Whats the best way to test actual modem performance?
If done correctly, file downloads are a reliable way to test modem performance. The trick is to ensure that you’re really testing the modem’s raw transfer rate, and not some other factor that you’re not aware of. Here are some guidelines for download testing: • Use an FTP program: FTP programs tend to be more accurate than Web browsers when it comes to reporting download speeds. Note that some FTP programs report download speeds in Kilobits per second (Kbps), while others use Kilobytes per second (K/s or KBps). To convert, multiply Kilobytes per second by 9 to get a rough estimate of Kilobits per second (Kbps). • Download a .ZIP or .SIT file: If the file you download isn’t compressed, hardware data compression in the modem will kick in, leading to erroneous results. • Download a file that’s at least 200 K in size: A file size of at least 200K will minimize the effects of TCP/IP slow start.