Now that you are on the broadband network you are no
doubt interested to know "just how fast is it?"
We're interested too, and you can help us.
We want to understand connection speed issues in order to optimize our network and deliver the speed expected for your service plan.
Please bear in mind that the speed of your internet connection depends
upon the capability of the ISP network as well as the performance
of the internet beyond the office. Within our network, distance from
a cell-extender pole, foliage, weather and the positioning of your antenna
will effect your connection speed. The global internet traffic and system
factors also influence measured bandwidth.
The most convenient way to measure your connection
speed is to use one of the several free bandwidth
meter tools available on the internet. One of them, speedtest.net, is
quick and easy to use. Just click
here to use it.
Others
download a file to your
computer from their server and measure how much time it takes for you to
receive it. They can also reverse this process to measure your upload
speed.
Remember, there are two components in the measurement
— the speed
of the network and the speed of the internet between the office server and the originating server. Thus, the connection speed measurement
is
useful for comparison purposes but may not be absolutely precise.
You can monitor the performance of the
network by performing a simple "ping" test.
This test sends a
small packet of data from your PC to the office server. Follow
these steps:
- Go to
the Start Menu on your PC and find the Command Prompt.
This application can usually be found under
Programs/Accessories.
- When you
open the Command Prompt you'll see a black screen with
white letters. To the right of the > you'll see a
blinking cursor where you will begin typing.
- Type ping
www.cnn.com
(exactly) and then press the Enter key. (cnn.com is arbitrary)
- Your computer
will send 32 bytes of data to the office,
four times, and display an average round trip time..
- You should expect the average
to be between 30 and 60 ms.
|