensure that no single bottleneck distorts your measurements.

On the first question you made (how could it be that a speed test might show faster speeds than your connection, it is possible for limited amounts of time that your speed might exceed the nominal speed of your connection. It is due to the way ATM works (ATM is the transfer method in ADSL). Also, your overall speed will typically be less than or equal to the nominal, typicaly in the range of 80~85% of that. More concurrent users on the same ISP's node generally reduce the speed further, even to 50% of the nominal speed. This is an indication of a saturated ISP's infrastructure.

Hope the above cleared your questions.

[JerryB]

Hello all,

I have a quick question about online speed tests.

I have a 3meg/800kb dsl connection. The last few days I have found it to be slow. So I decided to run a speed test. I went to dsl reports and ran the first one on the line. The results came in at: 3790 down/ 665 up. This is odd since my "max" connection speed should theoretically be 3000.

So, I went down the list and ran the 4 available speed tests. They completely fluctuated and the lowest result gave me: 1509 down / 960 up.

So, my questions are basically:

Are those online speed tests at ALL reliable?
or
Is my internet connection REALLY that unstable? Is it possible for an internet connection to fluctuate THAT much within 5 minutes of each speed test?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

LG

hi,
these are my thoughts...
.. these online speed tests... there only guidlines... there many factors that will effect the results.... that why your seeing fluxuations and numbers that don't makes since... and like SAsi mention do your own test.. download a nice large file from some website and measure...

1. first..... you will always have difference between the download or upload times for a file... this is the technolgy... generally the upload will be appx half of the speed of the download.. but that in general and there factors involved.....
2. these online test... the way they do it is sending a small file and see how long it takes to get back to them.. the problem is.. that.... after the first test.... the file is now in the cache and when you do a secound test... your computer bring up that file from the cache!! that can really change your times.... it best to empty the cache after each test!!...... get better consistancy...
3. how busy the website is and how busy the various relay points on the net is!!!! they can change your times!!
note: you may want to ping a few sites.... this can give indications of how traffic is doing at the various relay points...
4. programs running in the background can also effect how quickly you can download things....!! with ananlog that is quite noticable/visable. they can slow your transfer rate by as much as 50-60%, now with broadband people don't think about it....!!and i don't have numbers to compare... but it can make a difference... in some cases a big difference... more than once a program running causing major issue with downloading...times

well those are my thoughts.. good luck

[thecoalman]

generally the upload will be appx half of the speed of the download.. but that in general and there factors involved.....

AFAIK that is only relative to Dial-Up, I remeber reading years ago it was restricted to 33kbps upload. Don't remeber why....Most broadband plans, especially cable, aren't going to be anywhere near half the downlaod speed. 1/4 if you're lucky.

[isogonic]

speed tests are really just a rough guide. results only tell you about a certain route at one point in time.
do what Sasi says or at least try dslreports from different servers and different times of day.