SLA bandwidth testing/question

[Deepcuts]

[SOLVED] SLA bandwidth testing/question

Hello,

I am having some problems lately with my ISP and I hope some of you can help me out with some ideas.

My SLA is 50 Mb/s minimum guaranteed internet bandwidth with 100 Mb/s metropolitan access.

Nevertheless, while using speedtest.net and testing ALL servers in Netherlands, I get a maximum of 30 Mb/s download and 50 Mb/s upload.
While testing the same servers, at the same hour but from a 1 Gb/s ISP, I get around 850 Mb/s download speed, so limitation from those speedtest.net server are excluded.

Testing with speedtest.net on metropolitan ISPs, I get the expected 94-95 Mb/s download and upload.

The ISP does not want to admit problems at their end.

My question is: if a metropolitan speed test scores 95 Mb/s download and upload but an international speed test scores no more that 25-30 Mb/s download, doesn't this exclude problems at my end, thus putting the ISP at fault?

I am willing to learn and fix if something is at fault at my end, but what could cause good results on metropolitan and slow ones while testing international bandwidth?
It is not like my poor router has BGP and I messed something up.

I have already changed my router, believing that somehow I am at fault.
At the moment I am using an Asus RT-N66U.

Any input highly appreciated.

 

[theonlyski]

Using the speed tests isn't a valid test unless they're hosted on the same ISP. ISP only promises your link to them will be 50Mb, not to the rest of the world. Check with the ISP to see if they have their own testing program and use it.

Other than that, try opening a ticket with them and having them prove that you're getting your advertised speeds to your modem. They should have some means to be able to verify it. Sometimes it takes calling a few times, asking for escalation and talking to someone higher than the first tier of support.

 

[Deepcuts]

"The ISP does not want to admit problems at their end."
Meaning I have already contacted the ISP about the problem.

I do not want to offend, but a SLA for an international link does NOT mean the bandwidth to my ISP.

 

[Nerre]

Read the fine print in the agreement. That's where the ISP usually says that they can only guarantee the speed within their own network.

That's why you need to test against a server on the ISP network.

 

[Deepcuts]

Thank you for reply Nerre,

My question is: if a metropolitan speed test scores 95 Mb/s download and upload but an international speed test scores no more that 25-30 Mb/s download, doesn't this exclude problems at my end, thus putting the ISP at fault?



The legal stuff is covered.
Our SLA papers are OK and not ambiguous .

 

[theonlyski]

If you're getting your advertised speed to a local server, then you're probably getting what you're promised. Links going across countries will be slower.

What exactly does your SLA state?

 

[azazel1024]

I have a hard time believing that they could or would guarantee a minimum 50Mbps to every single destination on the internet.

I have a nice 75/35 fiber link (yeah, I wish it was a lot faster, but I won't complain. I am in the US...so for the US that is pretty darned good)...it can hit 81/37 with a mild tailwind.

Its rare that I can actually hit a site that'll fully support that speed. In speedtests, sure. Some big boys who have lots of bandwidth available, like say grabbing files from Intel's website and of course some others, sure. A lot of times I'll hit one like Adobe's website and I'll only see in the 50s Mbps. Other times I'll see 10-20Mbps. Just depends on the site.

Other than shirte peering being a possible suspect, I don't see how your ISP can guarantee anything other than the speed within their network. How your ISP's network is connected to other networks has a big impact on the speed.

So I could hit the same speedtest server from network A and the results can be very different than hitting it from Network B, even if I have the same ingress speeds to both networks. The peering connections between the different networks, how many hops the connection has to make and so in make a big difference.

 

[Deepcuts]

I am not talking about my ISP guaranteeing me 50 Mb/s to all obscure hosts.
I am talking about big hosts, with plenty of bandwidth.
The same hosts that from another location I get 850+ Mb/s download, without any SLA.

And yes, the ISP should respect the SLA, meaning they should provide the minimum guaranteed speed. I am not talking about a residential contract, but a very expensive one.


Do not mean to sound rude, but anyone actually read my question?
I did not ask for a legal advice but:
If from my ISP I can download with maximum speed of 95 Mb/s but from ANY other international host I can download with maximum 30 Mb/s doesn't this mean that my router can handle the traffic and there is a limitation upstream ?(my ISP)

 

[Nerre]

The short answer is: Those results say nothing.

 

[Deepcuts]

OK. My testing methodology is bad.
Downloading from Microsoft = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from DigitalRiver = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from Dell/HP = 25 Mb/s max
Testing with speedtest.net = 30 Mb/s max

From another ISP, the same hosts can sustain way higher speeds.

How would you test your SLA then?
Which method of testing would be "meaningful" for you?
And off topic, Nerre: do you work for an ISP?
If so, how would you test the SLA provided to your clients?
If not, would you be OK with lower speeds that contracted?

 

[L&LD]

If your ISP can provide a connection that proves it can supply the speed contracted for; they are off the hook.

There is no way they can make all third party websites provide that speed for you.

For that to happen; check back in 30 years.

 

[theonlyski]

OK. My testing methodology is bad.
Downloading from Microsoft = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from DigitalRiver = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from Dell/HP = 25 Mb/s max
Testing with speedtest.net = 30 Mb/s max

From another ISP, the same hosts can sustain way higher speeds.

How would you test your SLA then?
Which method of testing would be "meaningful" for you?
And off topic, Nerre: do you work for an ISP?
If so, how would you test the SLA provided to your clients?
If not, would you be OK with lower speeds that contracted?

I can't imagine any ISP promising you 50Mb across the world. When they give you an SLA for the connection, it is their connection to you. They may not have any control upstream (say leaving their network and going to the carrier, or the carrier themselves).

 

[Nerre]

OK. My testing methodology is bad.
Downloading from Microsoft = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from DigitalRiver = 30 Mb/s max
Downloading from Dell/HP = 25 Mb/s max
Testing with speedtest.net = 30 Mb/s max

From another ISP, the same hosts can sustain way higher speeds.

Are you using the same hardware? I.e. the same router with the same settings (for example QoS).

Also note that a network may give higher priority for traffic originating from certain IP networks. They may even have different priority depending on the type of traffic (here in Sweden mobile internet providers have been caught down-prioritizing Skype traffic). And now I'm not talking about your ISP; but networks between you and the test server.

And no, I'm not working for an ISP, I don't even work with IT. I do however have knowledge of how packet switching networks work and how hard it is to test their performance. It's not like measuring the length of a string.

 

[Deepcuts]

Solved it.
The ISP changed my IP class and the speed is back to normal.
It seems there was a limitation upstream, but my provider could not see where.
Long live "good tech" support.

Hard to make them fix stuff.

 

[Deepcuts]

Reading a bit some of the replies, makes me wonder why some people need to post in topics they clearly have no clue about?
Please, if you just want to increase your post count, try some other forums.
If you have no idea what is a business internet contract and business SLA, again, please do not post.

 

[Nerre]

So, just like I said:

Also note that a network may give higher priority for traffic originating from certain IP networks. They may even have different priority depending on the type of traffic (here in Sweden mobile internet providers have been caught down-prioritizing Skype traffic). And now I'm not talking about your ISP; but networks between you and the test server.