Internet Speed

With the numerous things that can and do effect your internet connection speed how do you tell what connection speed you are actually operating at? In any network you are only as fast as your weakest link. The biggest issue is identifying where the problem resides. These weak links are typically called bottle necks. Even if you have a broadband connection your connectivity speed can be limited by bad or faulty connections, a router that is limitided by it’s own internal connection limitations, or even the type of cables which supply your connection.

Having wondered myself as to what connection speed I am actually getting I decided to test the performance of my Internet connection. By testing my connection speed with different configurations I started to narrow the issues down. Of course I replaced some cables, because as we all know not all RJ45 cables are rated the same. Some cables will out perform others according to the design and rating. When testing your connection remember to start at the first connection which is your NIC card. From there moved to the physical connections such as cables, then switches or routers.

Of course we have no control over the networks we may connect through. You can however improve your internal network connections and devices which in turn can improve your speed. One application which can evaluate your connection speed by evaluating your true download and upload speeds is the Internet speed test. This test is offered free of charge. Once you have tested your connection you can review the test data against the connection speed data provided by your ISP. If your connection is is in question you can test it comparitively to your ISP’s documented or proposed speed. from there you can take steps to troubleshoot and hopefully improve your speed just a little.

About the author: Patrick Wilson has been writing technology articles since 2004. For an extremely accurate internet speed test try the speed test at PC911.