Internet connections can become slower for several reasons, including artificially limiting the bandwidth of your ISP's network contrary to your conditions. tariff plan.

Speed testing services can help determine if your ISP is guilty of slow connection speeds, but only if the user understands how they work.

Did the main characters stutter while watching the popular TV series? Does it take forever to upload a new YouTube video? Have you started to think about purchasing a more expensive tariff plan for connecting to the network?

Recent research shows that some ISPs provide more low speed connections than they initially declare. According to the popular IT blog WSJ Digits, 41 percent of ISPs do not meet their contractual Internet connection speed obligations.

Fortunately, there are many free online broadband speed test services. On the other hand, the results of different tests on the same machine can vary significantly. Here are the 2 most important advice Things to keep in mind when you run any connection performance test:

Never rely on single measurements of the same speed test (see explanation below).
Local wireless networks can have a large number of potential pitfalls that will affect upload and download speeds. Therefore, it is recommended to run tests on computers directly connected to the network infrastructure using an Ethernet cable.

What Network Performance Tests Measure

Almost all Internet speed tests measure three parameters: download speed from the network, download speed to a remote server, and latency. The tests themselves are extremely simple: download and upload speeds are calculated based on the amount of time it takes to transfer one file or several files of various sizes between your computer and an Internet server.

The network latency test (also known as “ping”) measures the time it takes for one packet of data to reach a remote server and then return to the computer. Latency is critical for time-sensitive applications such as online trading clients or interactive online games.

In most cases, you will notice that the download speed to the server is several times lower than the download speed. This situation occurs because Internet providers have long chosen operating protocols in which downloading is more important than downloading.

This mode of operation was especially relevant in the first years of using the Internet: then users downloaded many times less content than they downloaded. Now this trend has formally continued, but to a lesser extent. Now we download gigabytes of streaming music and movies, but at the same time we use video calls, IP telephony and file backup to cloud servers.

In the future, ISPs may rethink the allocation of download and upload bandwidth. However, at present, downloading data to a computer is much faster than downloading data from a computer to a server.

Checking Comcast Provider with 8 Speed Checking Services

It is very easy to use internet speed tests. For example, on the Bandwidth Place website, the user is asked to simply press a large start button. Many services also offer to choose the web server used for testing.

Figure 1. Like many other similar services, Bandwidth Place offers to find out the connection parameters in one click

It is also worth remembering that for some reason, the results of measuring the connection speed by various services can differ significantly. Here are the results of 8 popular connection speed tests.

The author of this article, Patrick Marshall, lives in Seattle, and there is not a great choice of ISPs. The Comcast subscription I use assumes a download speed of 50 megabits per second and a download speed of 5 megabits per second. The numbers in the table below reflect the results of the network measurements at noon. Many tests give completely different measurement results in different time days.

In all but two tests, Comcast confirmed the speed promised by the contract, although the differences between tests were significant. Overall results:

Results table

Service	Incoming (Mbps)	Outgoing (Mbps)	Ping (ms)
Bandwidth Place	53.0	6.11	18
CNET Internet Speed Test	48.85	(n / a)	(n / a)
XFINITY Speed Test	59.3	6.1	8
DSL Reports Speedtest	49.6	5.9	66
Geek Squad	16.8	5.96	106
Ookla Speedtest	59.4	6.15	8
SpeedOf.Me Lite	65.0	6.7	11
Visualware MySpeed	56.1	5.95	26

To summarize, it should be noted that the download speed ranged from 16.8 Mbps to 65 Mbps, the final difference exceeded 48 Mbps, which is equivalent to 75 percent. The latency ranged from 8 milliseconds to 106 milliseconds, in this test the results were even more varied. Even if we ignore the results of measurements by Geek Squad, the download speed varied by 25 percent.

Is one test more accurate than the other?

For many reasons, it is impossible to accurately measure the speed of an Internet connection or even say that any service is more accurate than the competition.

First, the Internet is not a homogeneous structure, it is a huge combination of different routers, servers, cables, etc. Typically, each browser-to-web server connection uses a different network router and goes through a different Internet traffic control device - each of which affects the connection speed.

Moreover, Internet users may use different browsers or FTP applications at different times. Some browsers may have integrated accelerators that use multithreaded HTTP channels, and some lack this functionality. Thus, there is no persistence of multiple factors for internet connections.

The speed tests themselves are also not consistent. These services use three types of tests - download speed, download speed and latency, but the tests themselves can be very different. Some services use a single file to measure speeds, while their competitors may use sets of files of different sizes. Even the format of the test can affect the final results, depending on the protocols used, the packet sizes and the amount of overhead they contain.

Some services transfer files in a single stream, others use multithreading. In most cases, it is not known whether a test using a single mediation stream will be more accurate than a multithreaded service.

While some tests always use the same measurement server, others may search for the fastest server or allow the user to choose a specific server themselves.

Connection performance can vary significantly depending on the location of the servers used in testing. Generally, the farther the server is physically from your location, the lower the network speed metrics - especially latency. Some tests, for example SpeedOf.me, pass data through several servers located in different places during measurements.

Figure 2. Graphical presentation of measurement results in the SpeedOf.me service

The delay time can also affect throughput networks because most of the Internet traffic is TCP congestion window. Basically, the system waits for confirmation that packets have been received before sending subsequent data. The longer the delay time, the slower the transmission goes.

The time of day can also seriously affect your connection speed value. During business hours, corporate machines can experience a serious drop in speed. multiple users are using the same Internet connection. Home users will notice a slowdown in the evening hours when you and your neighbors are uploading videos to YouTube or streaming movies.

It should also be borne in mind that test results may vary depending on the number of other users simultaneously using the local ISP site. For end users, any device connected to the network in a separate apartment building, for corporate users, distortion in the results can be provoked by their colleagues using the same network connection. If you notice a severe drop in speed after 15:00, students probably returned from class and switched to Internet services.

Most internet speed testing services download a small application. Some resources use Java, others use Flash. The newest services use HTML5 technology, which does not require applets to be installed on your computer. In theory, tests based on HTML 5 should be more accurate due to the lack of transfer of service information to the local application. Ookla says its Flash test will compensate for protocol overhead and application buffering before publishing the final results.

Figure 3. Ookla has a relatively simple interface for displaying speeds and latency.

Conclusion: It doesn't matter what assumptions an Internet service for checking network speed makes, it cannot create a test that will reflect the real state of affairs. On this moment does not exist practical way take into account the configuration of a particular computer and the use of the Internet - especially when Internet connections differ depending on location, session and web resource.

What to do if the connection speed is slower than expected?

Given the limitations of network speed tests, how do you determine if the performance is on par with your paid plan?

Tests can give a rough estimate of the actual speeds of the Internet connection if they are run several times at different times of the day and at different days weeks. If possible, run the test on different computers to get some consistent results. Repeated testing will minimize distortion associated with local PC and network problems.

Once again, let's say that to conduct tests, you need to use a direct connection of the computer to the network infrastructure using an Ethernet cable. Various types wireless connections can seriously reduce real values speeds.

Run tests on various services and discard the highest and lowest scores. If most of the tests show lower performance than stated by the provider, it's time to contact technical support.

Which service measures Internet speed more accurately?

Found a typo? Highlight and press Ctrl + Enter

Greetings, dear readers of the blog site! Today, in order to check the speed of the Internet, it is not at all necessary to be an advanced connoisseur of high technologies. It is enough to use an online service where you can determine the speed of the Internet connection by simply pressing a button. There are a sufficient number of such services on which the Internet connection is checked online.

A simple user, as a rule, does not attach of great importance Internet connection speed. By by and large, the most important thing is that the necessary files (movies, music, documents, etc.) are uploaded and downloaded as quickly as possible. But if any delays or failures in the Internet connection begin to occur, any of us starts to get nervous.

The lack of internet speed at the moment has a particular effect on the nerves. self-creation of a website or blog(this is me about myself and "my high-speed" Internet connection).

Of course, the speed of data transfer on the Internet depends on many factors. And all these nuances are negotiated with the Internet provider, with whom an agreement is concluded to provide them with network access services. But providers often do not fulfill their obligations, and the actual data transfer rate turns out to be much lower than stipulated in the contract. And most users simply do not know how to check the Internet connection, or rather, its speed.

To begin with, to test the speed of the Internet, turn off all network programs(including antivirus). Check the status of the network connection.

Look at network activity.

My computer – network environment – Show network connections- select State working network connection.

If the window State there is an active data transfer (digital values change quickly), check if all programs are disabled. If so, you may have a virus. Then first treat your computer with some antivirus program ( you can also use a free antivirus program).

After these steps, the Internet speed can be measured using the online services listed below.

Checking Internet speed on Yandex Internet.

Perhaps the most "Spartan" online service where you can measure the speed of the Internet is Yandex Internet.

But, despite its simplicity, Yandex does the speed test in a very original and high-quality way. It is enough to go to his service to check the speed of the Internet - Yandex will immediately determine your IP address, browser, extension of your computer screen and what region you are from.

Further, to measure the speed of the Internet in Yandex, click on the "ruler" button and after the Internet connection test is completed, you can view detailed information... Where the upload speed and download speed will be indicated. And as a souvenir, when the Internet speed check is over, you can grab the HTML code of the banner with you to insert it on your blog or website.

How to determine the connection speed of the Internet service Speedtest.net

This is one of the most popular online services, on which it will be simply pleasant for many to measure the speed of the Internet. The service promoted in Runet has an attractive design, and it is a pleasure to check the speed of the Internet on this resource. After measuring and testing the speed of the Internet connection, speedtest presents a report in the form of a banner, which indicates the data of the download speed from the network and the transmission data that comes from the user's computer.

Just like in Yandesk, this banner can be placed on your website or blog. In addition, on the online service, you can take the script of the Speedtest Mini miniature module and install it on your website or blog. Then anyone can measure the speed of the Internet directly on your website. And, perhaps, the most attractive product of Speedtest Mobile. This application is for mobile devices running Android and iOS.

Internet speed test online service Speed.io

Hello site readers IT lessons. Today we will deal with the popular question “ how to correctly measure the speed of an Internet connection?»Everyone is interested to know if we are getting those megabits per second that we paid for and why sometimes files or sites load well, oh, very slowly ...

In this IT lesson, the knowledge gained in the previous two lessons will be useful to you: "" and ""

Of course, you would like to press one button and quickly find out your speed ... this is also possible, but the accuracy will be low. In addition, you need to take into account some factors that affect the data transfer rate and the result of its testing.

The lesson is great, if you need to find something specific, you can use the content:

What affects internet speed?

First, let's figure out what can affect the quality of measuring the speed of the Internet connection. And there are many such factors:

Speed with whom you are connecting, checking the speed of the Internet (this can also include the speed of access to the site from which you download something)
Speed and settings if your computer is connected to local network through him
Working on the computer at the time of check
Antiviruses and firewalls running in the background
Computer and operating system settings

In most cases, the most important item on this list will be the first item - server speed. Let's give you some illustrative examples.

Example 1.
If you connect your computer to a local network using a cable (twisted pair), then connection speed with another computer on the same network(in your city) will be very large, for example, 70 Mbps .

Example 2.
Now we measure the speed between our computer and some a server on the other side of the country... Maybe we'll get about 20 Mbps .

Example 3.
Let's imagine that all 800 regular readers of the IT-lessons site connected to this server at once, and started downloading different files. Communication speed with a loaded server will decrease and for you it will be, for example, 3 Mbps .

Example 4.
Now let's try to download the file from a server in another country, for example, in Australia, we get less 1 Mbps!

Now, I think, it is clear that the measured speed depends on which server you have chosen to check: its location, its own maximum speed and its workload. That is, you need to understand that:

The speed of all servers (containing sites and files) is different and depends on the capabilities of these servers.

The same applies to other points (for example, the connection speed will differ when connected to the network directly or through a router, and will also depend on the characteristics of this router).

How to improve the accuracy of the check

It is advisable to complete these points if you want to get the most accurate result of checking the speed of the Internet connection. If approximate measurements are enough for you, then you can proceed to the next section of the lesson.

Connect network cable directly to the computer(v )
Close all programs, except for the browser (in which there should be one bookmark with this IT lesson)
Stop programs downloading in the background(torrent clients, download managers, etc.), except for those that you have chosen to test the speed of the Internet
Temporarily disable the antivirus (do not forget to enable it later), because in some cases, it can affect the readings of online tests.
Launch the Task Manager (simultaneously hold down the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys) and go to the "Network" tab. Make sure the network is not loaded (Network Usage should be less than 1%). If the network is actively used, it is possible that a program or Windows update is taking place. In this case, wait for the download to finish or restart your computer.

Network usage in the task manager (green line jump - the process of checking the speed of the Internet connection)

Moreover, each measurement needs to be carried out several times to improve testing accuracy.

How to measure the speed of an Internet connection

There are several ways to measure your internet connection speed. Let's consider them in increasing complexity of use.

Online services

Since we are now at the "Beginner" level, we will consider the first method in detail, and for experienced users I will briefly describe the remaining two.

Method 1. Measuring speed using online services

This is the one the easiest way to measure"Press one button and learn everything quickly." The accuracy is relative, but the simplicity is attractive. 🙂

note that online test s have different accuracy!

I will tell you only about the most popular services.

SPEEDTEST.NET

Let's start with The most popular and most accurate online internet speed test(also free). I will dwell on it in more detail and advise all readers of the site to start using this particular method.

Here's a quick guide:

2. Find the button " Start check"And click it:

Click the "Start Checkout" button

3. At the end of testing, you see three results:

First number denoted by the word "Ping" (read "ping"), means network packet transmission time... The lower this number, the better quality connections (preferably less than 100ms).

The second number is the speed of data retrieval... It is this figure that providers advertise when connecting (it is for these megabits per second that you pay your honestly earned rubles / hryvnia / dollars / yuan 🙂).

The third number is the baud rate... As you can see, it can be noticeably lower than the receiving speed, and the provider is silent about this (but, in most cases, a high outgoing Internet speed is rarely required).

If you want to measure the speed of the Internet connection with a particular city, then select it on the map (all big cities planets) and click the "Start Checking" button again.

Thus, you can check the examples I have given for yourself.

The creator of the "speedtest" has another interesting online service that checks internet connection qualityhttp://pingtest.net/.
There are many more interesting testing opportunities on the main site of the company. network connections http://www.ookla.com/.

Other online services for checking Internet speed

The principle of operation is the same for all services: they pressed a button, waited, received a number ... but the results are different.

2. Add several downloads from different fast file servers, for example this (test archive) and this (Linux distribution)

3. We expose in the settings maximum amount streams(sections for injection)

4. Watching the maximum speed file uploads:

The maximum speed achieved is highlighted in the image with a red rectangle.

What speed do I need to download movies?

We learned how to measure the speed of data transfer over the Internet, now let's see where it can be applied.

Let's say we want to download medium quality movie which usually takes 1.4 Gigabytes... Let's calculate, at different speeds:

Speed 100 kbps- about 32 hours (we'd better not wait until the movie is downloaded using the mobile Internet)
Speed 1 Mbps- such a movie will be loaded for 3 hours
Speed 3 Mbps- 1 hour download
Speed 15 Mbps- less than 15 minutes to download
Speed 50 Mbps- about 4 minutes
Speed 100 Mbps- about 2 minutes

Compare with time music downloads(for example, an mp3 file in good quality, about 10 MB):

Speed 100 kbps- less than 15 minutes download
Speed 1 Mbps- 1.5 minutes download
Speed 3 Mbps- 0.5 minutes

It is worth remembering that there is a guaranteed speed and a speed not guaranteed by the provider (we figured it out in the IT lesson).

Outcome

So, today we learned how to check the speed of the Internet (Internet connection) in three ways. We learned that in addition to speed, we need to take into account the quality of the connection, which is indicated by the "ping" (we will deal with it separately). And also, we have clearly estimated what speed will be sufficient to download the movie. Thus, we have completed the topic of units of measurement of information and data transfer rate. What's next?

Have you already guessed? Of course, the test! This time there will be few questions, but I advise you to reread (including this one). If you are ready, then here

Copying prohibited, but you can share links.

Want to know how fast your internet connection really is? Measure your internet connection speed and see how fast your downloads, uploads, ping and jitter are.

The numbers that don't lie

You pay the provider for an Internet connection, which must meet certain technical parameters... Among them, not only the download speed, but also the transmission speed along with the delay or response (ping).

In practice, however, the measured values may differ significantly from those indicated on paper. Sometimes long term, sometimes only for a short period of time due to technical problem or aggregation - the joint potential of an Internet connection between multiple users. Speedtest will help you spot the differences and show you what your connection really is. And all this within a few tens of seconds and without complicated settings.

How does internet speed measurement work?

From the user's point of view, everything is simple. Directly in the web browser, click on the measurement button and wait. Before running the speedtest, it is important to disable all tasks, applications and devices that might be using your internet connection. This would affect the results, and you would not learn anything, or the conclusions would not have the required accuracy.

The technical solutions and background of the speedtest itself are complex, but in short and very simplistic, the test simulates the situation when you upload and download data. Measured values are calculated based on how quickly these transfers take place. You can test the speed of up to thirty test servers located in various geographic locations. What data do you find out?

Connection speed under a magnifying glass

The test results will present a series of key values against which you can evaluate your connection and immediately choose, for example, another plan or a different provider. The main values are:

Download

Download will show you in Mbps the download speed of the data on your device. The higher the value, the better, because the faster the load, the less time you will have to wait for you to load a web page, or an attachment for example Email... Internet connections at home tend to be asymmetrical. This means that the download speed for the user is higher than the transfer speed.

Upload

The specified upload speed is another main value that the test results will show. Upload again expresses in Mbps how quickly you can upload data to the Internet on a given connection. The higher the number, like download, the better. Fast loading is important, for example, for Reserve copy to the cloud or streaming video. The higher the value, the faster you can download data from the device to the Internet.

Ping

The three main parameters end with a response (ping) in milliseconds. On the contrary, the lower the better. Its value is especially important for online game players that need a quick response from the server when playing, so that there is no delay in the game. Anything below 40 ms can be considered a relatively fast ping, but a really good result is everything in the 0-10 ms range.

Jitter

Jitter is also part of the results. It expresses ping fluctuations in milliseconds, and therefore the stability of the connection. The result should be as low as possible. The higher the jitter value in the test, the less stable the Internet connection.

The speedtest results will show in detail how many MBs of data you can theoretically download and upload in a given period of time. You can easily find out if the specified amount of data, and thus the speed, is sufficient. This is useful, isn't it ?. Blog and website owners have the option to embed a connection speed test for free right on the site via the embed code.

Check your connection regularly

Connecting to the Internet is certainly not the case when what was yesterday is still valid today. Remember to repeat the speedtest from time to time or apply it every time you suspect a connection speed problem.

He will answer you immediately, and you have the opportunity to decide what your next steps will be. In any case, there is no point in wasting time with a slow Internet at this time.

Speed Test - Check Internet Speed / Speed TEST

Here you can check your DSL connection speed easily, quickly and for free. Click on "Start Test" below. The test usually starts within a few seconds.

DSL Speedtest / Internet Test / Speed TEST

For DSL Speed Test Please note the following: the result is not always accurate, the speed test always depends on various factors. Therefore, the measurement should only be interpreted as a guide.

Please keep other internet applications closed while measuring, otherwise the speed test result will be inaccurate.

How to measure it?

When testing internet speed, the test file is loaded in your browser. After about 10 seconds, we check how much data has been loaded. With reference to the download time, the approximate DSL (Internet) speed can be determined. It is important that the server that contains the test file must be fast. We rely on a separate high-performance server so that the result is as accurate as possible.

Internet Speed Test / DSL Speed TEST

Click in the bottom field on "Start Test" to initiate the speed test. Make sure no other applications will be able to access the internet during internet speed tests.

How to start a speed test of Internet traffic:

Click on the "Start Test" button in the field above to start the Internet speed test. The test will then begin and it usually takes a few seconds to complete. After completing the speed test, you will be given the opportunity to check again on another server, which is closer to your current location. What is required to use the speed test ?:

To use the site, all you need is a modern web browser that supports HTML5. Supported Browsers: Chrome 44, Opera 31, Firefox 40, Edge, Safari 8.0, Edge 13, Safari 9.0, Chrome 42, Opera 29, Chrome 40, Opera 26, Chrome 36, Firefox 35, Firefox 37, Chrome 28, Firefox 28, Firefox 18, Safari 7.0, Opera 12.10, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 6.0, Internet Explorer 10, Safari 5.1, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 8. You don't need to install any software to use the site and it works completely in your browser on Windows, Mac OS X, Android and Linux. A slight difference of 10-15% is normal, because the speed test cannot be accurate (depending on the server load, you may get different cgblntcn results). If the difference exceeds 30%, then measure the speed a little later or try to check on another server (link above). Some ISPs offer their own speed tests.

We do not accept any responsibility for the results of the Internet Speed Test, as the accuracy of the test depends on many factors.

Internet speed test for your site .:

Add a speed test on your website.

DSL Speed Test

DSL Speed Test measures the data transfer performance of your own DSL provider. Both uploads and downloads of data are checked and compared with the values of other checks from this DSL provider. The DSL Speed Test provides important information about whether your own provider's quality is consistent with the DSL contract. It can also provide information on whether your own network is experiencing significant fluctuations.

How does DSL Speed Test work in detail?

Speed Test is a program available on a web server. When running a speed test using a web browser, the web server first transfers one or more files to the user's browser cache. If multiple files are used, they are designed with different sizes and with different compression. When transferring data, perhaps the first measurement of the download speed. Subsequently, the data is sent back to the web server so that the performance of the uploaded files can be determined. Typically, the data transfer speed of downloads is significantly worse than that of downloads.

What limitations should be considered in the measurement results?

However, it should be noted that the results of one measurement are not very significant. In parallel with the current measurement, other processes are running on the network that may affect the speed. Therefore, you should make sure that there are no more data transmissions on the network during the test. In particular, only one computer on the network should be active. Only one instance of the browser should be running and other activities should be avoided on a given computer. It is also necessary to ensure that neither the antivirus nor any other program is updated at the time of testing. When all of these things are taken into account, it is still necessary to take several measurements at different times in order to find a universal value for the DSL speed test results. If you have taken several measurements, you can easily determine the average value of the measurements as real speed transmission for DSL connection.

DSL and Wi-Fi (WLAN)

The speed test has a lot of fluctuation if you are using Wi-Fi to do this. Since the internal WLAN can be influenced by various factors in its performance capabilities. Often located in cities, many wireless networks are in conflict with each other, especially when they need to operate on the same frequency. If you want to have good and meaningful results for your DSL speed test, you should try to connect over a wired network to the Internet. If necessary, you will be successful, even if you can make sure that your own wireless network has a frequency that is different from all others. wireless networks in this district.