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This is Greg from Ookla, with a Speedtest.net Tuesday Tip.
Ever had times when web sites just didn't want to load? When you're getting erratic
behavior and inconsistent performance? Speedtest.net is a good first step to figure out where you
stand, but to dig a little deeper we have another great tool called Pingtest.net.
Now as you know, Speedtest.net quickly pings but primarily tests your download and upload
speeds, which determine how quickly files are pulled down or pushed pushed up by your
connection. Pingtest.net, on the other hand, focuses on these three characteristics: Packet-Loss,
Ping, and Jitter.
Packet-loss measures whether your data is actually reaching its destination on the first
try. Your connection is smart enough to resend data if it doesn't, but if you're getting
more than a few percent packet-loss, that can seriously hurt performance and show that
something wrong with your connection. Most users will see 0% packet-loss
Ping measures how long it takes between you sending a message out to the server and getting
back a response. This helps measure how responsive your connection feels: whether it starts downloading
new web pages right after you click on a link, or if there's a lag while it waits for the
server response. Jitter builds on that, and measures how much your ping varies, showing
if it's consistent or how inconsistent it may be. Your ping may be low most of the time,
but if it occasionally jumps much higher, this would show up as a high jitter.
Using Pingtest.net, you can get another perspective on the health of your connection, easily helping
you know when something's wrong and empowering you to make it right.
Check back in 2012 for more videos from Ookla.