Concerned about internet throttling read on

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:18 am

Introducing Measurement Lab

I am sure there are more than a few users who would be concerned about weather or not their isp is throttling their traffic for whatever reason. Want to find out if they are or not read on

Quoted from the original article HERE

Quote:

1/28/2009 12:00:00 PM
When an Internet application doesn't work as expected or your connection seems flaky, how can you tell whether there is a problem caused by your broadband ISP, the application, your PC, or something else? It can be difficult for experts, let alone average Internet users, to address this sort of question today.

Last year we asked a small group of academics about ways to advance network research and provide users with tools to test their broadband connections. Today Google, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, the PlanetLab Consortium, and academic researchers are taking the wraps off of Measurement Lab (M-Lab), an open platform that researchers can use to deploy Internet measurement tools.

Researchers are already developing tools that allow users to, among other things, measure the speed of their connection, run diagnostics, and attempt to discern if their ISP is blocking or throttling particular applications. These tools generate and send some data back-and-forth between the user's computer and a server elsewhere on the Internet. Unfortunately, researchers lack widely-distributed servers with ample connectivity. This poses a barrier to the accuracy and scalability of these tools. Researchers also have trouble sharing data with one another.

M-Lab aims to address these problems. Over the course of early 2009, Google will provide researchers with 36 servers in 12 locations in the U.S. and Europe. All data collected via M-Lab will be made publicly available for other researchers to build on. M-Lab is intended to be a truly community-based effort, and we welcome the support of other companies, institutions, researchers, and users that want to provide servers, tools, or other resources that can help the platform flourish.

Today, M-Lab is at the beginning of its development. To start, three tools running on servers near Google's headquarters are available to help users attempt to diagnose common problems that might impair their broadband speed, as well as determine whether BitTorrent is being blocked or throttled by their ISPs. These tools were created by the individual researchers who helped found M-Lab. By running these tools, users will get information about their connection and provide researchers with valuable aggregate data. Like M-Lab itself these tools are still in development, and they will only support a limited number of simultaneous users at this initial stage.

At Google, we care deeply about sustaining the Internet as an open platform for consumer choice and innovation. No matter your views on net neutrality and ISP network management practices, everyone can agree that Internet users deserve to be well-informed about what they're getting when they sign up for broadband, and good data is the bedrock of sound policy. Transparency has always been crucial to the success of the Internet, and, by advancing network research in this area, M-Lab aims to help sustain a healthy, innovative Internet.

You can learn more at the M-Lab website. If you're a researcher who'd like to deploy a tool, or a company or institution that is interested in providing technical resources, we invite you to get involved.

Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist, and Stephen Stuart, Principal Engineer

Links

Measurement Lab

Use tools running on M-Lab to test your Internet connection

About Measurement Lab

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:51 am

Cheers trollster!!!!! Very Happy

I am currently on a stupid contract with telstra till Nov, lol my bad I know, but I am so sick of them throttling me, which I know they do!

Once I find a spare 200 hours to contact them(the "on hold" issue), I will be buying out the contract and going back with Internode. I know, why did I change, lol you ready to laugh ... for the modem!! lol

Anyway main point, thank you for this information!!

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:55 am

Yes good read Trollster, I tried a couple of m-lab test tools but they said they were 2 busy try later..was just for fun,don't have any ISP Prob's at the moment ...Good Stuff mate . Wink

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:14 am

Thanks for the links Trollster, all green here after the tests, no throttling by my ISP. Thanks!

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:24 am

Thanks Trollster for the good links,

All systems clear Very Happy

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:31 pm

This is very interesting topic. I live in they bay area and I know that a few people in the IT industry that I know have said that Comcast had been accused of traffic shaping/throttling so I will definitely look into those tools. Also, it would be great to see results and the names of which ISP's are doing this to our poor internet users. Damn them and their expensive service ! It's ISP's like these that make me want to drop my internet plan and leach of other peoples wireless ! LOL The devil(ISP) made me do it. With this information we can then have leverage against our providers and start the negotiations. This means war. Ok that was a bit much but you know what I mean. No uprising necessary.

Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:08 pm

It won't test for me Sad

I have installed the friggin plugin three times!

Thanks for the info Trollster

Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:38 pm

i reach the limit of my computer isp's capablity, but i do believe im throttled by my isp. verizon is my isp. i had to pay extra money to get a higher download upload speed, but i read people getting 400 or more kB's a second, and i get at best, about 210.
wonder why?

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:53 am

i dont know what it is

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:07 am

razzell2 wrote:

i reach the limit of my computer isp's capablity, but i do believe im throttled by my isp. verizon is my isp. i had to pay extra money to get a higher download upload speed, but i read people getting 400 or more kB's a second, and i get at best, about 210.
wonder why?

Have you forwarded your ports? If you're downloading with healthy seeds you should be able to max out no prob. www.portforward.com

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:21 am

Nice one Trollster.. At the fiancee's house she uses AOL 8mb connection through ADSL and she gets throttled to death at peak times.. I have a 20mb connection and have no such probs but will do some tests when the servers are available for sure.

Thanks again Cool

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:28 pm

Every time I try and run the test my browser locks up, anyone else have that problem?

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:31 pm

what browser are you using IE of firefox ?

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:31 pm

Firefox 3

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:40 pm

I just ran a test with this link no problem

http://ndt.iupui.nuq01.measurement-lab.org:7123/