With the many available methods of connecting to the Internet these days, it can be very difficult in diagnosing bottleneck (congestion) problems.  On this page we will try to give you a brief overview on how to go about checking your own connectivity..

Testing Your Connection Speeds
Listed in the table below are various links to websites that will test your connection speeds.  The first site (Toast.net) needs no additional software installed on the PC in order to test your connection.  It does require a bit more input from the user (see instructions below) but provides a useful data summary.  The remaining sites require either Flash or Java software, but then little or no user intervention is required in order to run the tests.

If your tests indicate less than satisfactory results, read the note at the end of this table.

      Speed Testing Sites

Toast.net	You will need to select the testing options
Internet Frog	This site uses Java.
DSL Reports	Select the type of test (Java, Flashplayer, etc.) to proceed
testmy.net	Simply select the download, upload, or mobile tests
	Note: The following 3 sites require Adobe Flashplayer be installed on your PC.
Speedtest.net	Cool site. Simply select the closest test server to your location.
Frontier.net	This site uses Flashplayer. Simply select "begin" to start the test
SpeakEasy	You will need to select a test server location.

NOTE: You may find a huge difference in the “advertised” download speeds you signed up  for versus the speeds you’re actually getting.  You should create a spreadsheet with connection statistics taken at various times during the day that will help you produce a “trend analysis” of your speeds and help in determining what you’re actually getting (versus what you’re paying for…).  Of course things like your anti-virus/firewall/router (and how busy the test site server is) will affect speed results.  In order to give you the most accurate results, tests should be done with a single PC (running in Windows Safe Mode with networking support) that is directly connected to the power injector (wireless) or DSL/cable modem (wired).

 Internet Testing Tools

DNS Tools	Quick check tool for testing DNS and who owns a Domain name
FreeDNSinfo.com	This site has a few more testing options
WhatsMyIPAddress.com	To find out what IP address you are presenting to the public domain
whois.domaintools.com	Variety of domain tools
NetworkTools.com	Another site  for testing DNS.

Internet Connection Types
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) basically offer four types of service: residential/small business, corporate, rural, and mobile.  Residential/small business users will typically have either a cable or DSL broadband connection.  These connections are deemed asynchronous, as the upload speeds are much slower than the download speeds. Corporate users will typically use synchronous (upload & download speeds are the same) connections such as T1 or T3.  While the speeds are lower than those used by cable/DSL, it has a committed transfer rate and is suitable for business applications.