[jeffeyer]

I need to know how fast is my DSL's speed, and to compare my mother's low-rated cable?
Does Tiger have a software to test it? If yes, what is the name of the software?
My Verizon DSL service is not cheap. Athough, I could ask the company to reduce the speed as long as it is not a dial-up. I recalled in the news that Japan has the fastest modem service in the world which cost around 10 bucks, and to compare our country which cost 50 bucks. What a huge rip-off!

[macnuke]

none IN Tiger.
but there are a few free tests you can run on the web
Links to a few that do tests
Another Free Test
and I am sure there are more.
but yes, internet and cell phone charges are a bit high in my opine.
m

[macnuke]

nice tester.
thanks for the link /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jeffeyer]

That's great! Thank you so much.

[Reboot]

Try this one.
http://speedtest.tds.net/speedtest/
You'll get different results from different test sites depending on a lot of factors. Basically belive the fastest you can find.
Verizon might have a test online if you log in to your account.
A Google search for speed test brings up a bunch too.

[d00d]

CNET's bandwidth test has worked well for me.
Personally, I think DSL is too expensive and definitely not fast enough.
Generally DSL is 1.5 Mbps at most. My Comcast connection is 6 Mbps. That's the low end, with the high end being 8 Mbps.

[barko192]

You get 6 Mbps on comcast? I only get 3, but you are on the East Coast right? Over here in the SF Bay Area we must not have gotten the newest technology yet.
Actually that makes me think of a question, is my five year old cable modem capable of giving me the highest possible speed?
Matt

[JackMac]

In reply to:

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is my five year old cable modem capable of giving me the highest possible speed?

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Probably not. When I recently asked Comcast about the speed I was getting they immediately said my old modem (3Com "sharkfin") could not deliver the highest speed. Fortunately, since I rent my modem they sent folks out to replace it and check the other aspects of my connection too. Things are much faster now. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[d00d]

In reply to:

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Actually that makes me think of a question, is my five year old cable modem capable of giving me the highest possible speed?

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I think I've read on some message boards that older cable modems (DOCSIS 1.0 and 1.1) max out around 3700 Kbps (~3.7 Mbps). My cable modem is DOCSIS 2.0 compatible so it can handle higher speeds.
If I remember correctly, Comcast had 4 Mbps as the low end until early August. An email that I read posted to a message board instructed users to turn off and on their cable modems to take advantage of the speed.
Those numbers also assume that you subscribe to some of their TV services as they have a lot of alternate plans for high speed internet only as I recall it.

[gdsegel]

Hi All,
While speed test sites can provide you with a "general" indicator of speed, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Any speed test you run outside of your ISP's gateway is subject to site load, network traffic and routing from the test site to your Mac.
Most ISP's that provide high speed internet over coaxial (or DSL for that matter) don't provide you with a site to speed test from. The ISP's rate a 3,4 or 5 megabit per second download speed as a speed that can be obtained within their gateway as they have limited control beyond the gateway. They will also typically indicate the speed is rated "up to" that speed, so, any speed "up to" 3 megabits for example would qualify as meeting their service level.
If you were to call in regarding a speed issue with an ISP, they would typically have you run a ping test to your default gateway and look for an unacceptable level of packet loss (typically beyond 10%) or excessive response time from the gateway (beyond 100 ms. on average).
I think you will find the major ISP's don't have sites you can verify speed of connection is due to the fact that call volume to technical support would skyrocket as soon as "savvy" internet users say that their 4 megabit connection was only showing as 3.83 megabits per second, and therefore there must be a signal/network,ISP problem when in all actuality there is not.
Just my humble two cents.

Gregg

[jdb8167]

Another one:
DSL Reports Speed Tests

[denisincalif]

In reply to:

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Personally, I think DSL is too expensive and definitely not fast enough.

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I agree about "expensive". Actually, the download speed for DSL has always been satisfactory for me. But the upload speed is terrible. For example, it prevents me from setting up a photo gallery for other family members to access.
Is cable symmetric? Could I expect to get 3 to 8 Mbps upload speed through a cable internet service?

[barko192]

I pulled out the dusty old documentation for my modem and it says that it is DOCSIS compliant and capable of speeds up to 3 Mbps.
It doesn't say whether that is DOCSIS 1 or 2 but because of the max speed Ill take it to be DOCSIS 1.
I also rent my modem but when I called Comcast a few months ago they told me my modem was capable of the highest speeds.
I guess I'll give them another call and tell them to live up their end of the bargain considering the fact that with my $5 per month rental fee I have paid for this modem many times over.
Matt

[d00d]

In reply to:

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Is cable symmetric? Could I expect to get 3 to 8 Mbps upload speed through a cable internet service?

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No. They're asymmetric like DSL in order to maximize effective speed. Users generally download much more than they upload and as such, rebalancing the bandwidth that way is cost effective for consumer connection providers.
My connection has 384 Kbps upload speed. I've always found that enough (especially since I use Flickr /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ).