Any comment about speedtest.net ?

[Danilo Dy]

Hi,

Any comment about speedtest.net on how accurate their utility/apps? like maybe compare to pathchar...

Well, if I cap a bandwidth to say 1Mbps, pathchar shows it @ 95% right. But speedtest.net shows otherwise.

There are many factor that can affect speed and latency not only from the network side but also from the system and application side, speedtest.net should mention that somewhere in their website.

Regards,

Dandy

[Edison Ortiz · Accepted solution]

Bandwidth metering websites are never 100% accurate because their speed report depends on your connection to their application.

You will get different speed report depending upon the time of day (how busy is the backbone that connects your computer to theirs) as well as how many users are executing their speed report at that time.

For an accurate representation of your speed, talk to your ISP and see if they have a testing FTP server or speed meter application. Plenty of them do but don't advertise it to the masses.

As for speedtest.net I find their speed meter application to be better than most.

[ccbootcamp · Accepted solution]

Accurate? It's not very accurate at all. Lots of factors come into play.

To test your bandwidth, you need to test your speed with something at the ISP...however, if the ISP's upstream sucks...well, you get the picture.

Now if you want to test the approximate speed/bandwidth seen by someone on the speedtest.net network connecting to your network, or to a server on the speedtest.net network, then it will be a pretty accurate measurement! :)

-brad

www.ccbootcamp.com

(please rate the post if this helps!)

[Danilo Dy]

Thanks guys. My sentiments are the same. I use Netmeter and FTP upload/download to prove it. It's jut that a lot of people use speedtest.net nowadays to shoot their ISP. I'm the ISP anyway :)

I think subscriber should understand that speedtest.net is not the internet authority to determine the speed and bandwidth of every ISP. Also, internet is not end-to-end QoS.

As mentioned, there are many factors in measuring speed/bandwidth and latency;

- Distance

- Congestion along the path (as internet is not end-to-end QoS)

- LAN where the client and server reside

- Client or Server system performance and application use

- Other, etc...

Well, I just use speedtest.net and the server I use is just next door and I'm getting 999ms latency, lol.

Thanks,

Dandy

[michael.w.lim]

Is there a way to query the IOS and obtain the current total available bandwidth over a WLAN? I plan to have a mobile WLAN with an Aeronet 1240AG on three vehicles and another 1240AG acting as a bridge between all three. I'm told that I need the RSSI (Receiver Signal Strength Indicator). It would be ideal to access it programmatically through an API.

I am not a network engineer by the way.