editor Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Whenever I'm someplace new I like to see how fast the internet connection is. I don't know why I do this, I just do. Some places I remember: Home -- 6 megabits down, 768k up. Starbucks -- always 1.5 megabits down, and 768 kilobits up. Caribou Coffee -- 2 megabits down, 512k up. Tethered to EDGE on an Amtrak train today -- 102k down. Unknown up. The hotel I was in yesterday -- 768 kilobits down, 512 kilobits up. I use the Speedtest.net site for these tests, because that's the one the AT&T tech used when he installed my DSL at home. I figure if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Anyway, the reason I'm posting this message is because just now I got an absolutely incredible result: 60 MEGABITS DOWN! Here's the Speedtest results: I've never had such a fast connection. So, what about you? What kind of speeds are you guys getting? I know we have a couple of HAIFers on OC-12 lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Nice! I'm lucky to get 5Mbps on my DSL. Over wireless it says I'm only getting 2.81 Mb/s download. With a direct connection I usually average about 4.5 Mbps. EDIT - Just re-ran the test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 Oops. I was hooked up to a server in Bellingham, instead of Vancouver. Here's the actual reading: ROCK!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I've seen faster over my home connection, but this is about average: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasepies Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chamo Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 At UH right now - never used their internet so I don't know if it is good/bad/normal or whatever.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Here's mine at home (ATT U-verse): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Strangely enough, I pay for the 3MBps u-verse speed, and that's what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Strangely enough, I pay for the 3MBps u-verse speed, and that's what it is. I guess they round up to get to 3. I pay for 6 and you see what I get. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I guess they round up to get to 3. I pay for 6 and you see what I get. LOLI'm sure it varies throughout the day. It probably says "up to 3MBps" somewhere too.I'm curious to try it from the office tomorrow, where all the external internet/download stuff acts slower because of firewall nonsense, but should be a way faster connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chenevert Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I havent checked my speed in months... I have to admit, Im impressed. This is over Wireless-G at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I havent checked my speed in months... I have to admit, Im impressed. This is over Wireless-G at home. Hubba-bubba. Sweet! I'm sure it varies throughout the day. It probably says "up to 3MBps" somewhere too. I'm curious to try it from the office tomorrow, where all the external internet/download stuff acts slower because of firewall nonsense, but should be a way faster connection. Since I have never gotten the claimed 6MB down I figure they do mean "up to." LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chenevert Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Oops. I was hooked up to a server in Bellingham, instead of Vancouver. Here's the actual reading: ROCK!!! Wow, a 5ms ping time? That's impressive... BTW, Houston crew, try the Austin and Dallas servers instead of the Houston server... I am getting better results with those other sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Wow, a 5ms ping time? That's impressive...BTW, Houston crew, try the Austin and Dallas servers instead of the Houston server... I am getting better results with those other sitesOkay, now you're just showing off...*sheepishly asks*What does a faster ping time mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chenevert Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Okay, now you're just showing off...*sheepishly asks*What does a faster ping time mean?Look closely, my test result above was with Dallas... the fastest of the three results.A ping is how fast the remote server responds to a request. So the round trip time for a packet of data was 5ms... extremely fast for a remote server, even if it is in the same city. The faster the ping time, the faster the overall download/upload speed since more packets can be sent.It is especially important for things like VOIP service that relys on a very steady data stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I have faster ping times out of Dallas too ... but my overall speed is about the same.Oh well ... thanks for the explanation of ping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chenevert Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I have faster ping times out of Dallas too ... but my overall speed is about the same.Oh well ... thanks for the explanation of ping.Your service is being capped, so in that respect a faster ping wont show up in this test.BTW, assuming you are running windows, goto start->run->cmd, then type ping 192.168.1.1 (assuming that is the IP address of the ATT router) and check out your ping time... chances are its more than 5ms... which makes editors results even that much more impressive.My ping time to my own router is 14ms (again, over Wireless-G). Im too lazy to get off the recliner right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 Your service is being capped, so in that respect a faster ping wont show up in this test.BTW, assuming you are running windows, goto start->run->cmd, then type ping 192.168.1.1 (assuming that is the IP address of the ATT router) and check out your ping time... chances are its more than 5ms... which makes editors results even that much more impressive.My ping time to my own router is 14ms (again, over Wireless-G). Im too lazy to get off the recliner right now.Funny you mention that. When I upgraded from 3 to 6 down, they basically just threw a switch while I was on the phone and poof! I had faster Internet.So I guess they could presumably pump just about any speed to any house.BTW, nope ... on a Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 How is this helpful? Isn't this just more telling of whatever server you connect to for the test as opposed to the connection on your end ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkieEric Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Strangely enough, I pay for the 3MBps u-verse speed, and that's what it is. I pay for the 3 MBps as well, and I had the exact same results...at least they're consistent! I really don't download many large files so it's been just fine for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 I pay for the 3 MBps as well, and I had the exact same results...at least they're consistent! I really don't download many large files so it's been just fine for me...Just re-route your downloads through dallas... you'll pick up 3x the speed apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Just re-route your downloads through dallas... you'll pick up 3x the speed apparently.And just how does one re-route things...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 And just how does one re-route things...?One doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Since I have never gotten the claimed 6MB down I figure they do mean "up to." LOLEven if you're getting a six megabit connection, you're never going to get six megabits of data through, because of all the overhead. DSL is about 85% efficient. Explanation here: http://pflog.net/dsl_overhead/Every transmission method has overhead. Got cable internet? There's overhead. Connected to your router via Ethernet? More overhead. Router's wireless? More overhead.I don't know which method has more overhead -- DSL or Cable, but I suspect it depends a lot of whether your cable company is transmitting DOCSIS 2 or 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Funny you mention that. When I upgraded from 3 to 6 down, they basically just threw a switch while I was on the phone and poof! I had faster Internet.So I guess they could presumably pump just about any speed to any house.They can pump any speed to your house up to the limits of the copper wire, and the speed of your DSL modem. When phone companies run into that limit, they start installing fiber directly into the home.BTW, nope ... on a Mac.Doesn't matter if you're on a Mac. It's an internet address, not a Windows thing. You just have a different DSL modem. The address he's talking about is the address of your cable modem. It's probably on a sticker on the bottom of the unit. You can also read it from the Networking panel in System Preferences on your Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 How is this helpful? Isn't this just more telling of whatever server you connect to for the test as opposed to the connection on your end ?It's a test of the connection between your computer and another machine near the internet backbone. That's why you're supposed to pick the server that's appropriate for your ISP. The web site can't tell where your connection physically connects through, which is why it asks you to pick rather than automatically selecting and running one for you. If you don't know where your connection joins the internet, then the numbers and server locations won't mean anything to you.The fact that you're getting a higher data rate through Dallas shows that that's probably where you're connection goes. Obviously, you got a lower number when you picked Bellingham, Washington because no one's going to lay a direct line from suburban Houston to Washington State. That would defeat the purpose of the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The fact that you're getting a higher data rate through Dallas shows that that's probably where you're connection goes. Obviously, you got a lower number when you picked Bellingham, Washington because no one's going to lay a direct line from suburban Houston to Washington State. That would defeat the purpose of the internet. My comcast connection, less than 2 miles from downtown houston, deciding it's fastest to connect with a server 400 miles away in dallas also defeats the purpose of the internet. My connection at work with half the ping, is still nearly twice as slow as my connection at home on 3 yr old wireless router sharing a connection with another laptop. How does that make any sense ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Dammit, I'm paying AT&T for a 1.5 mbps connection because that was the fastest that they said that they had. And this is all I'm actually getting (plugged into the DSL modem). The Dallas server performs the same except in terms of ping, which is 26 ms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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