I am confused.

[sparky]

I have been using TM.Net for years, logging tests from time to time.  I have been requested by Frontier to use speakeasy speed test to see what my speeds are, of which I did and the results was the same as the Frontier tech was getting.  So I went to other speed test places like Comcast, I told him I was not using Frontiers one as I feel it is a bias result, he laughed at that and agreed with me.

 

So, on the other tests I get around 5 down and 0.70 up, TM.net is showing 520ish Kbps, so as you can understand I am a little confused.

 

I need to upload a 10 meg file to my server and see how long it takes to download the file to see what is telling me the truth.

[coknuck]

Go to the upload page and select test. You can test up to 33 meg.

 

 

 

[sparky]

10 mb file took me 1.32 mins to download, which would indicate a speed of around just under 1 Mbps. this result from Florida.

 

SpeakEasy is showing 5.18 Mbps. this result from Washington DC.

 

Time Warner is showing 5.29 Mbps. this result from Ohio.

 

SpeedOf.me is showing 1.41 Mbps. this result from Chicago.

 

Xfinity is showing 6.36 Mbps, this test from Washington DC.

 

TM.Net is showing 1.3 Mbps, this test from Washington DC.

 

So interestingly enough, it would seem like the providers are all tapping their numbers!

 

This test answered my question...... confusion is over. 

[CA3LE]

You can trust the results here.   ... I can tell you that a thousand times, it means nothing coming from me.

 

Testing it yourself like you just did is the best way to really drive the point home.  Not enough people take the time to question it, they blindly trust the other tests thinking that their provider knows what they're doing.  Yeah, they know what they're doing alright. 

 

Too bad more people don't know.  Help by spreading the word.

[sparky]

Thanks for the Reply CA3LE.... Yeah, for years I have trusted this site, never doubted it but in all honesty, as you mentioned I just never did a true comparison.  They are certainly padding numbers, I know from my tests.  I know how to work out if I download a 10 Mb file, how to figure out what my real speed is.

 

Never again will I question TM.NET....  Why did I do that in the first place, I know better than that. lol

[j7n]

I believe the most significant factor why the OOKLA-based tests show a higher reading is because they create a swarm of multiple connections. If the network is at full capacity or there is excessive latency for another reason, the extra connections can push more data through. Usually they together compete 'as equals' with other data streams active at the same time.

In this case I got 7 connections to SpeakEasy at Washington DC. The number seems to be variable, and, as far as I can see, I cannot influence it.

Of course, if everybody opened more connections to get higher speed, nobody would get it. A somewhat related discussion about network congestion and the FTP protocol.

I think a more realistic test is a download of a controllable number of files from a server or servers with known capacity much higher than your line is. That is what you could do in normal use as well. Starting 7 downloads and fragmenting your disk? Probably not. Using special software to spam the network? Probably not the right thing to do.

LeaseWeb provides a good, unbiased download speed test with low CPU overhead (unlike Flash tests). I do not know a good public place to upload to. If you have an FTP server, it will work fine, because you can easily start as many files as you decide.