Speed testing
Overview
An internet speed test measures the connection speed and quality of your connected device to a remote host. Many speed test services perform multiple consecutive tests that evaluate different aspects of your internet connection, including ping (latency), download and upload speed. A fourth metric, known as jitter, measures variation in the latency of a flow of packets between two systems. Jitter is said to occur when some packets take longer to travel from one system to the other. The most common causes of jitter are network congestion, timing drift and changes in packet routing.
Troubleshooting
Speed tests can be useful in diagnosing many issues, such as a fault with a service provider or a misconfigured device on your network. The speed of your connection may also vary due to factors such as the time of day. This is especially true of places such as educational or work environments where many users may be sharing the same internet connection. Known as a contention ratio, this refers to how many other users are contending for their share of available bandwidth. The higher the contention the more likely you are to experience a slow connection at peak times.
Periodic speed tests can help you identify the best time of day to perform your tasks. They are also useful for sharing diagnostic results with an ISP or network engineer.
RaspAP's speedtest server
RaspAP provides a simple, fast and mobile-friendly public speedtest server that evaluates your internet speed using the criteria mentioned above. In addition, it reports your public IP address, ISP and distance from the speedtest server. When the test is complete, you can share the results of your test with a generated image and a link to results.
Importantly, and notably different from other services, RaspAP's Speedtest is completely open source and privacy focused — meaning we do not share your data with third-parties or attempt to monetize results in any way.
WiFi speed test
Experimental ยท Insiders only
A tool to evaluate your local WiFi network's performance is available on the Networking > Diagnostics tab. This permits testing of both local WiFi network throughput (that is, data transferred between the device hosting RaspAP and your wireless clients) and internet speed (data transfer between wireless clients and a remote host). A WiFi speed test is a useful diagnostic tool to determine if connectivity issues are due to your ISP, your wireless connection or an issue with the device hosting your AP.
The WiFi speed test uses a local speedtest instance hosted by your RaspAP installation. The test is performed on a device connected to RaspAP's wireless access point. The remote host is RaspAP's public speedtest server located in the United States. Additional speedtest hosts distributed in other geographic centers are forthcoming.
Discussions
Questions or comments about RaspAP's speed test? Join the discussion here.