Internet Bandwidth Speed Test

[ameerat42]

Folks.

That is: How fast is your Internet connection in MBits/sec or KBits/sec? I need some info to throw at Optus.

I was at a friend's place at a block of 8 flats near Waverton (N. Sydney). He recently got an Optus Naked DSL service.
He uses a TP-Link 300MBit/sec modem router and a 300MBit/sec receiver. That is, N-class stuff.

I was idling through AP while testing the performance and noted old dog's recent Queenstown train post took more than 20 sec to load - much slower than on my cable connection at home.

So I went to CNet and ran this bandwidth test (http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/?result), using the "At Home" option.

Test 1
For the setup at Waverton it gave a line speed of 1.04 MBits/sec.
For my little Netbook (also N-class) using the same TP-Link setup I got slightly more at 1.1 MBit/sec.

Test 2
I called a friend in Mudgee NSW who has only a 1.5MBit/sec Internet connection and got him to the the same test from the same site.
He got a line speed of 1.32 Mbit/sec. OK, close enough, you could say.

Test 3
So then I ran this test at my place on the Optus cable (10 MBit/sec) and got 9.7 MBit/sec, just for comparison.

I think there's something wrong with the Naked DSL connection. Is it supposed to be ADSL 2+ speed?

Can anybody do any similarly comparable tests - ie, live in a block of flats in the Syd. Lower North Shore, even if it's not Naked ADSL, even if it's not Optus.

Use the same test site for standardisation, viz CNet's Bandwidth Meter. (http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/?result)

Just a few tests would do. I'd be grateful, and I want a bit of info before I contact Optus about it.

Ta, Am.

[I @ M]

I don't understand the techy bits but all I know is that we are in the back blocks of Vic and have an ADSL ??? thingy that gives us the attached value.

Oh yeah, the other bit I don't understand is what is an Optus. :confused013

85833

[ameerat42]

Ta Andrew. That's the test, alright.

I neglected (stupidly) to add in my post that the friend at Mudgee has exactly the same TP-Link modem as we were using in Waverton.

It looks like you must have an 8000 KBit/sec service there, Andrew.

Am.

PS: Optus: an 8-legged marine mollusc with some arms hidden in consumers' pockets.

[rodw]

The online tests do not really do the job. Drop over to http://www.extreame.net.au/ as they are specialist with cable networks and are very helpful. I've got no association with them other than that they really helped me when I had problems with Telstra cable. They have some more sophisticated methods to measure bandwidth.

ADSL throughput is heavilly influenced by the distance to the exchange. If you can get it in your area, cable is the way to go.

[camerasnoop]

I'm using a Belkin 600(?) modem on Telstra ADSL 2+.

Here's my result.

85835

[Ian Brewster]

My result ,with Optus DSL (?) pla, 1.5 km from exchange, inner north Brisbane:

[ameerat42]

Ta Snoopy and Ian. I would have "expected" more from both your services.
Is either one of you in a block of flats, esp. Ian? If not, don't worry about replying.
Am.

[camerasnoop]

I would have "expected" more from both your services.

12.5Mbit/s too slow for you? :D

[ameerat42]

It's not that CS, but that I was then wondering what people tend to get for ADSL2+, and of course, whether Naked DSL is supposed to be the same bandwidth.
I happily cruise around at 10MB/s with cable.
Am.

[dieselpower]

Am,

These speed tests are indicative only. The only thing which will correctly report the 'line speed' is the modem itself. I don't know where exactly to find it but it should give you a read-out, probably in advanced settings or advanced status, of what the 'sync' rate is - this will dictate the maximum speed attainable.

Naked ADSL is a funny beast. It's basically uncapped, which will allow it to operate as quickly as possible. However, there are many factors which can affect this speed - distance from the exchange (that is, the copper pair length) being the primary one. You will only get full speeds of 20Mbps when you're less than 500m cable length from the exchange - any further and it will drop off, to about 5km from the exchange where you get speeds as you have here. Now there are other things that can affect it - it may be a short line but with a bad join, or there could be a dodgy filter or a battery on the line, all of which will affect the speed.

A few things to do -
1. www.adsl2exchanges.com.au - put in the address. This will tell you approximate line length
2. Check in the modem and find the sync speed. Also find the attenuation and SNR (noise margins) - post them here. Sometimes, you can be on a short line but these are lower than they should be, indicating a line problem.
3. Perform an isolation test - disconnect EVERYTHING else from the phone lines and reboot the router. Note - the router can plug straight into the wall for this test provided everything else is unplugged.

Post results up here and I can try to help further.

It's likely that they're right on the limit of adsl deliverability - in which case the speeds you've mentioned would unfortunately be expected.

So in short - Naked DSL CAN be the same rate as cable, but it's a variable speed technology. Speeds are never guaranteed (read the fine print on the contract and it will say 'up to' 21Mbps) due to the fact that it drops off over distance. I guess it's a bit like a mobile signal - the further you are from the base station, the worse it is.

[dieselpower]

My result ,with Optus DSL (?) pla, 1.5 km from exchange, inner north Brisbane:

Your line must be far more than 1.5k to get that speed - 1.5k I'd be expecting about 12-15Mbps, not 2Mbps! Remember, the lines rarely follow the shortest route by road (or 'as the crow flies'). My first ADSL connection was in a place 200m from the exchange (I could see it from my front door). I was over 4km by the cable..!

[Wayne]

I love my Telstra 100Mbps cable.

[ameerat42]

Ta dieselpower. I know they are indicators only, and I'll look into some of what you mentioned. Nevertheless, sub-MBit/sec in Sydney's lower N Shore is disheartening to say the least, and the waiting time is sickening. We're sure going to let Optus know about it. At least they can test the line speed to the block of units, or something like that.

And Wayne. What don't I know about Telstra's 100 MBit cable and outback Qld? :D

Am.

PS, dieselpower. Just put in the approximate address, and this is what I got

You are 676 m from NSYD as the crow flies.
Estimated cable length of 1081.6 m.
Estimated speed of 20666
Zone 1

(Interestingly, it's about the same distance from the Crows Nest - stone the blighters!)
P:(:(F!

[dieselpower]

Something definitely isn't right then - line stats off the modem would be the next port of call to see its sync rate and noise margins. It could be back haul congestion an not a line sync issue at all!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dieselpower]

It is worth putting in the exact address if you can though as there could still be a significant change in line length between what you put in and where it actually is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[arthurking83]

Could also be the router itself!

As you have the same router brand and model, it should be relatively straightforward to replace each others routers temporarily just for the purpose of testing.

I get pretty good line speed(although it could be a wee tad faster) on my router's cabled connections, but the wireless speed is atrocious, and wireless sensitivity and power is almost non existent .. right next to the router itself!

Got a cheapie Tenda brand wireless AP, connected to a wired port on the router set it the centre of the house and wireless signal is now at full speed everywhere in the house except the back room where the router resides!

Also what is a wee bit unclear(to me) is if the OP's test where the friends line speed test is done via wireless, or cabled connection?
I'm assuming that Am is doing the line speed (at Waverton) via wireless(N-class), which is a fast wireless connection speed, as I can get 7Mbit/s on a cheap laptop in the living room .. but it's not the most reliable way to determine your ultimate line speed.

Am, are you testing line speed only via Wireless? If so, what's the wired speed of the connection too?

Wireless is fraught with many connection issues .. especially in areas where saturation of devices CAN be high.

If the line speed test has been done wirelessly only, there are many apps you can get that can show you what wireless signal strength is like in your area(your friend's place at Waverston) and if there is cross interference from other users in the immediate area.

[ricktas]

I can't get ADSL2 or Naked. But I get 6.72mbps out of my ADSL1 plan. I am also less than 1 km from the NBN, and wish they had done all my suburb, not half of it.

[ricktas]

The online tests do not really do the job. Drop over to http://www.extreame.net.au/ as they are specialist with cable networks and are very helpful. I've got no association with them other than that they really helped me when I had problems with Telstra cable. They have some more sophisticated methods to measure bandwidth.

ADSL throughput is heavilly influenced by the distance to the exchange. If you can get it in your area, cable is the way to go.

That link is just another internet forum, with a small number of members. If people want advice on hardware etc, they would be much better off going to whirlpool or overclockers, with their tens of thousands of members, and often reps from the companies as well.

[dieselpower]

If the line speed test has been done wirelessly only, there are many apps you can get that can show you what wireless signal strength is like in your area(your friend's place at Waverston) and if there is cross interference from other users in the immediate area.
inssider is a good one for this - it shows wireless network channel use and can overcome issues by showing a vacant, or less congested channel, to use.
It is worth testing via a network cable to the router too (with wireless on the computer disabled), to eliminate this possibility however N class wireless is much less susceptible to massive interference than regular G wireless.

[ameerat42]

dieselpower, AK and Rick, ta, there's a good bit here to digest.
As AK suggested. I will hook up the modem-router via cable to the computer direct and check that (on the weekend).
Ah, but as I now remember, when we used his older original modem from Optus connected like that via cable it still only gave 1.4MBit/sec.

Nevertheless, there's a bit to do yet.

Am.

[davsv1]

I had a funny one recently, I have adsl2+ through iinet for 7 years and had speed of 6.5-7mbits/sec and was quite happy with that. I did however have a lot of static on my cordless phone. Eventually I got telstra to come and sort the problem of the static so they changed the line and it was clear as a bell, then my adsl went down to .15mbits/sec so I thought it must be a new line problem. I got onto iinet and had a tech sent out to check it for me ,no charge to me unless it was a problem with my setup, which it wasn't of course because it was working fine until the line change. It took the tech 2 minutes to find the problem was in fact my ups was not sending power out the phone line (surge protected) to the modern so the modem had no phone line power, ( it may have been hit by a surge at some time) changed the phone line to bypass the ups and now I get 10mbits/sec. So it was the surge protected ups outlet that was my problem. Still can't work out why it worked fine until the noisy line was fixed. Tech told me always to plug into the first inlet in the building to trouble shoot.

[ameerat42]

Ta davs. No, his UPS only powers the computer and monitor.

[davsv1]

Ta davs. No, his UPS only powers the computer and monitor.
Yep, mine too, but, mine has a surge protected phone line inlet/outlet, that was the culprit, not actual power to the modem. Not suggesting this is the problem your friend has, it was mine though and it made me more aware to look for the not so obvious. The tech tested the voltage in the phone line, I'm not sure what it was though....maybe 5 or 6 volts.

[ameerat42]

OK, I see. I (now that memory returns) recall that when he had his phone as well, he had lots of problems with it, mainly crackling.

(Hmm. Phone line technician, but I wonder who now that he has no phone subscription at all.)
Am.

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks dieselpower for your comments. I am on an Optus Fusion Plan; it's hard to know what speed they promise on that but I get 150 GB upload/download which is fine for me. The site you put us on to tells me crows need to fly 709 m to reach us from the exchange, but electrons need to travel 1.13 km "at an estimated speed of 20,000" kbps (I presume- the units are not stated). So Telstra must have some gremlins in the line!

Ian

[dieselpower]

OK, I see. I (now that memory returns) recall that when he had his phone as well, he had lots of problems with it, mainly crackling.

(Hmm. Phone line technician, but I wonder who now that he has no phone subscription at all.)
Am.
If the phone was scratchy then that will likely be the cause of the poor internet speed.
Given that it's a naked connection the only way to proceed is to call optus. You can't even do a dial tone test for noise, because there won't be one! But it would be worth mentioning the line WAS scratchy.

[dieselpower]

Thanks dieselpower for your comments. I am on an Optus Fusion Plan; it's hard to know what speed they promise on that but I get 150 GB upload/download which is fine for me. The site you put us on to tells me crows need to fly 709 m to reach us from the exchange, but electrons need to travel 1.13 km "at an estimated speed of 20,000" kbps (I presume- the units are not stated). So Telstra must have some gremlins in the line!

Ian

Potentially. It could be that you're getting a good sync rate (ie. the modem connects at close to 20,000kbps) but there's backhaul congestion - not an issue with your line but the number of subscribers using the fat internet pipes into that exchange. Only way to tell is to look at your modems sync reports to see what speed it has attained...

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day am

Just to confuse the issues still more ~ I only have an option of USB wireless followed by 'pot-luck'

At the moment I'm in Forster NSW & I ran the test as follows
Optus Wireless: 5 tests at 1-minute intervals, 6:30-6:35pm ... range was from 0510kbps to 1700, average 1165kbps
Telstra wireless: 5 tests at 1-minute intervals, 6:40-6:45pm ... range was from 2800kbps to 3450, average 3140kbps

Anyone above wanna swap??
Regards, Phil

[rodw]

Connecting my iPad to my Telstra 4g phone gives me this. 23 km from the city and they say they only have 4g within 5 km of the CBD. It is much slower at work near the city so go figure.
http://www.speedtest.net/iphone/215808791.png

I think the 4g dedicated wireless dongles do better than this.

[ameerat42]

Remarkable, Rod. If only they didn't charge like the proverbial wounded bovine. And then like you said, the closer to the CBD...
:rolleyes: (Closest to head-scratching icon.)

Actually, what's that "Distance 1250 mi" supposed to signify? I enlarged like mad to see whether there was a decimal point, but...

And let me say that today on the "little netbook" I got 14000KBit/sec. That's three zeros, and that's higher than the theoretical max. Mad!

[arthurking83]

Another thing to note too Am, is the server speed.
Don't take these speed tests too literally.

A better .. read: real world test .. for speed is actually downloading something.

The test site you linked too gives me a max speed of only 10 - 10.5Mbit per sec, but I know my (Optus cable) connection is capable of more than that .. 16 or more Mbit which equates to 2.0 Mbyte per sec download speeds.

I've downloaded Linus DVD(ISO's) and M$ patches and service packs from local servers at close to 2M byte and more.

easy server to check this speed with is the AARNET server, where you can download a copy of Firefox or something as a test.
I know I get over 2Mbyte/s speeds from there.

While this doesn't help with your friend's problem, at least it's a sure way to get truly unrestricted speeds.
The restriction could be the server(unlikely) or the connect to the server somewhere else along the line.

mirror.aarnet (http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/) link if a google search is too much work! :p

[dieselpower]

Actually, what's that "Distance 1250 mi" supposed to signify? I enlarged like mad to see whether there was a decimal point, but...

Physical distance to the test server. It's not always accurate though, it's based on where the speedtest site "thinks" the IP address terminates. For Telstra, that's likely to be in Melbourne by the look of this result.

www.speedtest.net is a good test site and I believe it uses multiple streams when doing its testing and is able to max out a connection. I use it daily (work) and it always completely utilises the connections we test (including a previous work place where we had 100Mbps fibre!). Worth a look but my gut feeling is that isn't the issue.

[arthurking83]

That speedtest site gave me 17.7Mbps, whereas the other site linked too earlier only gave me 10.5 (now that's more like it! :th3:)
May not be an issue in itself for Am's mate, but is obviously not a great site to use as a speed test.



... where's that bloody NBN!

[ameerat42]

Ta, dp and AK. I know, AK. I do try to download large images sometimes. In this case though, it's not that.
Am.

[Ian Brewster]

- line stats off the modem would be the next port of call to see its sync rate and noise margins. It could be back haul congestion an not a line sync issue at all!


Interesting. How to I get to my modem to see the stats? I am on Windows XP, with ethernet cable to the Netgear N600 wireless router, to which the modem connects by cable from the surge protector then the telephone wall socket. The modem doesn't show up in the Hardware under System, Devices.

Any advice appreciated,

Ian

[Kym]

43230 at work :th3:

[William]

Using this one from Dieselpower http://www.speedtest.net/ I got this , Is it OK :confused013

[Mark L]

Ian, try the Network and Sharing Center. It should show what connects you and the w.w.w.. Click on it and that connects you to your modem.
Or if you're with Telstra try http://192.168.1.254/ (I do need to learn screen shots!)

[arthurking83]

Interesting. How to I get to my modem to see the stats? .....

If you haven't configured the router in any way (yet) the default location to view your router is at :

http://192.168.0.1/index.htm
(you can copy and paste that web page into your browsers address bar)

**EDIT: OK, I forgot. the above address should be a clickable link to a web page. If you have a Netgear router and is still at default settings it should take you to your router login page. It doesn't link to any external website. Non Netgear users will not be taken to a link of any sort, if they click the link.

I don't have an N600, but all the Negear routers I've had experience with have a default admin page set there.

You can configure it to your preference too.. but there's no point.

You will get a login + password dialogue box pop up too.

(default) user name is admin, and password is ... password <**whoopsies! I won't tell** :D>
There is a manual for it somewhere and the info you require is in there.
If you haven't accessed any of this previously, the router is possibly still set with all the defaults, and tho it's unlikely some smarty pantz could access your network.. so I'd be getting onto the task of changing password from the default.

The web based admin page is quite easy to navigate, with all the major topics on the LHS in the dark blue/violet column and all peripheral settings within each topic are set in the central white area. The paler blue RHS column contains the information relevant to the topic currently displayed.

There is no one specific way to access your routers individual info... differing models of Netgear routers all have subtle differences in what they display and how each section is worded.

For info relating to performances look for a Router Status(or similar) topic header on the LHS, click it, and in the central white area there may be another radio button to click to open a stats page.

[William]

Ian, try the Network and Sharing Center. It should show what connects you and the w.w.w.. Click on it and that connects you to your modem.
Or if you're with Telstra try http://192.168.1.254/ (I do need to learn screen shots!)


Do you have PS Mark, If so , All I do is hit shift>Printscreen, I then open PS Go to file > new>OK>Ctrl-V and there it is

[Mark L]

^ No PS here William. I've been lazy and will learn within the next week. :eek: that's a commitment :eek:

[Ian Brewster]

PrintScreen will work as described by William, but using Word instead. I didn't know we could upload Word documents to this site, but we can indeed, using the second (? - check your screen) icon from the LHS in the top row - see attached,
(it will also work direct into an e-mail)
Ian

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks Arthur and Mark,

My Router is already set up. Not sure if I have looked in the right Status area, but I cannot see the Modem as such. However, the attached screen shot shows some data - is this what I want?

Mark, the other attachment shows what I could find from Control Panel>Network Connections>Local Area Network - is this what you expected? I am with Optus but don't know how to get the DNS (?) address - I believe it changes each time I connect.


PS( LAN shows 1 Gbps - is this meaningful?)
Ian

[dieselpower]

In the router status.doc you're in the right place - but I can't see detail in what you've posted and can't make out what it says. I have a feeling though, that what you're looking for isn't in the popup window on top, but it should show in the window behind that what the sync rate is. I can't remember exactly the wording, and I don't have access to a netgear router to check, but I think it should be something like 'line downstream' and 'line upstream'. It will be measured in kbps and may look something like: line downstream: 8192kbps.

Your external IP will change each time you connect, but that doesn't affect the internal address of the router - it's always fixed. The address on your computer is assigned by the router (it gives addressing to all devices that connect to it from the inside segment, ie. plugged in via lan or on wireless(. This should rarely, if ever change on your machine.

I'll try and get onto a netgear modem tonight and find the exact wording for you.

[Ian Brewster]

In the router status.doc you're in the right place - but I can't see detail in what you've posted and can't make out what it says. I have a feeling though, that what you're looking for isn't in the popup window on top, but it should show in the window behind that what the sync rate is. I can't remember exactly the wording, and I don't have access to a netgear router to check, but I think it should be something like 'line downstream' and 'line upstream'. It will be measured in kbps and may look something like: line downstream: 8192kbps.

I'll try and get onto a netgear modem tonight and find the exact wording for you.

Many thanks for this attention. I'll try and get a better screen shot - I ran into trouble with file size limits on this site.

(Screen shot now attached)

Ian

[dieselpower]

OK - what you have there is a router, not a modem/router - the WAN port plugs into another modem. It's the modem which will show your line speed and stats. This is not an unusual setup, but it's not overly common - most people just have the one device.

To find the stats you'll need to bypass the modem but, at the risk of completely hosing your network, it might be better to let it lie? It's definitely possible to do but it will likely take a fair amount of screwing around to do...

[Ian Brewster]

Thanks Dieselpower,

I'll leave well alone! I had enough trouble getting the router set up.

Ian

[Mark L]

PrintScreen will work as described by William, .....

Today learned how to do screen shots using a thing called Snipping Tool in Vista. Can save as a JPEG. Here's where I found out about it..... http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/microsoft/ht/snippingtool.htm

Now lets see if it actually works,

86032
86033

Sorry to hijack the thread Am.

[William]

:D I think he's got it , I think he's got it, Good stuff Mark , Now just remember to use it when you see something weird that you need for reference to show somone something :th3: Well done , Took me a while to work it out as well :rolleyes:

[ameerat42]

It's all over!

Technician came, tested this and that.
That's it: get a new phone wall socket, for a few bucks.
Line speed was a clean 15000KBits/sec straight through the phone wires.
Through the wall socket it was hardly working.

Today's bandwidth figures varied between 4000 and 6000KBits/sec.

Am (h:)ppier now)