Connection Speed Test What and How to measure with a internet connection speed test?
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Simply put...
A connection speed test checks the rate at which data travels or transferred from an internet server to your computer. It test the amount time it takes your computer to receive or download a given amount of data. That data could be a webpage, image, software patch or more.
How is the internet connection measured?
Just a few years ago we measured internet connection speed in Kbps (kilobits per second, or thousands of bits per second) or KBps (kilobytes per second). Today with cable modem and DSL speed allowing for much faster data transfer, we now see internet connection speeds measured more in Mbps (megabits per second, or millions of bits per second) or MBps (megabytes per second).
Here’s an example - If you were downloading a 1 MB file, which is about 2/3 of the data that would fit on a 3.5 floppy, with a 28.8K (28,800 bps) modem. It would take at least 4 - 5 minutes to download the file. Downloading the same file from the same location with a cable modem or DSL connection might take only 10 - 20 seconds.
How does a connection test calculate the internet speed?
The internet connection test is usually calculated by downloading a large file and measuring how fast your computer can completely receive it. The file is normally in the area of 150-350K but sometimes larger. The larger the file downloaded the more accurate the results of the internet connection test will be.
Why do connections and internet speed test results vary?
Remember, it’s the WWW - world wide web. Take a quick look at a road map. You’ll see large roads, medium size roads and small roads. The Internet is a global network, highway or spider web of "data" commuters traveling back and forth.
Internet connection speeds can vary, just like driving conditions. It can depend on the time of day, the amount of "surfers" on the net, or even the amount of people visiting a particular website.
When you click on a link, a request is made for the web page file at a website, which is connected to a server on the Internet.
In order for the web page to show up on your computer screen it must travel over a series of links or "hops". The number of "hops" the file(s) must take to reach you computer, the amount of people connected to the web server and the speed or quality of the server’s current internet connection, all influence the internet connection speed test numbers and will always vary.
TRACERT
If you’re wondering how many hops it takes for a web page to reach you - try running a Trace Route. It’s easy to do with a program included in Windows called - tracert.
Here's how you run Tracert:
Click the Start button and select Run.
Then type COMMAND <enter>
At the C: prompt, type TRACERT, hit the space bar once and enter a WEBSITE name like this: tracert msn.com
TRACERT will show you up to 30 hops, and gives the response time as well as the site name or IP address of each "hop" along the way
If you get a "Request timed out" message, you’ve found a weak, slow, or broken link in the chain or it could be a router that refuses TRACERT requests
Your connection speed to the internet depends on the overall total response time of everything along the routing path. Tracert information can help you pinpoint exactly which router is slowing you down or stopping you from getting to the website you’re requesting.
If your connection speed is fast but one of the routers in the chain is slow, it doesn’t matter how much speed you have.
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