  CanerisErik Caneris Premium,VIP join:2007-10-03 Toronto, ON
| reply to planiwa Re: Caneris Speed Test Server - open to the public
said by planiwa :Does anyone know of a speed-test that does *not* try to invade your system? I really would rather do without ... 090627 15:53:02 /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5/Commands/java[81649] Java has built shared archive /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/Libraries/classes.jsa Is it really so impossibly hard to create and host a simple, unpretentious data-transfer test that uses only elementary facilities (eg: ftp, scp) and can be run even from a router or modem with a decent enough shell? This particular test claimed 36 kbp/s DS on Safari and has paralyzed Opera! Unfortunately you're barking up the wrong tree. The Java and Flash speed test software is provided by DSLR.
If you have a suggestion for another speed test software, I'd be happy to look into installing it.
I don't understand what you mean by "invade your system" or "unpretentious" in this context.
I realize that both Java and Flash are a bit resource-intensive on the client side and as a result don't provide optimal performance, so again, if there's a suggestion for something better, I'm happy to hear it. -- Erik - Caneris - Internet solutions and more. |
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 planiwa
join:2009-02-19 Toronto M5S
| Sorry Erik,
I know it's not your fault that matters are as they are.
I apologize for having used this occasion to express my annoyance with the ubiquitous trend towards veneer over substance. Had this come from Microsoft or Bell I wouldn't have bothered. 
. . .
It doesn't seem hard, nor expensive, nor risky, for an ISP to provide an FTP server with 5 random-content files named:
333333 999999 3333333 9999999 33333333
(similarly for US -- restrict to own domain, or limit US files to under 5 MB, and delete after 5 min. restrict the whole thing to under X simultaneous streams, depending on available unused bandwidth.)
This would be of great value to many users, when what they need is a speed measurement without attitude and decorative complexity. (It would be a significant factor for me in choosing between ISPs to contract with and to recommend, since it would make it very much easier to diagnose certain common problems that are associated with much user frustration now.) -- »[RFC] Connection / Speed Problems Checklist |
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  CanerisErik Caneris Premium,VIP join:2007-10-03 Toronto, ON
| No worries. Good idea, except a bit hard to implement and use for non-technical folks, requires an actual FTP client, etc.
These and other issues is largely why the speed tests are the way they are...the HTTP GET/POST way makes it super easy for those with a browser, especially those who have never heard of what FTP is, to run the test. It also streamlines the download and upload and displays the results nicely in the end, after performing multiple downloads and uploads of various sizes. And it's integrated with DSLR, so you can't fake the results when showing off your tests 
So, I think it can't be argued that it's easier, quicker, and more accurate for most users. Unfortunately most of these features can't be replicated easily without some sort of client-side plugin, like Java or Flash.
I tried to write my own speed test software last night and this morning and it doesn't seem very accurate so far. It's HTTP-based using mostly server-side stuff...about 300 lines of PHP and AJAX. Please try it out at »speed.caneris.com/new
You will need cookies and JavaScript enabled to use this.
This is my first attempt at it, so the results in this case for download/upload are based on average speed across your attempts...you would need to download/upload more files and download/upload the same files repeatedly, to get a more accurate result, otherwise you will see consistently lower numbers versus other speed tests.
If there's an interest, I'll continue developing this as an attempt to get a basic Java/Flash-free speed test software. I don't know how feasible it is to get an accurate result out of it just yet. It seems to be worse in IE than FF so far, but at least you can use your browser's UI to gauge the download speeds as you download the files.
Comments? -- Erik - Caneris - Internet solutions and more. |
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  Mike2009
join:2009-01-13 Norman Wells, NT | Erik,
Is there anything wrong with your website? It takes forever to load today and I'm not talking about the speed test.
Thanks,
Mike |
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  CanerisErik Caneris Premium,VIP join:2007-10-03 Toronto, ON
| said by Mike2009 :Erik, Is there anything wrong with your website? It takes forever to load today and I'm not talking about the speed test. Thanks, Mike Hmm...loads fine for me, from on-net. Pings normal, bandwidth graphs normal, and all clear on the monitoring.
Don't want to derail this thread too much, so could you please PM me some pings and a traceroute?
How about »https://portal.caneris.com or »mail.caneris.com? Same thing?
I'll try it from off-net shortly, it's a bit hard to do that right now.
Thanks. -- Erik - Caneris - Internet solutions and more. |
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  DKS Damn Kidney Stones Premium,ExMod 2002 join:2001-03-22 Owen Sound, ON clubs:
·Bell Sympatico
| reply to Mike2009 said by Mike2009 :Erik, Is there anything wrong with your website? It takes forever to load today and I'm not talking about the speed test. Thanks, Mike Likewise from Sympatico. And the one time I tried it it gave a very low speed. -- Need-based health care not greed-based health care. |
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  CanerisErik Caneris Premium,VIP join:2007-10-03 Toronto, ON | Thank you. We are investigating. I will post more details later on. |
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  Guspaz Guspaz Premium,MVM join:2001-11-05 Montreal, QC | reply to CanerisErik DSLR's iPhone speed test measures both upstream, downstream, and latency. And since the iPhone supports neither Java nor Flash, presumably it uses AJAX. No point re-inventing the wheel. |
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  CanerisErik Caneris Premium,VIP join:2007-10-03 Toronto, ON
| said by Guspaz :DSLR's iPhone speed test measures both upstream, downstream, and latency. And since the iPhone supports neither Java nor Flash, presumably it uses AJAX. No point re-inventing the wheel. Thanks. I wasn't aware that they had one. I will see if they will let us use this version.
If not, we'll just continue to develop our own AJAX-based one...what I linked to before was a very preliminary version which I hacked together quickly and which didn't automate most of the steps yet. -- Erik - Caneris - Internet solutions and more. |
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