SPEED TEST FLUCTUATIONS

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Zuiplap

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1. My ISP is Mweb.
2. My ADSL line is connected to Sunnyside exchange, Pretoria.
3. Two weeks ago Telkom upgraded my line from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps.
4. Telkom ADSL line checker confirms my current speed is 2 Mbps.
5. The Mweb Guy confirmed that my line is syncing at 2 Mbps.
6. My account with Mweb is still on 1 Mbps but according to the Mweb Guy I will be migrated to the standard 2 Mbps account in middle December.
7. Underneath is my problem:
==============================
Mweb Speed Tests taken on 4-12-2013
==============================
(3.15am = 1.36 Mbps) (6.35am = 1.39 Mbps) (9.20am = 1.76 Mbps) (10.34am = 1.43 Mbps) (11.12am = 1.77 Mbps) (13.14pm = 1.48 Mbps) (14.34pm = 1.44 Mbps) (15.36pm = 1.78 Mbps) (16.43pm = 1.79 Mbps) (19.06pm = 1.77 Mbps) (19.18pm = 1.42 Mbps) (20.05pm = 1.58 Mbps)

8. The people at 10210 has already reset the port of my line 5 TIMES!
9. If there is no fluctuations, the average speed should always be in the 1.70's.
10. Will the fluctuations stop once Mweb migrate me to their 2 Mbps account, or is that just wishfull thinking?
11. I have unplugged, reconnected and reset my router about 10 times, with no luck.
12. The above is just an example of the fluctuations. It happens every day.
13. I am at my wits end trying to solve this problem.
 
Zuiplap said:
1. My ISP is Mweb.
2. My ADSL line is connected to Sunnyside exchange, Pretoria.
3. Two weeks ago Telkom upgraded my line from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps.
4. Telkom ADSL line checker confirms my current speed is 2 Mbps.
5. The Mweb Guy confirmed that my line is syncing at 2 Mbps.
6. My account with Mweb is still on 1 Mbps but according to the Mweb Guy I will be migrated to the standard 2 Mbps account in middle December.
7. Underneath is my problem:
==============================
Mweb Speed Tests taken on 4-12-2013
==============================
(3.15am = 1.36 Mbps) (6.35am = 1.39 Mbps) (9.20am = 1.76 Mbps) (10.34am = 1.43 Mbps) (11.12am = 1.77 Mbps) (13.14pm = 1.48 Mbps) (14.34pm = 1.44 Mbps) (15.36pm = 1.78 Mbps) (16.43pm = 1.79 Mbps) (19.06pm = 1.77 Mbps) (19.18pm = 1.42 Mbps) (20.05pm = 1.58 Mbps)

8. The people at 10210 has already reset the port of my line 5 TIMES!
9. If there is no fluctuations, the average speed should always be in the 1.70's.
10. Will the fluctuations stop once Mweb migrate me to their 2 Mbps account, or is that just wishfull thinking?
11. I have unplugged, reconnected and reset my router about 10 times, with no luck.
12. The above is just an example of the fluctuations. It happens every day.
13. I am at my wits end trying to solve this problem.
Click to expand...

What exactly is your problem?
 
ADSL is a best effort service, your line speed will always fluctuate.

Start worrying when it's continually below 1Mbps and never hits 1.7Mbps in which case your exchange is probably congested or your system is downloading something that you're not aware of (or MWeb are throttling you :D).
 
1. My problem is that the speed test fluctuates.
2. When my line was still at 1 Mbps, my speed tests never deviated from Mbps in the 0.80's.
3. It is now much faster on 2 Mbps (compare 0.87 with 1.36 and 1.77) and I should actually be happy.
4. The flucuations on the 2 Mbps (which I never had on 1 Mbps) made me think something is somewhere wrong.
5. But if you guys think there is actually no problem, then I shall stop worrying, thank you.
 
fluctuations are a part of life, say your line fluctuates 5 or 10% the higher the speed more you'll notice these fluctuations.

It all depends on how far you are from the exchange, how congested your exchange is, and of course different loads on your exchange at different times of day.

every time the wind blew my line would disconnect eventually telkom ran a new line but after a lot of complaining.
 
Zuiplap said:
1. My problem is that the speed test fluctuates.
2. When my line was still at 1 Mbps, my speed tests never deviated from Mbps in the 0.80's.
3. It is now much faster on 2 Mbps (compare 0.87 with 1.36 and 1.77) and I should actually be happy.
4. The flucuations on the 2 Mbps (which I never had on 1 Mbps) made me think something is somewhere wrong.
5. But if you guys think there is actually no problem, then I shall stop worrying, thank you.
Click to expand...

You said your Mweb portion is still on 1Mb/s? If so I would be pretty happy with those speeds. As others have already mentioned ADSL is best effort and will fluctuate.
 
I think once Mweb has migrated my account from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps there should be an improvement. As I mentioned that will only happen during the middle of December (according to the Mweb Guy).
 
@Zuiplap

I was also on 2Mbps speed from Telkom and 1Mbps on MWEB. Of late they were shaping to only get 1Mbps data.
In the off period specialy over weekend I used to get 2Mbps benifit but not any more.
This might happen if you dont upgrade to 2Mbps account.
 
The Mweb Guy says the speeds should remain constant. O well, lets wait and see what happens once my account is upgraded.
 
A) I refer to item 10 in the beginning of my thread:
"Will the fluctuations stop once Mweb migrate me to their 2 Mbps account, or is that just wishfull thinking?"
B) 12.04pm this afternoon I got a SMS from a lady from MWeb that my account has been migrated to the 2 Mbps account. I switched off my PC and router for a while and then rebooted.
C) Now for the big question: will their still be fluctuations in my speed tests?
D) All tests (MWeb Speed Test, Speedtest.net & Telkom SA Speed Test) done hourly since 2.15pm until 8.15pm reported a speed in the 1.70's and sometimes even in the 1.80's! That's what I wanted! No longer 1.30's or 1.40's. I always told myself that if the tests were consistant on 1Mbps, why can't it be consistant on 2 Mbps?
E) So what did I learn after this? Your account at your ISP should reflect the same speed your line receives from Telkom, otherwise fluctuations will occur.
F) My 1Mbps Premium a\c (R339 pm + threshold 100GB pm) has now been migrated to a 2Mbps Standard a\c (also R339pm but with only a 70GB threshold). Ok I lose 30GB downloads per month, but at this stage it don't worry me to much.
G) Now I can go early to bed and don't dream about fluctuations. LOL
 
Just to add my 2c.

I used to be with mweb . I told Telkom to sync my line at 10mb/s but I only had a Premium 4mb line from mweb. My speed test used to reach 6mb/s but when I downloaded something it would not go over 4mb/s

So I then moved over to Afrihost and my line speed was still 10mb/s but my account with them was also the 4mb one.
When I did a speed test then I would never get over 3.8mb/s

It seems to me that the ISP's can either limit the connection speed you get by using settings on their systems or their systems can't always handle the speed that you are supposed to connect to.

It is just very strange that the line sync speed hasn't changed but I get very different speed tests between two different ISP's

Hope it helps

Zuiplap said:
1. My ISP is Mweb.
2. My ADSL line is connected to Sunnyside exchange, Pretoria.
3. Two weeks ago Telkom upgraded my line from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps.
4. Telkom ADSL line checker confirms my current speed is 2 Mbps.
5. The Mweb Guy confirmed that my line is syncing at 2 Mbps.
6. My account with Mweb is still on 1 Mbps but according to the Mweb Guy I will be migrated to the standard 2 Mbps account in middle December.
7. Underneath is my problem:
==============================
Mweb Speed Tests taken on 4-12-2013
==============================
(3.15am = 1.36 Mbps) (6.35am = 1.39 Mbps) (9.20am = 1.76 Mbps) (10.34am = 1.43 Mbps) (11.12am = 1.77 Mbps) (13.14pm = 1.48 Mbps) (14.34pm = 1.44 Mbps) (15.36pm = 1.78 Mbps) (16.43pm = 1.79 Mbps) (19.06pm = 1.77 Mbps) (19.18pm = 1.42 Mbps) (20.05pm = 1.58 Mbps)

8. The people at 10210 has already reset the port of my line 5 TIMES!
9. If there is no fluctuations, the average speed should always be in the 1.70's.
10. Will the fluctuations stop once Mweb migrate me to their 2 Mbps account, or is that just wishfull thinking?
11. I have unplugged, reconnected and reset my router about 10 times, with no luck.
12. The above is just an example of the fluctuations. It happens every day.
13. I am at my wits end trying to solve this problem.
Click to expand...
 
========
Photosmith
========
1. What stopped the fluctuations on my speed tests was when Mweb migrated my account to 2 Mbps, which is the same speed that I receive from Telkom.
2. It seems to me you will get fluctuations if your ISP a\c differs from the speed that you get from Telkom.
3. On their system (computer) Mweb put me on 2 Mbps, and someway that stopped the fluctuations. They are now in line with Telkom.
4. If I had stayed on the 1 Mbps a\c I would certainly still have had the fluctuations. I am not technical so maybe somebody can explain how did Mweb's migration of my a\c to 2 Mbps stop the fluctuations.
5. I don't believe in miracles, but after this I am not so sure. LOL
 
The fact that you were on a 2Mb Telkom line and a 1Mb Mweb DSL account meant that you were probably hitting what is know as a burst speed, which is a higher speed for a limited time only. Now that you are upgraded on Mweb side your speed will remain fairly consistent as you are no longer hitting the burst speed.

That being said their could still be speed fluctuations every now and then due to congestion etc. Although by the speeds initially posted I think you are on a fairly uncontested exchange.

This is why I initially asked if the Mweb side was also 2Mb
 
As other folks have said... your speed will always fluctuate, dependent on a multitude of factors: the server you test with, bandwidth overhead loss, shaping, exchange congestion, network congestion, etc.

A speed test may reflect 1.4Mbps whereas real-world usage may reflect higher.

Speed tests such as Speedtest.net are a useful tool to gauge and diagnose with but they are definitely not 100% precise.
 
Testmy.net is better imho.

Single thread tests are a lot more accurate than multi thread tests which can be optimized by isps such as speednet.net. Besides those tests always vary...
Lycanthrope said:
As other folks have said... your speed will always fluctuate, dependent on a multitude of factors: the server you test with, bandwidth overhead loss, shaping, exchange congestion, network congestion, etc.

A speed test may reflect 1.4Mbps whereas real-world usage may reflect higher.

Speed tests such as Speedtest.net are a useful tool to gauge and diagnose with but they are definitely not 100% precise.
Click to expand...
 
Necuno said:
Testmy.net is better imho.

Single thread tests are a lot more accurate than multi thread tests which can be optimized by isps such as speednet.net. Besides those tests always vary...
Click to expand...

Have to disagree.

According to testmy.net my line-speed is 16Mbps down/8.8Mbps. That's to the Netherlands' server (the closest one they have available).

Speedtest, to the Oslo server (the most reliable one near me):

3150851597.png


This is on a 200 down/10 up package (I downgraded because I'm moving to an apartment with 1Gbps fibre in March :D).

Real-world usage is accurate: get 25MB/s (full line speed) down from Steam, for example.

Speedtest is still the best there is, but it's still not perfect since many servers have their own limitations and problems as well.
 
do note... Single thread (testmy) testing VS Multi thread (speedtest.net) testing.

Lycanthrope said:
Have to disagree.

According to testmy.net my line-speed is 16Mbps down/8.8Mbps. That's to the Netherlands' server (the closest one they have available).

Speedtest, to the Oslo server (the most reliable one near me):

3150851597.png


This is on a 200 down/10 up package (I downgraded because I'm moving to an apartment with 1Gbps fibre in March :D).

Real-world usage is accurate: get 25MB/s (full line speed) down from Steam, for example.

Speedtest is still the best there is, but it's still not perfect since many servers have their own limitations and problems as well.
Click to expand...
 
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