ADSL speed test.

djohn2002uk

Another way to test your download speed it to get someone to send you a 3 or 4 meg file via yousendit, http://www.yousendit.com/
You can send files up to 1Gig this way and you will get an email when the file is ready (when it has been uploaded) for you to download. You click the link in the email which opens the download page. The speed from yousendit is consistently high so you'll soon see if you have any probs.

robowen

Tried the download. It took about 35 secs to do a 4.41mb music file. This was going at around 130kbps

Azureus. I cant get any downloads above about 54kbps even after tweaking the settings.

This web site has not changed since the upgrade either, no change in speed.

Maybe I do have a better speed :think:.....but it doesnt feel any different to what I had before :think:

I even phoned my isp to enquire when it would be upgraded and they said it was done on the 13th of last month !

Thanks for your info
rob :beer:

djohn2002uk

I think if you got 130k and a 4.1Meg file in 35secs theres not much to worry about. That's similar to what I get on my 2M connection.

bluep

djohn2002uk wrote:

Not true. The reason for the "Up to 2Megs" is down to the condition of the cable from the exchange to your property,(noise on the line etc.) and/or the distance your property is from the exchange, (As the cable is routed , not as the crow flies).
The contention ratio only really comes in to play during peak times when others in your neighbourhood would need to be online and downloading at the same time as you.
So, contention ratio is only a problem speed wise at certain times if ever whilst the state of your line is a problem 24/7.

To robowen, as Rex says, nowt wrong with the connection or your modem because the speed test is measured from your PC to ADSLGuide server (If that's who you used) and back to your PC and vice versa. If your modem was slowing things down it would have shown up.

Hmm you say "not true" and then go on to agree with what I said? heh.

Contention ration is important at peak times, just as exchange distance is important at all times (for example, my ISP offers an 8MB service but won't connect me to it as my line won't really support much more than 2mb). However, as I said before SOME ISP's don't declare contention ration, lump a huge number of people on the line and this can drastically affect speed - peak times differ depending on whether you live in an area with a load of azureus-junkies or after-work surfers etc... I've been with 3 different ISPs now and experienced different contention ratios and the flux that can bring.

Another idea re Azureus is how "connectable" you are - the latest version of Azureus has several tweaks and your firewall settings change how the peer-2-peer network swarms. If you are a member of a site that requires a log-in, some of them show in your user profile whether your settings are "clever" or not. This can affect your speed - I've noticed that since tweaking it all, I now connect to more seeds and peers. I can find some links for you explaining it all, if you think you'd like to look into this.

djohn2002uk

Originally Posted by bluep
well, the problem with some isps is that they sell UP TO 2 mbs service, depending on the contention ratio

I say again- Not true!
They quote "Up to 2Megs" depending solely on the condition of your line. That is Quality of the line and distance from the exchange.
I've not seen any ISP quote 2Megs depending on the contention ratio.

bluep

Ah i see, we are talking at cross purposes here. My isp says up to 2mbs as a "cover all" and gives line quality as the main reason, but what I'm saying is they don't tell you that the contention ratio can make a big difference. My small independent isp charges more for a guarenteed 20-1 than their 50-1 and my dad's AOL service in London which won't state a contention ratio at all, goes from a decent 1mbs most of the night to a dismal 256-512kb at BEST during the afternoon and evening.

Rex_Mundi

bluep wrote:

Ah i see, we are talking at cross purposes here. My isp says up to 2mbs as a "cover all" and gives line quality as the main reason, but what I'm saying is they don't tell you that the contention ratio can make a big difference. My small independent isp charges more for a guarenteed 20-1 than their 50-1 and my dad's AOL service in London which won't state a contention ratio at all, goes from a decent 1mbs most of the night to a dismal 256-512kb at BEST during the afternoon and evening.

If you use a BT line to access your ISP, then you would still have a possible contention rate of up to 50-1. This is BTs maximum possible contention rate on any broadband users on an exchange using their phone line.

I'm with Zen internet. They have no contention on their network. This is fine once I'm on their network, however, because I am using a BT phone line, I'm still on a possible maximum 50-1 contention rate on BTs line before I get to Zen. Luckily this doesn't ever seem to be a problem for me in my area/exchange.