[Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[David Lang]

/. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn't 
show upload speeds or ping time.

David Lang

Re: [Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[jb]

I had a quick look, it just does some parallel XHR fetches over port
80 from their server, which at least ( for me ) was not located at my
nearest amazon/netflix POP, but is located in the USA at a 200ms ping
time, so the speed reading was slow to ramp up, and lower than it
should be.

They instrument it and collect info but only report the download speed
to the user in megabits. I'm following a topic in neogaf in which
various people are running it, and it either gives about the same
result as speedtest.net or a lessor result (probably if the user is
further from california).

They may start adding local servers or may not. It doesn't measure or
report latency or upload speed or anything else. Its main virtue is
the short domain name, and that it starts immediately on page load,
and finally because it is quite simple, it has wider browser
compatibility.


On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 5:51 AM, David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
> /. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn't
> show upload speeds or ping time.
>
> David Lang
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat

Re: [Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[moeller0]

> On May 18, 2016, at 21:51 , David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
> 
> /. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn’t
> show upload speeds or ping time.

From fast.com:
What is Fast.com measuring?
Fast.com estimates your current download speed. You will generally be able to get this speed from leading internet services, which use globally distributed servers.
Why does Fast.com only report on download speed?
Download speed is most relevant for people who are consuming content on the Internet, and we want fast.com to be very simple and fast.
Why does Fast.com not report on ping, latency, jitter and other things?
Fast.com is a simple-to-use way for consumers to estimate what speed their ISP is providing. It is not a network engineer's analysis and diagnostic suite.
How is the number calculated?
To calculate this estimate, Fast.com performs a series of downloads from Netflix servers.
Will Fast.com work everywhere in the world?
Fast.com will work globally on any device (phone, laptop, or smart TV with browser).
Why is Netflix offering Fast.com?
We want our members to have a simple, quick, commercial-free way to estimate the speed their ISP is providing.
What can I do if I'm not getting the speed I pay for?
If results from fast.com and other speed tests often show less speed than you have paid for, you can ask your ISP about the results.


This looks like marketing PR somehow inflicted the release of an internal demo. I agree with jb the one thing it has going for it is a short name… It does only one thing but does that a) badly and b) arguably it only even does 1/2 thing as ingress and egress are simply not completely independent. Arguing that Ping (RTT) and jitter are “network engineer’s analysis and diagnostic” tools and hence out of scope for their simple tool shows that they are aiming to low (I would go as far as claiming that with the explaining text the aim is still on the “own foot” territory, but I digress). 

Best Regards
        M.



> David Lang
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat

Re: [Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[David Lang]

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On Thu, 19 May 2016, moeller0 wrote:

>> On May 18, 2016, at 21:51 , David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
>>
>> /. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn’t
>> show upload speeds or ping time.
>
> From fast.com:
> What is Fast.com measuring?
> Fast.com estimates your current download speed. You will generally be able to get this speed from leading internet services, which use globally distributed servers.
> Why does Fast.com only report on download speed?
> Download speed is most relevant for people who are consuming content on the Internet, and we want fast.com to be very simple and fast.
> Why does Fast.com not report on ping, latency, jitter and other things?
> Fast.com is a simple-to-use way for consumers to estimate what speed their ISP is providing. It is not a network engineer's analysis and diagnostic suite.
> How is the number calculated?
> To calculate this estimate, Fast.com performs a series of downloads from Netflix servers.
> Will Fast.com work everywhere in the world?
> Fast.com will work globally on any device (phone, laptop, or smart TV with browser).
> Why is Netflix offering Fast.com?
> We want our members to have a simple, quick, commercial-free way to estimate the speed their ISP is providing.
> What can I do if I'm not getting the speed I pay for?
> If results from fast.com and other speed tests often show less speed than you have paid for, you can ask your ISP about the results.
>
>
> This looks like marketing PR somehow inflicted the release of an internal demo. I agree with jb the one thing it has going for it is a short name… It does only one thing but does that a) badly and b) arguably it only even does 1/2 thing as ingress and egress are simply not completely independent. Arguing that Ping (RTT) and jitter are “network engineer’s analysis and diagnostic” tools and hence out of scope for their simple tool shows that they are aiming to low (I would go as far as claiming that with the explaining text the aim is still on the “own foot” territory, but I digress).

I guess one thing that it does is shows anyone who is targeting netflix with 
slowdowns (or just not upgrading to meet capacity needs) where the problem is.

And since this is netflix, they really do only care about download speed :-(

they should care about download speed while also doing an upload, to prevent 
pauses.

David Lang

Re: [Bloat] anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[moeller0]

Hi David.

> On May 19, 2016, at 10:50 , David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 19 May 2016, moeller0 wrote:
>> […]

>> This looks like marketing PR somehow inflicted the release of an internal demo. I agree with jb the one thing it has going for it is a short name… It does only one thing but does that a) badly and b) arguably it only even does 1/2 thing as ingress and egress are simply not completely independent. Arguing that Ping (RTT) and jitter are “network engineer’s analysis and diagnostic” tools and hence out of scope for their simple tool shows that they are aiming to low (I would go as far as claiming that with the explaining text the aim is still on the “own foot” territory, but I digress).
> 
> I guess one thing that it does is shows anyone who is targeting netflix with slowdowns (or just not upgrading to meet capacity needs) where the problem is.

	Mmmh, you are generous. In my eyes it does not even show this 

> 
> And since this is netflix, they really do only care about download speed :-(
> 
> they should care about download speed while also doing an upload, to prevent pauses.

	That is my point, you can and should try to simplify things but you will reach a “cliff” after that you are not simplifying but “stupidifying” (if there is such a word); and the quest for one reportable number is deep in not-clever territory in my eyes… (not that netflix should care about my sentiments)…

Best Regards

> 
> David Lang

Re: [Bloat] [Bulk] Re: anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[David Collier-Brown]

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For Toronto, they tested from a well-respected nearby ISP (Tek Savvy, 
originally from my home town, Chatham)

--dave

On 18/05/16 10:59 PM, jb wrote:
> I had a quick look, it just does some parallel XHR fetches over port
> 80 from their server, which at least ( for me ) was not located at my
> nearest amazon/netflix POP, but is located in the USA at a 200ms ping
> time, so the speed reading was slow to ramp up, and lower than it
> should be.
>
> They instrument it and collect info but only report the download speed
> to the user in megabits. I'm following a topic in neogaf in which
> various people are running it, and it either gives about the same
> result as speedtest.net or a lessor result (probably if the user is
> further from california).
>
> They may start adding local servers or may not. It doesn't measure or
> report latency or upload speed or anything else. Its main virtue is
> the short domain name, and that it starts immediately on page load,
> and finally because it is quite simple, it has wider browser
> compatibility.
>
>
> On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 5:51 AM, David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
>> /. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn't
>> show upload speeds or ping time.
>>
>> David Lang
>> _______________________________________________
>> Bloat mailing list
>> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
>> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat


-- 
David Collier-Brown,         | Always do right. This will gratify
System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
davecb@spamcop.net           |                      -- Mark Twain


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Re: [Bloat] [Bulk] Re: anyone have info on the netflix speed test (fast.com)?

[jb]

They certainly have the ability to test from within ISPs as they have
deals with some ISPs for streaming so they have the relationships, and
servers, not just amazon pops.

But then in order to not fall afoul of the same problem speedtest.net
has - of often being a speed test between a customer and their ISPs
internal network where the nearest server sits - they'd have to
purposely dodge using (say) TekSavvy, for customers of TekSavvy.

Either way, clearly for some users, the server choice is not yet
optimal, even vs the server choice for netflix video, otherwise it
wouldn't have resolved the DNS for my test, to a US server (netflix is
in Australia, and streams locally, so it could have tested to there).

On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 9:56 PM, David Collier-Brown <davec-b@rogers.com> wrote:
> For Toronto, they tested from a well-respected nearby ISP (Tek Savvy,
> originally from my home town, Chatham)
>
> --dave
>
>
> On 18/05/16 10:59 PM, jb wrote:
>
> I had a quick look, it just does some parallel XHR fetches over port
> 80 from their server, which at least ( for me ) was not located at my
> nearest amazon/netflix POP, but is located in the USA at a 200ms ping
> time, so the speed reading was slow to ramp up, and lower than it
> should be.
>
> They instrument it and collect info but only report the download speed
> to the user in megabits. I'm following a topic in neogaf in which
> various people are running it, and it either gives about the same
> result as speedtest.net or a lessor result (probably if the user is
> further from california).
>
> They may start adding local servers or may not. It doesn't measure or
> report latency or upload speed or anything else. Its main virtue is
> the short domain name, and that it starts immediately on page load,
> and finally because it is quite simple, it has wider browser
> compatibility.
>
>
> On Thu, May 19, 2016 at 5:51 AM, David Lang <david@lang.hm> wrote:
>
> /. is talking about a new speed test to show your download speed. It doesn't
> show upload speeds or ping time.
>
> David Lang
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat
>
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat
>
>
>
> --
> David Collier-Brown,         | Always do right. This will gratify
> System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
> davecb@spamcop.net           |                      -- Mark Twain
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Bloat mailing list
> Bloat@lists.bufferbloat.net
> https://lists.bufferbloat.net/listinfo/bloat
>