10

Although internet connection is fast enough (8 Mbps, wireless speedtest), I'm having trouble streaming radio from a certain site. Here's the peculiar thing: the stream seems to run smoothly on other ISPs, so I'm suspecting that this might be a peering issue.

How can I test my connection speed with a certain site or server?

5
  • Have you tested the site from other computers using different ISPs? It could be that the radio site is overloaded and is serving everyone slowly. Dec 16, 2016 at 2:06
  • 1
    @moonman239 I have restored the question to its original form. The info you deleted, that streams run fine when connected to different ISP,s is not irrelevant at all: it is very important. It also is the question to which most of us have provided an answer. Please do take these elements in consideration when changing a question. Dec 18, 2016 at 5:20
  • @MariusMatutiae "The info you deleted, that streams run fine when connected to different ISP,s is not irrelevant at all: it is very important." Please explain. To me, it sounds like "It works everywhere else". Well, OK, and it's good to know the problem isn't necessarily the server, its your connection to it. The question asks how to test the connection, and that is the question I want the focus to be on.
    – user421241
    Dec 19, 2016 at 20:34
  • @moonman239 The fact that a stream runs at different speeds, depending on the ISP, may mean that one ISP is engaging in traffic shaping (i.e., giving priority to some kind of traffic at the expense of other kinds), while some other ISPs do not, thus allowing the full use of the connection badwidth. Dec 19, 2016 at 22:44
  • @moonman239 It also means all configurations are Ok, there is nothing to touch in the pc in question, and the problem must be identified elsewhere, possibly even upstream of the LAN the pc finds itself in. Dec 19, 2016 at 22:57

4 Answers 4

3
+25

Since you can download from that certain site, albeit at a reduced speed, your ISP may be engaging in traffic shaping rather than in outright banning of certain sites/ports/protocols. This is a more difficult situation to diagnose, but not an impossible one.

The instrument to do this is Glasnost, a Java based series of tests taking aim exactly at ISPs´ traffic shaping of BitTorrent, EMule, Gnutella, Youtube, and so on. Each test is longish (several minutes), and basically compares the speed of different services between their servers and you: if they detect large discrepancies between service data transfer rates, then they have made it at least likely that your ISP is engaging in traffic shaping.

The test comes from a Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, which, judging from this Web page, is a fully legitimate Institute of the highly prestigious German Max Planck Society. So, while activating Java is always a security risk, you are not risking much from these guys. But pls do remember to de-activate Java as soon as you are done, for your own safety, and especially if you are on Windows.

4
  • Being highly prestigious is hardly worth any trust without HTTPS, which those guys don't seem to support correctly (at least my browser complains when I click on "Start testing"). So it's about as safe as running Java on any other site. Dec 19, 2016 at 22:35
  • Sounds like "ostriches don't engage with predators, they just hide their heads in the sand" Dec 19, 2016 at 22:49
  • 1
    With all due respect, I don't think that everyone in academia is clueless about web security. Dec 19, 2016 at 23:08
  • 2
    however, notice that its no longer active since 2 2017!!!! (Due to the lack of java applets in modern browsers) [broadband.mpi-sws.org/transparency/glasnost.php] however its code can still be downloaded from here so you can setup the system yourself [github.com/marcelscode/glasnost]
    – U.V.
    Nov 13, 2018 at 13:01
0

Here is a free open-source tool that periodically checks your Internet connection. What the tool does is to trigger a file download every X minutes, logs the speed and displays it graphically:

http://loggger.com/

Important: You can enter a custom test URL into the Loggger app, in this case it would be the URL of the problematic website/download.

Note: Speed Test Loggger is stated as a free and open-source side project of the a9t9 Web Automation Team and it runs on Windows 7, 8, 10...

5
  • Again, this isn't testing my internet speed against a specific site (e.g. google.com).
    – Pieter
    Dec 17, 2016 at 9:00
  • Sure it does. Click the wrench icon to open the settings dialog. There, in "Download URL" box, select the "Custom:" option. Replace the default "loggger.com/bigfile.zip" entry with the URL of an existing test file. e, g. a file from your Google drive (if google is the test website).
    – timfredo
    Dec 17, 2016 at 15:12
  • Apologies, I misunderstood this a little bit and Superuser seems to have locked in the votes. If I understand this right, this tool relies on you finding a sufficiently large file on the host you want to test (otherwise the test results will be skewed due to connection setup/breakdown overhead) to get a speed measurement for that server?
    – Pieter
    Dec 17, 2016 at 18:56
  • Yep, exactly. Of course, the faster the connection, the bigger the file should be. Typically files between 2-50MB are good.
    – timfredo
    Dec 17, 2016 at 21:08
  • @Pieter Basically you cannot change idea after a (little) while... until the text is modified. timfredo can edit its own text, for example, adding some comments more, or the steps that the user has to do... [I'm going to add some specification of the program, so you can change your vote]...
    – Hastur
    Dec 19, 2016 at 10:24
0

Two simple tools will give basic information about your connection to a certain website :

ping

The command ping website measures round-trip time from your computer to the specified website.

tracert

The command tracert website breaks traversal time into steps from your computer to the specified website, so you can see at which stage the slow-down occurs.

For more information, or if you suspect that your ISP varies the connection speed in function of what you are doing at the moment, you could use a broadband measuring tool to measure the evolution of your speed over time.

NetWorx

One free tool for example is NetWorx, which generates bandwidth monitoring and data usage reports. This tool is only free during 2016, so better download it before 2017 arrives.

2
  • I would really like one of the down-voters to explain why.
    – harrymc
    Dec 19, 2016 at 22:21
  • Maybe they're trying to get that secret silent killer hat ;) Dec 19, 2016 at 22:45
-2

Yes, go here. It is a wonderful speed test site for internet. You just select which server you want to test your speed with (they have servers you select from) and it tests upload speed, download speed, ping, distance from server being tested with, and more. I'm guessing this could help little bit since with this, you could test a server in the other servers general area.

5
  • 2
    -1 not for a certain site or server, just measures your max speed.
    – Pylsa
    Jan 18, 2011 at 16:45
  • Well I said that you could test from a list of servers. I didn't know if he wanted to check for speed to a server that was the the other servers general area which could help @BloodPhilia.
    – David
    Jan 18, 2011 at 16:48
  • 1
    Web of Trust says that this software maker has engaged in the distribution of trojans. I don't know if I can trust that...
    – Pieter
    Jan 19, 2011 at 21:26
  • mywot.com/en/scorecard/raccoonworks.com
    – Pieter
    Jan 19, 2011 at 21:26
  • Hmm, good point. Thanks for sharing that @Pieter.
    – David
    Jan 19, 2011 at 21:50

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .