Major Test Forwarding Changes

[CA3LE]

Please let me know (in this thread) if you experience any problems with the forwarding of the tests.

Sorry if anyone experienced any issues while I was working. They should be resolved. I've hit it with a bunch of scenarios and seems to check out on my end.

• The tests now forward more intelligently. If you have a super fast connection the SmarTest feature will save you more time than it used to by skipping over what the program believes to be unnecessary sizes for your assumed connection type.
  
• The tests now offer even larger files sizes. Added an aprox. 18MB Upload Test. And opened up forwarding for the download tests up to 200MB. If your connection requires files this large to get more accurate results the system will make sure that you get them.
  

I also finally figured out the bug that was causing errors with the larger upload tests in Andriod. Still working on the bug with Andriod upload test on WiFi. It works perfectly fine on 3G but it seems that there may be browser limitations on WiFi... and if you have an insane connection it wigs out. I have looked deep into the problem, hopefully with the Android 2.2 update the problem will go away. Verizon promised me it was going to be out along time ago... still haven't seen my update. Damn liar salesmen!

I haven't been posting change logs on most of the stuff I've been doing lately. I figure that you guys have eyeballs. But this needed to be posted to let you all know that there is a possibility of anomalies with this type of change. Just let me know if you see anything weird in this thread and I'll look into it.

- CA3LE

[WebUser]

That should ONLY apply to the auto-size test.

If I select the 1Mb test or any other specific size test, it should NOT forward.

[tdawnaz]

for me it still goes thru all the tiny tests first...

[coknuck]

Same here!

[dlewis23]

If I select the 1Mb test or any other specific size test, it should NOT forward.

No it should forward you. Because if you had a 20 Mbps connection and you select a 1 MB test file your end result is going to be much higher then your actual connection is and then little 14 year olds like to cheat and do the my hole connection is faster crap.

It also helps if you have a person who doesn't know much about speed tests and they run a 1 Mb file on there 50 MB comcast connection they would get a much higher result then they were suppose to. Forwarding helps to stop false results.

[tdawnaz]

my hole connection

omgosh!!! hahaha

[CA3LE]

for me it still goes thru all the tiny tests first...

Same here!

That just meant that your connection wasn't fast enough to be forwarded to what I had setup. But I just added a 15MB test in there to bridge that gap.

You'll still hit a few, but they will jump up faster now. Like for me, it goes 96, 512, 4MB then now jumps to 25MB... and depending on how that test goes sometimes it will jump for me to 50MB.

Tests selected under 6MB download and 1.5MB upload require autoforwarding for the exact reason that dlewis23 stated.

No it should forward you. Because if you had a 20 Mbps connection and you select a 1 MB test file your end result is going to be much higher then your actual connection is and then little 14 year olds like to cheat and do the my hole connection is faster crap.

It also helps if you have a person who doesn't know much about speed tests and they run a 1 Mb file on there 50 MB comcast connection they would get a much higher result then they were suppose to. Forwarding helps to stop false results.

[CA3LE]

I further refined this since my last post... my connection for example goes... 507KB, 4MB .. then straight to 50MB ... if on the 4MB test I wasn't running to par I'd be taken to the 25MB test.

-D

[mudmanc4]

And your refinements have not been without glory.

How's the aded cpu load from calculations doing, notice anything ?

[WebUser]

Again, if I select a 1Mb test, I should get a 1Mb test ONLY.

If I select a 3Mb test, I should get a 3Mb test ONLY.

When I'm on a limited bandwidth connection, I'm not interested in wasting 20 or 30 Mb or more just for a speed test. Things like this could be one reason for the drop off in use here. It's also why I never see anyone on other sites recommend TMN for speed tests. I see all kinds of other sites recommended, but never TMN.

An accurate test will be accurate no matter the speed of the account you're supposed to be on or the file size selected.

And why is there like a 5 minute delay while 'forwarding'? It seems like everything just locks up and stops at the server end and goes out for a cup of coffee.

Remember one thing. It's ***NEVER*** about what the site host wants, it's ***ALWAYS** what the end user wants.

[CA3LE]

I've had forwarding like that since like 2002.

If you pick a 3MB test... and your connection isn't too fast that's where it ends. But if you have a 20Mbps connection for instance, a 3MB files is insufficient to get accurate results. Pick the right files size for your connection type and you won't have to wait while the system adjusts it for you. That feature is there so you get the most accurate results.

No added CPU by the way. With those changes there is actually less forwarding. It's more efficient, gets people to the right size quicker. Next version will be streaming data for a timed period instead of sizes... working on it.

[WebUser]

Not the point.

When you're on a limited or metered BW connection, speed isn't as important as file size. I get 1Gb per 7 day rolling period which averages out to about 135Mb per day. Why would I want to drop 25% or so of the daily average BW for a simple speed test?

There is an unmetered period overnight where I have run the test, but speeds are higher then due to less load. I can't get a daytime test without eating a significant portion of my limit.

[mudmanc4]

I don't mean to sound like a bummer , but if there is heavy network traffic during the day , your getting the results of that time period anyhow , so just click a higher start test ? As a small test for a wider pipe wont be as accurate by far anyhow. It's like taking a test within your ISP's network , it'll likely show screaming fast , because it doesn't go out of there networks, but it isn't what we can actually hit any mark on in a real life scenario.

[CA3LE]

WebUser... the tests will only forward you if you will benefit from it. This is a formula that's been built over nearly 11 years of trial and error. Been built that way to provide the most accurate results. If you download 3MB in like two sends that burst of speed does not reflect real world speeds. The program makes adjustments for stuff like that.

If you wanted a test of a file download... go download a file. This is a speed test.

You'll have to trust me. This isn't my first rodeo.