question about broadband and bandwidth meters

[tkim]

ok.. so i use this bandwidth meter http://webservices.cnet.com/bandwidth/ and i have a question. regardless of what i choose (dialup, isdn, cable, or dsl) should my result be the same?

i picked each one, and i got VERY different results. dialup = 106, isdn = 176, dsl = 950, and other = 750.

is this normal?

thanks!

 

[arcenite]

I believe they use different file sizes (maybe packet sizes too?)

Bill

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Yup, they do use different packet sizes. Try this one, http://webservices.cnet.com/bandwidth/, its worked pretty good for me. The difference between all of them is because each connection gets detected better with different packet sizes. Its like downloading a 1k file on broadband to measure speed and a 30 meg file on dialup to measure it.

 

[Texun]

The number of hops and routing has a lot to do with the results. Each time you hit the link you get the "best" route available at that moment. No guarantee that it will be the same one every time. Also, how many other users are hammering the server and what is the bandwidth capacity of the server? These are unknowns and can cause varying results. BW checkers are okay as a sanity check to see if your system is working correctly, but they are almost impossible to use for nailing down true performance.