Internet Speeds, Explain Please

[krading]

I'm confused about the definitions of internet speeds, download- upload etc. I have DSL through True and although it seems fast to me (after having been using dial-up back in Oz ), I really haven't got a clue if I'm getting what I pay for here. I ran the T.Visa speed test and got these results-:

download 1741 kbps 217.6 KB/sec transfer rate

upload 391 kbps 48.9 KB/s trans rate

ping 208ms

My connection icon shows a speed of 12 Mbps

How do these numbers rate compared to what other members are getting and what speeds would be considered acceptable?

Any help greatly appreciated. Kra-ding

p.s. although maybe off subject, my True tv programs freeze regularly for varying lengths of time. Doesn't seem to affect the internet. Rang to report, "only the wind" was the reply. ??

[think_too_mut]

This is a fairly simple and intuitive explanation.

[dotcom]

What package are you paying for?

Your numbers compare very well to mine. I am on 2mb package.

[wpcoe]

The connection icon showing 12Mbps is the speed of the connection between your computer and your modem or router.

The "download" and "upload" speeds you posted each show the same speed posted in "bits" and "bytes."

There are 8 bits to a byte. "bit" is abbreviated with a lowercase "b," and Byte abbreviated with an uppercase "B".

e.g. "download 1741 kbps 217.6 KB/sec transfer rate" means 1,741 kilobits are downloaded each second, and: 1,741 kilobits ÷ 8 bits per byte = 217.625 kiloBytes

Now, to oversimplify* a bit:

ISPs advertise usually their download speeds in Mb (Megabits) per second (Mbps, or usually simply Mb). Your download speed of 1741 kbps is roughly 1.741Mbps, so if you have an advertised 2Mbps connection that's pretty good. (There is overhead and loss that would you prevent having a true 2.00Mbps download rate.)

Someone else can elaborate about ping.

* "oversimplyfing" to avoid the

arguments

discussions on whether the kilo- and mega- prefixes involve a factor of 1000 or 1024..

.

[Langsuan Man]

Someone else can elaborate about ping.

* "oversimplyfing" to avoid the

arguments

discussions on whether the kilo- and mega- prefixes involve a factor of 1000 or 1024..

.

From Wikipedia:

Ping is a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network; it is also used to self test the network interface card of the computer, or as a speed test. It works by sending ICMP “echo request” packets to the target host and listening for ICMP “echo response” replies. Ping does not estimate the round-trip time[citation needed], as it does not factor in the user's connection speed, but instead is used to record any packet loss, and print a statistical summary when finished.

The word ping is also frequently used as a verb or noun, where it is usually incorrectly used to refer to the round-trip time, or measuring the round-trip time.

[munirkn]

Nomal ping time for yahoo.com from Thailand is between 250ms - 350ms but if it much higher or there is packet lost (Request timed out) so it means that there is some connection problem between your computer and yahoo server. This problem can be in any segment throughout this connection chain.

1. Between your computer and your router

2. Between your router and your ISP

3. At your ISP (server, router, internal connections)

4. Between your ISP and international back bone.

5. In international backbone (if undersea fibre optic has problem so traffic is shifted to backup setalite so 300ms are added to normal time)

6. Between international backbone and yahoo server

7. At yahoo (server, routers, internal connections)

To know exactly where problem exists, you can trace. In Windows you can use "tracert yahoo.com" in command prompt and see the results for faulty segment. But thing ping or tracert. But these tools are not for checking speed but troubleshooting network issues.

Edited January 19, 2009 by munirkn

[krading]

What package are you paying for?

Your numbers compare very well to mine. I am on 2mb package.

According to GF I am paying 1,200/month for tv 'gold' and internet together.