subject: Broadband Speed Tests : A Short Guide [print this page] Broadband Speed Tests : A Short Guide Broadband Speed Tests : A Short Guide
A broadband speed test is a way of checking your current DSL internet connection to see if it is performing to the standards that your internet service provider states as the expected speed of your connection. The broadband speed test is conducted by sending and receiving packets of data to servers located around the world. There are many internet web sites that offer reliable broadband speed tests for users to check their data transfer speeds with servers in different parts of the world. There is also software that has been developed to do the same thing, though web sites are much more popular. To conduct a broadband speed test, follow these steps:
-First connect to the web site or load the software you want to use to test you broadband speed.
-Some applications will then ask you what area in the world you would like to test the data transfer speeds with your connection. Though with most applications, there is a default server attached to the website or software that you are using.
-Stage one of the test will be the latency test. Latency, or ping, is the time, in milliseconds, it takes for data packets to get from one sender to a receiver. Ping speeds can range quite drastically depending on the internet connection infrastructure of the country in question. Good latency speeds are generally around 20 to 45ms in developed countries, whereas countries that have yet to build a good data transfer infrastructure, the latency could easily be over half a second.
-After the latency test will come the download speed test. The server you are connecting to will now send packets of data to your computer. The speed at which the data is received will identify your download speeds.
-After the download speed test will come the upload speed test. Your computer will then attempt to send packets of data up to the server. The speed at which the server receives that data is then going to identify your current upload speed to that server.
-The maximum speeds for uploads and downloads will be taken from the highest speed at which the data was transferred from and to your computer.
Be sure to remember that distance plays a big factor in the speed of your connection. The further away you are from a particular server, then the more wires and gateways and bottlenecks there are to reduce your internet speeds.
