pmj - help re 6.9 Mbits/sec

Re:6.9 Mbits/sec.
I followed your advice and downloaded the Open Office suite,
a free download 89.1 MB in size. Using the second hand on my wrist watch
to time the download it took 15 mins 10 secs.

pmj...

LOL!
:-)

Well, I s'pose that's certainly *one* way of Timing it!
:-)

But most Web Browsers (Internet Explorer included) actually *show*
you the Time the Download takes, in the little
"File Download Dialog Box" thingy, that you get, when you Click [Save]

& that Box also works out the Download Speed (in KBytes/Sec)
for you!
It takes the File Size (which it either gets from the HTTP Headers
that the Server Sends with the File, or from the Size of the File,
once it's Downloaded) & Divides that by the number of Seconds that
it took & shows you that figure at the end of the Download.

That does not sound very impressive to me.How would you
interpret it ?
Many thanks for your guidance so far.

Lurker...

(/delurk)

89MB in just 15 mins - that's fast! How much faster do you want? What

pmj...

Yep!
That's a reasonable Download Speed (maybe not anywhere near as fast
as some Connections), but plenty fast enough for most people.
:-)

sam, remember that is 89 *MB* - *Mega* Bytes! (& not 89 KB - KiloBytes)
That's a pretty large File.

So, to get the Download Speed in KBytes/Sec, you need to Divide the
File Size (in KBytes) by the time taken (in Seconds)...

To get the File Size in KiloBytes, multiply 89 MB x 1024 =
91,136 KB
Then, to get the Number of Seconds, multiply 15 Minutes x 60 =
900
Then to get the Download Speed in KBytes/Sec, divide 91136 by 900 =
About 101 KBytes/Sec

Which is roughly what to expect (or a little bit under) from
a 1mbps Connection.

As a comparison, my (Telewest/Blueyonder Cable Modem) Whooosher
Connection is Rated at 4mbps & the (sustained, steady) Download
Speed I usually get from it is about 490 or 500 KBytes/Sec - that's
about 1 MB every 2 seconds (The Actual Speed really depends on the
Server) [*1]
I would expect a 90 MB File to take about 3 or 4 Minutes.
(that's 90 x 2 = 180 Seconds = 3 Minutes)

pmj...

See above!
:-)

He might have been expecting it to be about 5 or 6 times faster than
what he got, but (I think) that's unrealistic on a typical ADSL
Connnection - they always seem to give an Actual Download Speed
considerably less than the Rated Capacity - due to Contention at
the Exchange & ISP & Line Losses etc.

[*1]
Also, many Servers can't (or don't) actually Send Files as fast as
a typical Fast Broadband Connection can handle.

I just tried Downloading that OpenOffice2.0.2 (Windoze EN-GB)
Package (From a UK HTTP Mirror Server) & it took (as Timed
& Displayed by the File Download Dialog Box)...
3 Minutes & 14 Seconds
(the File Size was 89.1MB)

So that works out at an Actual Download speed of 470 KBytes/Sec -
that's OK , but a bit slower than I get from many Download Servers,
I find.

about tea breaks?

The first time I downloaded Open-Office (It was still StarOffice in
those days) was on a dial-up The prog was split into 10 chunks of 7-11
MB's each. 6 or 7 of the chunks were 11 MB. It took all night to D/L the

pmj...

Ah yes!
Those were the days!!!

& that was *if* your (Dial Up) Connection didn't drop, during the
Download!

whole thing. Each section took 45 to 75 mins. It's a few years ago now

pmj...

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
:-(

but my recollection is that I started around 11.00pm and had the whole
thing installed, and burned to CD, by 9.00am. Then I went to bed. I

pmj...

LOL!

still have that CD and have just checked - it was StarOffice 5.2 and the
total burned to disk is 89.397248MB's

pmj...

Hey!
That Size hasn't changed much then, has it?

15 mins - Some people don't know how lucky they are!

pmj...

LOL!
:-)

Yep, but I think maybe sam was wondering about it, cos his ADSL
Modem is *Synchronising* at 6.9 mbps, yet his actual Download Speed
was (only?) about 100 KBytes/Sec - well under (or less than 1/4 of)
the theoretical capacity/capability of it.

sam...

That's exactly it, pmj.Thank you very much for your help.Also FN -
I logged on to the test site you recommend to find I was downloading
at 2980kbits/sec.,far short of the synch speed.

pmj...

Yep, but that 2980 kbits/Sec is only about 1/2 (as opposed to 1/4)
of the *theoretical (rated) Capacity, so that's a lot better.

Still, it's all relative and things seem to be much faster now.Thanks

pmj...

You could (if you have nothing better to do! )

Try running some of those "Speed Test" things (or Downloading other
(real, practical) stuff in *parallel* - in other words both at once.
That way (especially if you choose stuff from different Servers),
it will utilise (& thus measure) more of *your* available Bandwidth,
rather than just measuring the capabilities & Bandwidth of just the
one Server (& Route to it)...

Try these...

Those are links to the actual MacroMedia ShockWave Flash Applet thingy,
that does the Speed Test, rather than to the Web Pages that the Applets
are on.

Open them *both* up (or Open, say, the GigaNews one *twice*)
in 2 separate Browser Windows (put the Browser windows Side by
Side (or one above the other), so that you can see them both & then
press the [Start Test] Buttons on each (both) of them & look at the
DownLoad Speed that it shows for both of them (*while* they are both
Downloading).

Remember your Bandwidth will be being shared between them both,
so add up the 2 figures (while they are running) & you will
get a pretty reasonable guide to the *actual* Speed (Bandwidth)
that your Connection has (at the time that you do it) & that will
also (very clearly) show you (especially with the GigaNews test)
how much difference there is between the Speeds that different
Servers (& Networks) can actually *Send* stuff at!

everyone for your help.

pmj...

... ... and don't go away,I've just downloaded a beta version of Vista.

pmj...

LOL!!!

Simple Sam will be seeking more support ere long, I suspect.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

I'm currently measuring 1863 Kbps down and 235 Kbps up.

So your up is 60% up on mine then :(

pmj...

But how often do you actually *use* (or need) any particularly
fast *UpLoad* Speed?

ADSL is *Asymmetric* DSL for a very good reason!

The vast majority of people, most of the time DownLoad much more
stuff than they UpLoad.

pmj...

Yep - M$ windoze Vista is going to introduce a whole *load*
of interesting problems!
:-)