The service you connect to often limits your download and upload speeds based on the plan you chose, local congestion, any throttling rules it has, and so on.
A Speed test measures your ping, and download and upload speeds. Measuring the latter two is essential because most ISPs make separate promises for download and upload speeds. Usually, the download speed features prominently, but if you dig into the details, the ISP typically specifies a slower upload speed for each level. When you start a speed test, multiple things occur.
First, the client determines your location and the closest test server to you—this part is important. With the test server in place, the Speed Test sends a simple signal a ping to the server, and it responds.
The test measures that roundtrip in milliseconds. After the ping is complete, the download test begins. The client opens multiple connections to the server and attempts to download a small piece of data.
At this point, two things are measured: how long it took to grab the fragment of data, and how much of your network resources it used. If the client detects you have room to spare, it opens more connections to the server and downloads more data.
The general idea is to tax your internet connection and see how much it can do simultaneously. Imagine your internet service as a highway with a speed limit. Opening additional connections is like adding more lanes to the highway. Once the client determines it has the correct connections to test your internet service, it downloads additional chunks of data, measures the amount downloaded in the time allotted, and presents a download speed.
Next is the upload test. Instead of pulling data from the server to your PC, the client uploads data from your PC to the server.
For more detailed technical information, check out Speedtest. Consider the first step of the process: choosing a test server. Often the closest server might be incredibly close—perhaps even in the same city. Much of it is on computers far away—sometimes across the country or in another country.
So, while your speed test may show incredibly fast streams, you might find that downloading a program is very slow if the server hosting the data is far away. In that scenario, your results may reflect a faster performance than your real-world usage.
In step two of the testing process, the client attempts to open additional connections and maximize your network usage. If you test while streaming Netflix or downloading a large update, for instance, your results will likely be lower than testing without those running.
An ethernet-connected PC should have a faster speed result than a Wi-Fi-connected tablet because, generally, Wi-Fi is slower than ethernet. Getting accurate test results depends on what you intend to measure. Do you want to see if your ISP is genuinely providing the speeds it promised? Then, go for optimal conditions. Use an ethernet-connected device, choose the test server closest to you, and stop anything that might be taxing the internet connection like a streaming service.
You might even want to restart your router before running a speed test. If your router has a built-in speed test, use that instead of a browser test. Doing so removes some of the hoops the process has to jump through. Packet loss : Packet loss occurs when a packet of data being sent over the internet is not received or is incomplete.
This is described in percentage of packets lost compared to packets sent. Packet loss testing is available with Speedtest desktop apps. Jitter is not usually noticeable when reading text, but when streaming and gaming a high jitter can result in buffering and other interruptions. Technically, this is a measure of the average of the deviation from the mean. Jitter testing is available with Speedtest desktop apps. Mbps : Megabits per second. A megabit is 1 million bits of information.
This is a standard measure of internet speed, not to be confused with megabytes MB which is a measure of size rather than bandwidth. Kbps : Kilobits per second. A kilobit is 1, bits of information. This older measure of internet speed is used only when needed to describe slower connections, and not to be confused with kilobytes KB which is a measure of size rather than bandwidth. Help Why is my internet so slow? Frequently Asked Questions Dig into some of the most frequently asked questions about internet speeds.
What should I do if my internet speed is slow? What does changing the Speedtest server do? What speeds do I need for streaming or large downloads? What speeds do I need to transfer large files?
Is Speedtest owned by an internet service provider? Several factors can impact the speed recorded by a test: Devices phones, tablets, PCs, etc… can have very different Wi-Fi and cellular radio capabilities. This means you might get one Speedtest result on one device and a different result on another, even using the same provider. Some devices may not be able to measure the full speed of your internet service. Speedtest servers may perform differently.
Generally, you will get faster speeds from servers closer to you.
0コメント