Bret: We have found that the tests are "fairly" accurate (well speedtest.net anyhow), BUT only in controlled environments. Your end user is probably running these tests when their Internet is "slow". Viola look I am right it is slow, xyz speed test says so! What he does not realize is that Johnny intern in the warehouse has set his computer up to grab torrents for him while he picks stock and then just dumps the off to flash before heading out. Ok, that is just one example, but all sorts of other traffic can come into play.
We tell our customers that we are not at all interested in speed tests unless we have a support person on the line watching their link for other types of traffic as well during the test. We also host their speedtest.net mini (free) on own of our own servers so that we can eliminate any Internet oddness causing problems with the results. The mini however only seems accurate up to about 25-30 Mbps in our experience at which point the results are only ballpark at best. Ookla claims mini is good until about 50 Mbps, but that has not been our experience. Just what we have experienced with speedtest results. Larry A. Weidig ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) Excel.Net, Inc. - http://www.excel.net/ (920) 452-0455 - Sheboygan/Plymouth area (888) 489-9995 - Other areas, toll-free From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bret Clark Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 2:22 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Internet Speed test..are they inaccurate with wireless? We mostly deal with business customer and guarantee bandwidth to customers. We validate the bandwidth using IPERF from a Linux server off of our BGP edge routers down to the customer and IPERF always shows the customer getting the bandwidth they signed up for. We use QoS to control bandwidth and make sure to not oversubscribe any one link....small ratios of 3:1. Of course eventually at some point the customer runs one of those stupid bandwidth test on the Internet and the results are woefully inaccurate (not in our favor)...but of course customers take the results as gospel. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH! It's not our internet connections, we have three 100Mbps BGP links and none of them run at more then 50% during peak loads. Has anyone else found those Internet speed test to be woefully inaccurate? Or is something else going on that I'm missing? Thanks, Bret
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