How do you know what your connection speed is?

S

Slash

Guest
When I had dialup, a little window popped up to tell me what the connection speed was - usually between 40 and 50 kbs. I have Broadband now - where do I go to see what the connection/data transfer rate is?
 
I've seen other people recommend [broken link removed] but I've haven't used it myself.

I intend to start using it tomorrow. I'm with Irish Broadband (1Mb connection) & it's been really slow the past few days. Lots of time-outs etc. Looked at traceroute etc & problem seems to start once my 'website request' leaves IBB's network. Initially I wondered if the 'internet', in general, was slow but the computer section at boards.ie doesn't report any general problems. Now I'm wondering if IBB's 'connection' with the internet is the problem. BTW, I'm not a techie!

Is Irish Broadband the reason you posted this question? Or have I wasted 2 mins of my life typing this post!! (Rant over)

Sluice
 
It's Eircom Broadband.

I used that test site. The result was 53920 cps. What does this mean when converted to kbs? (I hope it's not 53.92 kbs, as that's just about the same as dial up).
 
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CPS : characters per second

In old style non compressed dial up terms a character would be sent as 8 bit ASCII with a start & stop bit so in all 10 bits required per character.

To be Dog Ruff about it your speed is approx 53920 X 10 bits per second ( i.e. a bit :D over 500kbps )
 
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With dial-up the initial connection speed may bear little or no resemblance to the ongoing dynamic throughput due to (sporadic) line noise, modem retraining, compression etc. I use VitalAgent to gauge my dial-up throughput and diagnose possible line problems. It also works with broadband and other network connections:

[broken link removed]
 
stool

Sluice - check to make sure you don't have worms. These can slow up an internet connection.
 
stool

> Sluice - check to make sure you don't have worms. These can slow up an internet connection.

Also check if your PC has worms or other parasites. ;) See here
 
Re: stool

Don't know what worms are exactly but I use updated Antivirus/Firewall & adaware. Presumably this should stop them??

Found a fellow-sufferer using same IBB mast on boards.ie. He thinks someone might be hogging the bandwidth. But since we're all given static IP addresses, I guess IBB would spot the culprit quickly??

Right now, I'm not too impressed with broadband. 'Browsing' feels same speed as dial-up. Downloading files & opening pdf files is much quicker but that's not a big selling point to me. Do other broadband users have the same experience as me?

Sluice
 
Re: stool

There is no comparison between broadband and dial-up! If you don't notice a difference even with regular web browsing then there is something wrong. In relation tp IBB (Irish Broadband's wireless broadband) I have found the throughout to be VERY variable (connecting via Mountjoy as far as I know) sometimes dipping as low as 56Kbps dial-up rates! :|
 
Re: stool

Thanks <> for the reply. I was thinking something similar but I don't have the vocabulary/evidence to confront IBB.

I'm using IBB's mast in Ballymun/Collins Avenue.

I've done traceroute several times and IBB is quite quick 'within' the IBB network (<10ms) but it gets very slow once it gets out into 'the general internet' (100-300ms, plus lots of time-outs). I'm a non-techie but could IBB's 'interface' (?) with the 'general internet' be the problem?

Sluice
 
Re: stool

It's possible I suppose but I have never sat down and tried to analyse the IBB network performance. I just know that the throughput fluctuates significantly from time to time and for no apparent reason (e.g. not always at "busy" times).
 
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