- a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks built on the basis of IP and the routing of IP packets. The Internet forms a global information space, serves as a physical basis for world wide web(World Wide Web - WWW) and many other data transmission systems (protocols). Often referred to as the World Wide Web and the Global Network.
The Internet is a computer network, like those found in most offices, only on a gigantic scale and it covers the whole world.
Partial Internet map based on data from January 15, 2005 (http://www.opte.org/maps/)
Therefore, in reality, “the speed or measurement of the speed of the Internet” is nothing more than the speed of data transfer on the network, which depends on many factors.
This speed is measured in physical units as the ratio of the transmission time to the amount of information transmitted. Many have heard about indicators such as Kbps, Mbps, Gigabits / sec, they, like the speed of a car, show how quickly the desired file from the network or a web page “reaches” us.
A byte is a unit of storage and processing of digital information.
- 1 Byte = 8 bits. It is to the byte that all the large amounts of information that are calculated in computer technology are given.
- 1 kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes.
- 1 megabyte (MB) = 1024 KB. It is used to measure the volume of storage media.
- 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1024 MB.
Data transfer speed (connection speed) is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps). Megabits per second (Mbps) = 1024 Kbps.
Beginning Internet users often confuse kilobits with kilobytes. Therefore, let's look at an example. Imagine that, in our tariff plan, the Internet speed is 0.5 Mbps or 512 Kbps (Kb) per second. If we translate the speed into kilobytes, we get 512 Kbps / 8 = 64 Kbytes / s. Just such top speed should be expected when displaying download speeds in download managers or torrent clients.
In reality, the speed will always be slightly lower than stated in the tariff plan of your provider. If you need to convert from one connection speed unit to another, use the online calculator to help you with this.
For clarity of connection speed indicators, let's imagine a typical web page that takes 100 kilobytes, a song - an average of 3072 kilobytes (3 megabytes), a movie - 1572864 kilobytes (1.5 gigabytes). Let's make a table of dependence of download speed on Internet speed.
Download speed | 56 kbps | 256 kbps | 1 Mbps | 16 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Web page | |||||
Song | |||||
Movie |
How to test and find out the real speed of the Internet
In most cases, you have to pay for the speed of Internet access. And the higher it is, the more expensive it will cost us. The main thing that every user should be worried about is whether we really get what we pay for. In order to determine and control the speed of the Internet, there are several groups of software products.
The Most Accurate and Free Online Internet Speed Tests
These are sites that host scripts that show your speed relative to any site. It should be noted that the readings of these sites give an error. Even with two consecutive tests, you can get results that differ by 20-30%. To improve the accuracy of tests, you must turn off all programs that consume traffic. And also choose the tester that is closest to you geographically. It is useful to take a number of measurements at different times of the day, given that the test servers can be loaded at certain times of stock.
The most famous free sites for testing Internet speed:
- http://speedtest.net/ - one of the most famous services for testing the speed of the Internet connection. To start the test, click "Begin Test" and get the download speed and file upload speed.
- http://2ip.ru/speed/ - hoster that provides great amount tests and comprehensive information about your connection.
- BitMeter - A program for calculating traffic statistics. Displays a real-time graph of incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as statistics.
Unfortunately, all of the above evaluation tools do not give accurate speed values. Therefore, if you get a result lower than declared by your provider, do not rush to draw conclusions, because at any given time, the conditions for connecting your computer to this test may change depending on many factors: weather, magnetic storms, full moon, traffic jams, etc. . But at the same time, the test results will be a strong argument in your favor in a dispute with the provider.
Many network users often come across abbreviations: Mbit, Kb, Gb and others.
Moreover, it is not immediately obvious why in some abbreviations the first letter is capitalized, while in others it is capitalized. Maybe just the writing style? It turns out that not really. For a better understanding of the issue, let's go through the units of measurement.
About volume
Information units are used to measure the amount of information.
We list, in ascending order, these same units:
Bit - is the basis for calculating information in digital technology and its smallest unit.
1 byte - 8 bits.
1 Kilobyte - 1024 Bytes
1 megabyte - 1024 KB, and so on ...
In the table you can see the designations of all gradations of information measurement:
| Measurements in bytes | ||
| Name | Designation, eng | Designation, rus |
| byte | B | byte |
| kilobyte | kB | KB |
| megabyte | MB | MB |
| gigabyte | GB | GB |
| terabyte | TV | TB |
| petabyte | PB | pb |
| exabyte | EB | Ebyte |
| zettabyte | ZB | Zbyte |
| yottabyte | YB | Ybyte |
About speed
Unit of information transfer rate- bits per second, bps - basic unit of measure. At higher levels of network models, as a rule, a larger unit is used - bytes per second (B / s or Bps, from English bytes per second) equal to 8 bits / s. Larger units are used to indicate higher transmission rates:
kilobit per second - kbps (kbps)
megabit per second - mbps (Mbps)
gigabits per second - gigabits/s (Gbps)
Let's count a little
Mega = one million bits. A kilobit is a thousand bits.
We calculate how many megabytes fit in a megabit:
1000000 bits / 8 = 125000 bytes
125000 bytes / 1024 = 122.07... KB
122.07... KB / 1024 = 0.119... MB
Total: 1 megabit = 0.12 MB
At a speed of 1 megabit per second, we get that in an hour you can download from the network:
0.12 MB * 3600 s = 432 MB
By the way, one therapist is 1,000 gigapeutes or 1,000,000 megapeuts.
And a detachment of eight Wahhabis is called Wahhabayt. :)
Downloading files from the network
At the same time, such a volume of information per hour cannot always be downloaded, since such factors as the workload of individual network segments and the speed of processing requests from the server with which this connection is established come into force here. Sampo.ru guarantees the connection speed only on internal channels, and if the file is downloaded from global network, outside the urban network, the above factors often limit the data transfer rate to the maximum permissible values for them. It happens that the speed of downloading information from individual servers does not exceed tens or units of KB per second, also because the speed limit is set by the internal policies of these servers.
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Velocity indicates how fast an object is moving. The speed of an object is the distance traveled in a given time. Speed is usually measured in meters per second (m/s), kilometers per hour (km/h), or centimeters per second (cm/s). To measure speed, you need to determine the distance an object traveled and the time it took, and then divide the distance by the time.
Steps
How to measure a runner's speed
- To determine an unknown distance, use a measuring tape or staff.
- Mark the start and finish with ribbons or signal cones.
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Prepare for the experiment. To determine the speed of a runner, it is necessary to measure the time it takes him to overcome the intended distance. Ask the runner to wait until you say "Go!" - this will allow you to accurately fix the time using a stopwatch. Set the stopwatch to zero and ask the runner to take the starting position.
- Time can also be measured with a regular watch, although the measurement result will be less accurate.
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Signal the runner to start and start the stopwatch at the same time. Try to synchronize these actions as closely as possible. Shout "March!" - and immediately turn on the stopwatch. If you can't do both at the same time, give the runner a clear signal and try again.
Stop the stopwatch as soon as the runner crosses the finish line. Keep a close eye on the runner so as not to miss the moment when he crosses the finish line. Try to capture this moment as accurately as possible and immediately stop the stopwatch.
Divide the distance the runner covered by the number of seconds elapsed. As a result, you will get the speed of the runner. The formula for determining the speed is as follows: distance traveled / time elapsed. Suppose a runner ran 100 meters in 10 seconds. Then its speed is 10 m/s (100 divided by 10).
- To express the speed of a runner in kilometers per hour, multiply 10 m/s by 3600 (the number of seconds in one hour). The result is 36,000 meters per hour, or 36 kilometers per hour (1 kilometer equals 1,000 meters).
-
Measure at least 50 meters from the wall. This distance is necessary so that you have enough time for fairly accurate measurements. Since the sound will first travel from you to the wall and then back to you, the actual distance is 100 meters.
- Determine the distance with a measuring tape. Try to be as precise as possible.
-
Clap your hands as you hear the echo from the wall. Stand at a measured distance from the wall and begin to slowly clap your hands. When you do this, you will hear an echo. Speed up or slow down and find a rhythm so that each next clap matches the sound of the echo from the previous clap.
- When you achieve perfect synchrony, you will hear only your own clapping and stop hearing the sound of the echo.
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Clap your hands 11 times and record this time with a stopwatch. Ask your friend to start the stopwatch at the moment of the first bang and stop at the same time as the last one. If you clap 11 times, then the sound will have time to reach the wall 10 times, bounce off it and return back as an echo. Thus, sound travels 100 meters 10 times.
- Plus, 11 claps will give your friend enough time to accurately start and stop the stopwatch.
- To get more accurate results, do this several times and find the average value. To find the average value, add all the obtained time intervals and divide by the number of measurements.
-
Multiply the distance by 10. Because you clapped your hands 11 times, the sound traveled 10 times. Multiply 100 meters by 10 to get 1000 meters.
Divide the distance traveled by the sound by the time it took you to make 11 hand claps. As a result, you will get the speed of sound with which it covered the distance from your palms to the wall, and then back to your ears.
Find the distance the runner needs to cover. This distance can be determined from a running track of known length (e.g. 100 meters) or by direct measurements.
How to measure wind speed
- Measure the distance from the central axis of the anemometer to the center of one of the cups. This is the radius of the anemometer. Multiply the radius by two and you get the desired diameter.
- The circumference of a circle is equal to its diameter (or twice the radius) multiplied by pi.
- For example, if the distance between the center of the cup and the central axis of the anemometer is 30 centimeters, in one complete revolution the cup travels a distance of 2 x 30 x 3.14 (here pi is rounded to two decimal places), or 188.4 centimeters.
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Position the anemometer where the wind is blowing. The wind must be strong enough to rotate the axis of the anemometer without blowing it off or overturning it. It may be worth attaching the anemometer to the ground or a rigid rod so that the pencil is vertical.
-
Count the number of revolutions of the anemometer for a certain period of time. Stand next to the anemometer and count how many revolutions the painted cup will make. The time interval can be 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 seconds, or even a full minute. For greater accuracy, use a timer.
- If you don't have a timer, ask a friend to time it while you count the number of revolutions.
- If you're using a commercial anemometer, mark one cup somehow so you can count the number of revolutions correctly.
- For example, if you counted the number of revolutions in 10 seconds, you should divide the total distance by 10 seconds. Speed \u003d (9420 cm / 10 s) \u003d 942 cm / s.
- If you multiply 942 cm/s by 3600, you get 3,391,200 cm/h, and if you divide by 100,000 (the number of centimeters in one kilometer), you get 33.9 km/h.
Take out the anemometer. An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed. It consists of 3 or 4 cups, which are mounted on spokes that rotate around a central axis. The wind blows into the cups and rotates the spokes. The higher the wind speed, the faster the cups rotate around their axis.
Calculate circumference anemometer. This length is equal to the distance that one of the cups travels during a full revolution of the anemometer. To calculate the circumference of a circle, you need to measure its diameter.
- In physics, speed is a vector quantity, that is, it is given not only by a numerical value, but also by the direction in which an object is moving. The anemometer rotates in a circle, so it only shows the wind speed and does not give information about its direction. The direction and approximate speed of the wind can be judged by the windsock, which is inflated with air and rises in the direction the wind is blowing.
Serious interest in the subject internet connection speed usually occurs after or blogging in the process of them. This is due to the need to learn and, as a rule, increase the speed of loading a site, which depends, among other factors, to a large extent on internet speed. In this article, we will briefly consider what is incoming speed, outgoing speed, and most importantly, let's deal with units of data transfer rate, the concept of which is very vague for many novice users. In addition, we present simple Internet connection speed measurement methods through the most common online services.
What is it internet connection speed? The speed of an Internet connection is understood as the amount of information transmitted per unit of time. Distinguish incoming speed (receiving speed)- the speed of data transfer from the Internet to our computer; outgoing speed (transmission speed)- the speed of data transfer from our computer to the Internet.
Basic units for measuring internet speed
The basic unit for measuring the amount of transmitted information is bit(bit). Taken as the unit of time second. So the transmission speed will be measured bps Usually operate in units "kilobits per second" (Kbps), "megabits per second" (Mbps), "gigabits per second" (Gbps).
1 Gbps = 1000 Mbps = 1,000,000 Kbps = 1,000,000,000 bps.
On the English language basic unit for measuring the speed of information transfer used in computing - bit per second or bit / s will be bits per second or bps.
Kilobits per second and, in most cases, Megabits per second (Kbit / s; Kb / s; Kb / s; Kbps, Mbps; Mb / s; Mb / s; Mbps - the letter "b" is small) are used in technical specifications and contracts for the provision of services by Internet providers. It is in these units that the speed of an Internet connection is determined in our rate plan. Usually, this speed promised by the provider is called the declared speed.
So, amount transmitted information is measured in bits. The size of a file being transferred or located on a computer's hard drive is measured in bytes(kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes). Byte (byte) is also a unit of quantity of information. One byte is equal to eight bits (1 Byte = 8 bits).
To make it easier to understand difference between bit and byte, can be said in other words. Information on the network is transmitted bit by bit. Therefore, the transfer rate is measured in bits per second. Volume the same stored data is measured in bytes. That's why download speed of a certain volume measured in bytes per second.
File transfer speed used by many user programs(downloaders, Internet browsers, file hosting) is measured in Kilobytes, Megabytes Gigabytes per second.
In other words, when connected to the Internet, tariff plans The data transfer rate is in Megabits per second. And downloading files from the Internet shows the speed in megabytes per second.
1 GB = 1024 MB = 1,048,576 KB = 1,073,741,824 Bytes;
1 MB = 1024 KB;
1 KB = 1024 Bytes.
In English, the basic unit for measuring the speed of information transfer - Byte per second or Byte / s will be byte per second or Bytes/s.
Kilobytes per second are referred to as KBytes/s, KB/s, KB/s, or KBps.
Megabytes per second - MB/s, MB/s, MB/s or MBps.
Kilobytes and Megabytes per second are always written with capital "B" both in Latin transcription and in Russian spelling: MB / s, MB / s, MB / s, MBps.
How to determine how many megabits are in megabytes and vice versa ?!
1 MB/s = 8 Mbit/s.
For example, if the data transfer rate displayed by the browser is 2 MB/s (2 megabytes per second), then in megabits it will be eight times more - 16 Mbps (16 megabits per second).
16 Megabits per second = 16 / 8 = 2.0 Megabytes per second.
That is, to get the speed value in "Megabytes per second", you need to divide the value in "Megabits per second" by eight and vice versa.
In addition to the data transfer rate, an important measured parameter is reaction time of our computer, denoted ping. In other words, ping is the time it takes our computer to respond to a sent request. The lower the ping, the lower, for example, the waiting time required to open a web page. It is clear that the lower the ping, the better. When measuring ping, the time it takes for a packet to pass from the measuring server is determined. online service to our computer and back.
Determination of Internet connection speed
For speed detection Internet connection, there are several methods. Some are more accurate, others are less accurate. In our case, for practical needs, I think it is enough to use some of the most common and well-proven online services. Almost all of them, in addition to checking the speed of the Internet, contain many other functions, including our location, provider, the reaction time of our computer (ping), etc.
If you wish, you can experiment a lot by comparing the measurement results of various services and choosing the ones you like. For example, I am satisfied with such services as the well-known Yandex internetometer, as well as two more SPEED.IO andSPEEDTEST.NET.
The Internet speed measurement page in Yandex Internetometer opens at ipinf.ru/speedtest.php(picture 1). To increase the measurement accuracy, select your location with a marker on the map and press the left mouse button. The measurement process starts. Results of the measured incoming (download) and outgoing (upload ) speeds are reflected in the pop-up table and on the left in the panel.
Figure 1. Internet speed measurement page in Yandex internetometer
The SPEED.IO and SPEEDTEST.NET services, in which the measurement process is animated in a dashboard similar to a car one (Figures 2, 3), are simply pleasant to use.
Figure 2. Internet connection speed measurement in the SPEED.IO service
Figure 3. Internet connection speed measurement in the SPEEDTEST.NET service
The use of these services is intuitive and usually does not cause any difficulties. Again, incoming (download), outgoing (upload) speeds are determined, ping . Speed.io measures the current speed of the Internet to the company's server closest to us.
In addition, in the SPEEDTEST.NET service, you can test the quality of the network, compare your previous measurement results with real ones, find out the results of other users, compare your results with the speed promised by the provider.
Along with the above, the following services are widely used:CY- PR. com, SPEED. YOIP