Posts Tagged ‘Internet Speed Tests’

Wugnet Speed Test

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

It’s a proven fact that the speed of your broadband connection determines how fast your surfing experience is going to be. However, most ISPs will not provide you with the allotted speed. And the best way to find that out is to take a free broadband connection speedtest. There are a number of websites which offer you a free broadband test, and probably one of the most popular among them is the Wugnet Speed Test.

Wugnet is an abbreviation for the ‘Windows Users Group Network’, and it was established in 1988. It has been on the internet since two decades ago, and this is the reason why their speed test is so reliable. Besides providing peer-to-peer Windows OS support, Wugnet also specializes in broadband connection speedtest.

The Wugnet Speed Test interface is simple yet informative. All you need to do is click the ‘Click to Start my Speed’ button, and the speed test will be initiated. The result of the test will clearly show your upload as well as download speed. Additionally, Wugnet Speed Test also provides you with readings of your internet connection’s quality of service, round trip time, and max pause.

One of the requirements for running the Wugnet Speed Test is Java, so make sure you have Java installed before you run their broadband connection speedtest. Also, remember to close all applications on your computer before you hit the ‘Click to Start my Speed’ button.

The Wugnet Speed Test is used by techies all over the world as it offers one of the most accurate measurements of broadband connection speed.

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DSL Connection Speed

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

With DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, online activities are simply a few keystrokes away. DSL is getting increasing popular because it has a unique set of advantages over conventional internet connections such as cable internet and dial-up. Firstly, its lower latency makes it ideal for online gaming. Secondly, DSL makes common online activities such as banking, shopping and downloading video faster than cable internet. Most importantly, DSL eliminates the need of an additional phone, thus, saving time and money.

Since DSL facilitates internet surfing and phone calls simultaneously, it is important that you check your DSL speed, because a dip in the data transfer rate will equate to a sluggish internet connection and poor call quality. Basically, the two factors which will determine your DSL speed are the download rate and the upload rate, both of which are measured in bits per second.

In essence, a bit is the smallest piece of data that a computer can store. On the other hand, a byte is equal to 8 bits. In addition, a single character takes roughly 1 byte to get stored in a computer. Hence, if the data rate is 10 byte/sec, it means 10 characters are being transferred each second. On the other hand, a kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes, and it is generally used to measure the amount of storage. One kilobit is equal to 1000 bytes, and kilobits (Kbps) are used to measure data transfer.

In a standard DSL connection, you should expect a DSL speed ranging from 144Kbps to 1500Kbps. When you take a DSL connection, your ISP will definitely provide you a data transfer rate that is specific to your plan. However, to be on the safe side, you should run a DSL connection speed test to find out the exact speed of your DSL connection.

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Is it Fair for your ISP to Slow You Down?

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

About a year ago, Comcast’s “network management” techniques got a lot of negative publicity–mostly because of the way they slowed people’s connections, or cut them off entirely. In fact, Federal Communications Commission was brought in to investigate its widely criticized anti-BitTorrent filtering.

(BitTorrent is an advanced peer-to-peer sharing technology that allows users to share music, movies, software, and other intellectual property. It works by splitting up files into tiny bits of data that can be shared in any order. Eventually after sharing a file with others, the speed for downloading increases, thereby taking the burden off of the servers and putting it on the users.)

The FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, said the question was, “Are they reasonable network practices?” He added that “when they have reasonable network practices, they should disclose those and make those public.”

One blogger put it this way: “Many ISPs routinely filter the traffic on their networks. …the fact that a major ISP is now filtering yet another class of Internet traffic should not be major news–except for two factors: BitTorrent traffic accounts for upwards of 25 percent of U.S. Internet traffic, and the techniques used by Comcast are essentially the same as those used by the Great Firewall of China.”

Another blogger said that Comcast was surreptitiously interfering with file transfers by posing as the client, and then disconnecting. Tests by the Associated Press seemed to prove that Comcast was actively interfering with peer-to-peer networks, even if relatively small files were being transferred.

One blogger/customer noted that while clocking his internet speed, he noticed that regularly got only a portion of what Comcast was promising.  One customer even took Comcast to court over their phrasing of offering an “always-on” connection in their press and promotions. But the fine print seems to have been more binding than the press release.

The final word may be this headline from Reuters news from only a few weeks ago: “Comcast beats forecast but loses subscribers,” of course, they attribute it to “recession and competition”, but it could simply be poor customer service and bad press. 

The moral of the story for internet users:  measure your internet speeds and read the fine print!

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Internet Speed Basics

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Many companies now, especially those with DSL and cable, are advertising speeds of upwards of a megabit or more.  But what does “internet speed” really mean?

Let’s break it down:

“Mega” means millions.

A “Bit” is the basic unit of information or data–a binary digit– a single unit that is either 0 or 1. (You can remember it by using the bold letters from the words in combination.) Everything on the Internet and all information and software on your computer is composed of bits.

“Megabits per second” is often abbreviated Mbps.

So it breaks down into how quickly millions of bits can be delivered to, or from, your computer each second.

Internet connections are usually broken down into two speeds: download and upload. For most people, it’s the download speed matters most— that how quickly you will be able to experience all the web sites, emails, sound files, video streams, and telephone calls. It makes a big difference in your internet experience.

Upload speed measures how fast your computer sends data to the Internet. Unless you frequently send large volumes of or huge email or other files — or run a server of some sort – this speed likely isn’t critical.

It’s a good idea to run occasional internet speed tests, and track the history of the results so you can detect any problems. If your speeds don’t match the promises made by your Internet Service Provider (or ISP) — or they decline — it’s worth investigating.

Speedplexer can help you do that, and because it’s a desktop application, once you’ve downloaded it you don’t have to do more than simply double-click the icon in your system tray. There is no registration required, and you can run as many tests as you like for free!

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