Why Run DSL Speed Test? Broadband Internet, generally known as broadband, essentially means high-speed Internet access.

Standard broadband at 512kb is 10 times faster than the dial-up, which is a mere 56kb. Besides, dial-up access causes disruption of telephone lines, while a broadband connection does not use a phone. Usually, broadband is delivered in three ways: DSL broadband, cable broadband and satellite broadband. Currently, DSL is the most popular means of delivering broadband service. Cable broadband is next in line of popularity, with satellite broadband the least among them. Broadband check is simply an exercise to see whether you are actually receiving high-speed broadband access. An increasing number of businesses and homes are discarding dial-up Internet access to acquire some form of broadband access. Though broadband Internet access is faster compared with dial-up, it is more expensive. Digital subscriber lines (DSL) and cable broadband are generally the least expensive and most effective forms of broadband. Satellite broadband is generally the most expensive form due to the equipment it requires. It is also the slowest, since the signal has to travel 35,000 miles to reach the satellite. Generally, it is used in rural areas, where DSL and cable broadband are not available. The primary factor you need to consider while choosing a broadband delivery method is the bandwidth availability. Bandwidth is simply the amount of data that you can download or upload. All broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) promise to deliver the kind of bandwidth they offer you at a certain tariff. However, more often the advertised bandwidth is unavailable, since ISPs often allow a greater number of users to operate on their network than their network can handle. Their contention is that all users will be not be on the network at one given time and not using the maximum download capabilities available. This can lead to slowdowns in your connection. Need For Test An Internet speed test can help you determine your actual bandwidth on any connection, including broadband, cable, satellite and DSL modems. For best results, it is recommended that you have the latest version of Java. Some of the sites that offer free DSL speed checks limit the test to 15-20 users at a time. However, others with greater bandwidth offer better service, taking less than 30 seconds to complete the process. Before You Begin Bandwidth Check Prior to starting the speed test, keep in mind that it uses TCP port 8,500 and 8,600 to 8,609 to test packets. If you still cannot run the bandwidth test, download the latest version ofJava. In fact, there is more to an Internet speed than meets the eye! When you measure bandwidth, be itDSL speed test,cable modem speed testor any other, you have to consider the devices through which packets of data travel. Besides, the technology used to deliver those packets of data and variations in speed need to be taken into account.

Speed Test Techniques There are several techniques forconducting a speed test and measuring bandwidth. Most of them may be categorized into two groups: The first group is a variant path-char, which is based on the one-packet model. The other variant, packet-pair is based on the packet-pair model, which imposes lower overhead. Theoretically, one- or two-packet technique and the tailgating technique can achieve reasonable estimation of DSL link bandwidth. However, existing tools do not regulate the probe packets.

A possible solution is to explicitly regulate the probe traffic. But it would difficult to specify the source rate forthe speed test. To circumvent this problem a stepwise scheme is adopted. In the first step of the bandwidth test, a rough estimate of the bandwidth is obtained. And in the subsequent probe traffic is regulated according to the estimation. The multi-packet technique is used to avoid explicit packet filtering, so that the Internet speed may be measured more appropriately. Asymmetric DSL Networks The asymmetric nature of DSL network makes it necessary to have different measurement methodologies for upstream and downstream cases. Speed tests are based on the assumption that the upstream bandwidth is lower than the downstream bandwidth. Upstream methodology: A fixed number of UDP packets of uniform size are sent from the customers computer at a rate slightly higher than the nominal bandwidth of the DSL network during a DSL speed test. It is necessary to saturate the pipe for testing by probing the traffic with a slightly higher rate. A server process on the bandwidth measurement server sends back the packets as they arrive at the server end. The time difference, i.e., T, is measured between the arrival of the first packet and the last packet at the client end. During the broadband speed test, the upstream bottleneck link bandwidth, b1, is computed as: b1 = (NxPx8)/T [bps] DSL Speed Test Definitions The following internet speed test terms are useful for understanding the process: QOS: It represents the level of consistent download capacity provided by the broadband or DSL provider. The higher the QOS percentage, the higher would be the overall quality of the Net connection. RTT: The Round Trip Time (RTT) reports the total time in milliseconds (ms) to send a small data packet during the speed test and obtain a response. The faster (smaller) the RTT, the better is the broadband speed. Max Pause: It is the longest pause recorded during the broadband speed test data download. If this in not a small number, it would indicate Net congestion or a bad connection There could be several reasons for the slowdown of your Net connection. It could be your hardware or probably the modem has a cache, which often impacts performance. To empty the cache, unplug the modem from the power for a few seconds. Make sure your modem supports the output speed the network requires and cables are properly connected and intact. It is highly recommended that you frequently scan your computer for malware. Worms can also use the network to replicate, thus slowing down the Internet connection. Use up-to-date anti-virus and anti-malware tools to prevent infections. DSL Speed Test