 Frequently
Asked Questions
Are the tests conducted against servers in other countries and therefore do transcontinental delays affect my results?
Currently, all Australians have their data directed to high speed, high availabilty Australian servers located throughout the country. The rest of the world has all of their traffic directed towards North American based servers.
Why is my upload speed set at 0Kbits/sec?
Some firewall software can cause problems with the Line Speed Meter. In
particular Norton's Internet Security caches outgoing data. This means that
when the Line Speed Meter performs an upload speed test these products first
intercept the outgoing data, analyse it and then send it off to the internet.
The Line Speed Meter will think you have a faster internet connection then your
really have as it will have effectively measured the speed that programs
communicate within your computer, rather than the speed of your connection.
We identify this situation and you will be notified to consider whether your
firewall was running or not when the test was performed.
If you are running the Line Speed Meter within a corporate environment and you
have a LAN-based proxy server (ie a proxy running within your offices) then the
proxy server may cache out going data. This is a similar problem as described
with Norton's Internet Security except the Line Speed Meter will be measuring
the speed of your LAN.
When the results are posted to our servers, our algorithms will identify this
situation, discard the upload results (while retaining the download speed
results) and will record '0' for your upload speed.
How accurate is the data?
The data is remarkably accurate. We have many mechanisms in place to ensure that
the data is always as accurate as possible.
1. Detection of erroneous data
If a technology has a speed cap then all results are ignored if they fall
outside a reasonable than the theoretical maximum speed. Such results indicate
that the user has a different technology to what they selected or their
Internet connection was busy with other communications at the time of running
the test. This explains why speed distribution report for capped connections
will not display the lower 30% of data.
2. Auto scheduler
Measuring the speed of your Internet connection is inherently stochastic
(statistical). It is important that the test is run multiple times over a long
period of time. Only then can a true picture of a user's connection technology
be seen. From Version 3.0 the Line Speed Meter inherently tests your Internet
connection speed periodically.
3. Rolling averages
The profile of any connection technology can change over time. Service providers
can upgrade equipment, use different infrastructure or become victims of their
own popularity. The Line Speed Meter takes this into account by basing all
statistics on a moving window covering the previous 3 months.
4. Equal importance given to upload and download speed
Unlike other Internet speed meters, the Line Speed Meter treats your upload
speed with the same importance as your download speed. This is critical because
if you are running a web or FTP server then you will place much more importance
on the upload speed than on the download speed. This facility allows all users
to make strategic decisions based on their own usage profile requirements.
5. 'Average of the Average' algorithm
The speeds reported for countries, states, post/zip codes and connection
technologies are all based on the average of each user's average speed. This
fact alone gives the Line Speed Meter an unprecedented level of accuracy
because no one user can alter any summary results significantly. If a user were
to run a test many times over then only their average speed contributes to the
whole. This has the effect of giving everyone an equal voice.
6. Non-compulsory entry of data
The Line Speed Meter Connection Setup Wizard that gathers information about your
connection has been carefully designed so that only data that is known is
requested. Not everyone wants to tell us his or her postcode or zip code. Some
users see this as invading their privacy. Our philosophy is that we prefer to
have information that the user knows to be correct and is willing to divulge
rather than forcing them to enter all information with the risk that it will be
incorrect for either accidental or malicious reasons.
7. Company, Connection Technology and Speed Verification
If a user does not find their connection details in the Line Speed Meter
Connection Setup Wizard then they are given the opportunity to create a new
one. In doing so they need to supply details of the company or connection type,
the URL to the company's page and their email address. When this information is
submitted, we are sent an email so it can be confirmed. If we cannot confirm it
then the information is deleted. Sometimes we can have the information
confirmed and possibly deleted before they finish running their test! This
feature ensures that the database is always 'scrubbed' of bad information.
8. Background Reporting
We regularly scour the data at a number of different levels looking for strange
or unusual activity. If anything seems out of place then steps are taken to
ensure that the integrity of the data is not compromised.
Does the connection information that I select in the wizard
affect my speed results?
No. The information that you enter in the Line Speed Meter Connection Setup
Wizard is for reporting purposes only. The actual test is run totally
independent of this information. If you say that you have OC-12
connection (extremely high speed) but you actually have a dial-up modem then
your measured speed will not change.
Why do we not report service quality perception information?
It's coming soon.
Do we scan your ports?
No.
Do we sell your data?
We reserve the right to sell or lease the data to telecommunication companies.
We simply provide database access to the information that is already available
on the results pages.
I have been running tests but I have selected the wrong type
of connection, speed, or post code?
This is not a problem. Simply click 'My profile...' and then select 'Fix
incorrect information'. After completing the wizard all of your previous
results are moved and recorded under the new connection information.
What happens if I get a new provider, change plans or move
suburbs?
This is also not a problem. Simply click 'My profile...' and then select 'Assign
me a new profile'. After completing the wizard you will be assigned a new
profile which means that all future tests will be recorded separate to your
previous results. You still have access to your old data because on the results
page a button will be displayed titled 'Go to old profile'.
I can drill into other people's results. Can they drill into
mine?
Yes. But it is impossible for them to know who you are. In fact we cannot tell
who you are. This is not an invasion of privacy. If you do not agree
with this then we recommend that you do not use the line speed meter. Also,
please contact us as we are interested in your
point of view.
Does the Line Speed Meter contain any spyware?
No.
How much bandwidth is consumed?
About 1meg to 2meg per test depending on the speed of your connection.
How do I uninstall it?
Start->All programs->tcpIQ->Line Speed Meter->Uninstall.
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