Internet speed testing online. Why do speed tests have different results?

Many who have already encountered Internet speed testing services have noticed that the results of these tests quite often differ from the tariff plan (the speed provided by the provider). Most people, without delving into the details and intricacies of how services work, prefer to believe the indicated speed test results, on, perhaps for the first time, an open website. And then the calls to the provider’s technical support with complaints and claims begin. Often, long negotiations with technical support end in nothing - the recommendations of the technical staff are difficult or scary to implement. And, as a result, the client is not satisfied.

We conducted a small test of the most popular services for checking Internet connection speed and decided to find out which of the services should be given the greatest preference, and also tried to find out why such different results show speed measurements. At each site we carried out from 3 to 5 measurements, presenting the best indicators here.

For testing we used a simple system unit with a dual-core processor, 2 GB random access memory, installed Windows 7 operating system. are not installed on the computer, the firewall is disabled. All components and modules (including flash player) are updated. Browsers used: Opera, Chrome, Fire Fox, Safari, testing was carried out in each of them. The network card is the most inexpensive, with an interface speed of 100 Mbit/s (Full duplex). The computer was connected with a 3-meter twisted pair cable to a Cisco L2 switch with a 1 Gb/s port (auto) and an external interface (Internet channel) of 2 Gb/s (LACP bonding mode 2).

In total, an analogue of broadband Internet access was obtained at a speed limited by the bandwidth of the computer’s network card - 100 Mbit/s.

Speedtest.net by Ookla - Global speed test

Speedtest.Net- probably one of the first and most popular services for checking basic network parameters. The test itself is created on the basis of flash technology, which, on the one hand, is beautiful, convenient and visual, on the other hand, it can let you down - the flash player is not installed correctly on your computer, or the browser flash module is not able to fully implement speed testing, and , as a result - errors in measurement.

The web interface of the page http://www.speedtest.net/ looks like a map with the ability to select the server with which you want to test.

When you open the page www.speedtest.net, the service determines your location. A very useful feature of this service is the ability to select the server with which to test, because the fewer intermediate nodes between your computer and the server, the more accurate the measurement results will be.

Before testing begins, a ping test takes place - the server’s response time to your request to it.

Immediately after measuring the ping, the download speed is measured - Download.

After measuring your incoming speed, the service will automatically begin measuring outgoing speed - Upload, the speed at which you can upload and transfer files to the Internet.

Outgoing speed testing - Upload.

After all the tests have been carried out - ping, incoming and outgoing speed, the results will appear on the screen with a suggestion to repeat the test ( TEST AGAIN), or select another server ( NEW SERVER) to check Internet settings.

Test result.

Further, using the service Speedtes.Net, we chose another, most remote server in Kyiv, the data to which will pass through several Data Centers, with this we will show the influence of intermediate nodes on the accuracy of testing measurements.

Selecting a remote server located in Kyiv.

Speed testing with a server located in Kyiv.

Here it is worth paying attention to the increase in ping to 13 ms, which indicates data delays on intermediate servers and routers located between us and Kiev.

Result for Speedtest.net by Ookla - 95/95 Mbit/s with our throughput of 100 Mbps this is the most accurate result.

If you need to test with our server located in Torez, go here.

Bandwidthplace.com - speed test for all devices

Bandwidthplace.Com- just like Speedtest.Net uses flash technology to measure network speed. Here everything is more modest, the choice of servers (button Select Server) for testing is small, only about 15, the location of which indicates that the service is focused on America and Japan. The closest to us was Frankfurt (Germany).

The result of the check, to put it mildly, was no. With our actual channel width of 100 Mbit/s, the Bandwidthplace.com service showed only 11 Mbit/s - 10 times lower than our actual speed. Moreover, we were not able to check our outgoing speed using this service.

Bandwidthplace.com speed testing.

This is due to the remoteness of the server and a large number of intermediate nodes to it. We counted 8 pieces.

Tracing the route to the server - Bandwidthplace.com.

Result for Bandwidthplace.com - 11/-- Mbit/s with our throughput of 100 Mbit/s, this service is not suitable for our region.

2ip.Ru - Network services portal

2ip.Ru- probably one of the first Russian-language services for the Internet. Among them is a speed check service.

Before checking, the service prompts you to enter your speed according to the tariff plan; for further assessment - declared/actual.

The lack of selection of the nearest server affected the results.

The result of the Internet connection speed is 2ip.Ru.

Despite the fact that the 2ip.ru service is aimed at Russian-speaking network users, it itself is located in Germany, so the service is more suitable for the western regions of the CIS countries (Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg...). Due to the fact that between us and the 2ip.ru service there is big number nodes, it is not suitable for accurate measurements.

Result for 2ip.Ru - 27/7 Mbit/s

Pr-Cy.Ru - Analysis and verification of network resources

Pr-Cy.Ru- another popular Russian-language service, specializes in website analysis, the speed checking service on it is a pleasant addition to other services.

On the speed test page there is a map that allows you to select your preferred server with the smallest number nodes on the way to it for the most accurate result.

Speed check page - Pr-Cy.Ru.

After pressing the button “Start Internet speed test”, first the server response time (ping) is measured, after which the incoming and then outgoing Internet speed will be automatically checked.

Testing Internet speed on the Pr-Cy.Ru website.

Internet speed test result.

The test result was disappointing, deviations were more than 20%. Most likely, the owners of the Pr-Cy.Ru resource do not prioritize the accuracy of Internet speed measurements and pay more attention to the accuracy of their other services.

Result for Pr-Cy.Ru - 80/20 Mbit/s, in our opinion, a dubious service for our region.

We think this is enough comparative tests. Our goal was to show that speed checking services are nothing more than entertainment and should not be taken more or less seriously. We did not specifically consider other services, such as.

Yandex Internet Meter is a useful online service that allows the user to independently measure Internet speed, determine their IP address, as well as a number of most important characteristics web connections.

Sometimes, after connecting to a particular provider and trying the Internet connection, certain doubts arise. They relate to compliance with the download or data transfer speed stated in the contract and its real value.

As a rule, the description of the tariff plan indicates inflated speed indicators. This is a kind of thoughtful advertising move by the provider of such services.

To establish the fact of fraud, you need to check the connection, and a special Internet meter service will help with this.

Yandex Internet meter - how to measure speed

Preparing for testing.

Before you begin accurate testing, it is necessary to carry out a number of activities:

close all previously running programs and leave only the browser with one active tab of the service itself;

wait for all downloads in the browser to complete or force them to stop;

make sure that no updates are running at the time of checking;

disable Windows Firewall.

Testing.

On home page The Internet meter, which is the only one, immediately displays:

the unique address of the computer from which the service was logged in;

geographic region of residence of the user;

summary information about the web browser;

expansion capacity of computer screen.

Option “Show detailed information» allows you to view the characteristics of the operating system, data about the client itself, the presence of JavaScript and Flash, Yandex cookies and other information about the system.

The upper right corner of the service page is used to place advertisements for the Yandex Internet browser.

Other features of the Internetometer

The launch of Yandex Internetometer is accompanied by the work of the “sorcerer” program. It is he who provides data about the user’s IP address.

It indicates not only the address itself to entered queries regarding IP determination, but also allows you to view more detailed information about the type and other characteristics of the connection between the selected provider and Yandex.

The Internet Meter service also serves to determine the speed of the connection being used. There is a special button for this. You just need to click on it and wait a few seconds, after which the Internet meter will automatically check the speed of downloading and transferring data to the network.

The waiting time depends on the quality of the connection. Too Slow internet may cause the service to freeze or result in an error message appearing on the computer screen indicating that testing cannot be completed.

The process of measuring the speed characteristics of a web connection is accompanied by access to special servers located in Moscow. Yandex downloads and transfers the test file multiple times, and then calculates the average speed.

Internet speed is not constant and can change several thousand times a day. To obtain more reliable information, it is recommended to perform multiple tests and select an average value from the results.

According to reviews from many users, the speed of the Internet is also affected by programs on the computer that work with Internet resources. The most expensive of them are utilities designed for downloading large amounts of data. Among them, we should highlight torrents, Download Master and others.

In addition, scan results may vary due to server overload. In this case, no one guarantees one hundred percent accuracy of speed measurement. However, the Yandex Internetometer still works more or less decently, without any glitches and severe distortion of the real indicators of the value being determined.

Currently, free online services are very popular, capable of determining the speed of the Internet connection being used in a few seconds, as well as finding out the IP address of the computer, determining the user’s location, checking the site for viruses, and more. Among the most common programs similar type Speedtest is also included.

The free service is designed to quickly test the transfer speed and download data to the user’s computer.

To perform the test, download or install any additional components not required.

Features of Speedtest Net

As a result of using SpeedTest, it becomes possible to determine the incoming and outgoing speed of the Internet connection.

In most cases, the declared value of this characteristic is deliberately overestimated by the supplier and does not correspond to reality. The provider indicates false facts in order to attract the attention of users and increase its popularity.

A complete package of tools with all the features can only be obtained by visiting the website of the official service developer or its partner. This is very important, since currently an incredible amount of obscene resources have been created masquerading as the original.

Global speed test SpeedTest

The Speedtest.net service includes only one page – the main page.

To start testing, there is a special button “ Forward » (Start checking).

The final result is produced 30 seconds after the program is launched for execution.

He is:

ping,

the amount of incoming and outgoing speed Internet connections,

user location, set by the IP address of the computer from which you entered the site.

Internet speed results among site users

The total number of tests is 6867.
Average download speed is 30.13 Mb/sec.
The average download speed on a PC is 28.31 Mb/sec.
The average ping value is 29 ms.

Particularly demanding users can use the option to determine the geographic location of the server that will perform the scan. For this purpose, a special map is provided, the scale of which can be changed using the slider located on its left side. In other cases, this operation is performed automatically.

The parameter testing is carried out in real time and looks truly impressive. It provides a visual display of everything that is happening - data transfer between the specified server and the user’s computer, taking into account all the established indicators.

The data processor window presents a colorful animation of downloading or transferring data from the user’s device to the selected city, a graph and an image of a speedometer with the Speed mark. This approach is designed to brighten up the waiting time for results and save a person from unnecessary negative emotions on this occasion.

The entire process of determining the real speed of an Internet connection through Speedtest is performed with one click of the mouse.

It is very convenient and does not take much time. Even a beginner can cope with such a task.

Many modern Internet providers claim to provide maximum speed data transmission. How true is this statement? The data transfer speed is influenced by various factors: day of the week, time, communication channel congestion, state of communication lines, technical condition servers used, even the weather. Clients purchasing a certain package of services want to be sure that for their money they will be provided with Internet at the stated speed. In this article we will tell you how to find out the connection speed, as well as which services are best to use for this purpose.

How can you check your Internet speed?

To check Internet speed, we will use special services available on the network. This method is the most accurate, accessible and convenient. In this case, speed is measured from the computer to the server on which the service runs. The indicators will differ from each other in all cases.

We will measure the incoming speed, as well as the outgoing speed (the speed at which we transfer information, for example, through a torrent).

These indicators usually differ from each other; the outgoing speed is usually less than the incoming one. The service that shows the highest incoming speed will be considered the best.

Before starting testing, you must complete the following steps:

Close all applications except the browser (especially those programs that can download anything).
Wait for the downloads to finish or pause them in the browser.
Make sure that it is not updated during the check operating system or other applications.
To prevent the Windows Firewall from affecting the results, it is also advisable to disable it.

Services through which you can check your speed

There are several services on the network through which you can check the data transfer speed: 2ip.ru, Internet meter from Yandex, www.speedtest.net, mainspy.ru, speed.yoip.ru, etc. You can test several of them and choose the most suitable one Below we will look at the most popular of these services.

Internet meter from Yandex

To test the speed of your connection using this online service, you must. Once you do this, you will see a big button yellow color « Change" Here you can see your IP address. For Yandex to start testing, you must click on the button and wait a bit. The duration of testing is determined by the speed itself. If the speed is too slow or there are communication interruptions, the test may freeze or fail.

Yandex, testing speed, downloads and uploads a test file several times, after which it calculates the average value. At the same time, it cuts off strong gaps, thereby ensuring maximum precise definition connection speed. However, despite this, after repeated checks we received different results, the error of which was 10-20 percent.

In principle, this is normal, since speed is not a constant indicator, it jumps all the time. Yandex claims that this test accurately determines speed, but many factors influence the result.

Service 2ip.ru

2ip.ru is very popular. With its help, you can not only determine the speed of your Internet connection, but also find out the IP address of your computer. This service will give full information by your IP address, will check any of your files for viruses, and will also tell you a lot interesting information about any site on the Internet (site engine, IP, distance to the site, presence of viruses on it, its accessibility, etc.).

To check the speed, click on the “Tests” tab on the inscription “Internet connection speed”.

After that, indicate the speed declared by your provider so that the service can compare it with the real speed, then click the big button “ Test" After running several repeated checks, you will have to enter a simple captcha.

This service provided almost 3 times higher outgoing connection speeds and slightly lower incoming speeds. A BB code is proposed to insert a picture containing the test results into the forum. To insert the code on the site, you will need to edit it yourself.

The changes in speed after each retest were insignificant - within ten percent.

Speedtest.net

This is a very convenient, serious service that allows you to determine the speed of your Internet connection with maximum accuracy. Although this site is located in America, the test uses a server located near the user, so this server is suitable for everyone, regardless of their location.

This “trick” allows you to get the best results, but it also has its negative sides. The user has the opportunity to compare the obtained figures with the data declared by the provider, however real speed the Internet is lower precisely because the remaining servers are scattered throughout the planet. Therefore, it is advisable to use several services simultaneously to check the speed.

All this works on flash animation, so not everyone can make money. To start testing, you should then press the " Start checking».

After the testing process is completed, the user can see a link to the picture, which he can insert into the website himself, as well as a BB code intended for forums.

As you can see, this test finally showed high incoming speed and normal outgoing speed, however, we were able to achieve similar results only on the fifth attempt, since the results vary significantly. But at similar speeds, close to theoretical ones, this situation is normal.

The service periodically hosts SpeedWave tournaments, during which you can compete with other participants or just find out what speeds generally exist.

After registering on the portal, you will have access to the history of all your checks, thanks to which you can compare various indicators. You will be able to run the test periodically and then check the year's history in a graphical view. This will clearly demonstrate to you whether your provider is developing towards increasing speed or whether it is time to change it.

You can also visit the foreign service PINGTEST.NET, which tests not the speed, but the quality of communication. This is also a necessary thing. The service closest to you is selected, after which the level of communication quality from this service to you is tested. We got the following results:

"Grade B" - considered to be good quality communications. Packet Loss (that is, packet loss), if equal to zero, is a very good indicator.

There are situations when you simply need to check your Internet speed. For example, you may not be able to understand why pages are loading slowly or what your internet speed actually is and whether it matches your data plan. In this case, we advise you to check the speed of your Internet connection using special programs.

Any speedtest program will help you do this. You can use it to check the speed of downloading and uploading files. Our website for checking Internet speed offers you one of best programs to check the speed of your Internet connection Speedtest.net mini.

If you want to find out the speed of your home or work Internet, we advise you to use the Speedtest mini program located on this page. Please note that checking your Internet speed will not take much time, a maximum of two minutes. Besides, this program does not require installation on your personal computer and works online.

Before you run the speed test, we recommend that you complete all downloads in your browser, turn off file download programs such as utorrent, as well as online radio and television. The operation of these programs significantly affects the speed of the Internet and can significantly affect the results of the Internet speed test.

A few words about how Internet speed is checked. After clicking the “Start test” button, a special file begins to be downloaded to the computer and its size and download time are recorded. After the file has been downloaded, the second stage of verification begins - it is uploaded to the Internet. At the same time, the time during which it was produced is also recorded. The program then tells you what your actual Internet speed is.

Checking Internet speed is a completely simple and safe procedure. The only nuance that you should remember is that when downloading and uploading a file, traffic is counted, so take this into account if you do not have unlimited Internet.

As a rule, the speed of the Internet connection depends on many parameters.

To more accurately measure Internet speed, you need to:

Only 1 computer should be connected to the router;
The testing computer or laptop must be connected to the ONT or ADSL router via an Ethernet cable (Not Wi-fi);
On the testing computer, all programs for downloading or communicating on the Internet are closed (which take away speed, albeit insignificant);
Open a browser with one tab and run an internet speed test.

Also, the speed of the Internet connection depends on your hardware: Network card, if the computer is connected via cable to a router or Wi-Fi adapter, via a wireless connection to the router. These devices have their own throughput Internet connection and if you have high-speed Internet, and the network adapter does not support this speed, then the speed will not match your tariff plan.

If you meet these criteria, speedtest will show your speed, which should match the tariff you have chosen.

For other providers, such as Onlime, Beeline, etc. using Ethernet technology (when a twisted pair cable enters your apartment), you can measure the speed directly without a router. Connect your computer directly to the Internet cable, set up the connection and check the speed.