Netflix Tool Simplifies Download Speed Testing

[Julio Urquidi]

Netflix has introduced fast.com, a simplified download speed test tool that gives home users a quick way to test their network connection.

Fast.com is a browser-based tool that immediately tells you how fast your internet connection is without the clutter of server locations or advertising other tools have. Just click to the fast.com webpage and the test runs.

Note the test shows downlink speed only, while other tools provide both up and downlink speed and latency. However, Fast.com's tool provides a handy link to speedtest.net

There’s probably more to the tool’s function that Netflix wants to say in its announcement, such as giving the streaming media company logged data that can be used to track speed rates of its regular and potential customers. But the simplified design will definitely make it easier for anyone to check how fast their downlink network connect is.

Fast.com is online and available now.

 

[pete y testing]

Fast.com is online and available now.

your links going somewhere strange


https://fast.com/

 

[pete y testing]

your links going somewhere strange


https://fast.com/

from the FAQ

What is Fast.com measuring?
Fast.com estimates your current download speed. You will generally be able to get this speed from leading internet services, which use globally distributed servers.


Why does Fast.com only report on download speed?
Download speed is most relevant for people who are consuming content on the Internet, and we want fast.com to be very simple and fast.


Why does Fast.com not report on ping, latency, jitter and other things?
Fast.com is a simple-to-use way for consumers to estimate what speed their ISP is providing. It is not a network engineer's analysis and diagnostic suite.


How is the number calculated?
To calculate this estimate, Fast.com performs a series of downloads from Netflix servers.


Will Fast.com work everywhere in the world?
Fast.com will work globally on any device (phone, laptop, or smart TV with browser).


Why is Netflix offering Fast.com?
We want our members to have a simple, quick, commercial-free way to estimate the speed their ISP is providing.


What can I do if I'm not getting the speed I pay for?
If results from fast.com and other speed tests often show less speed than you have paid for, you can ask your ISP about the results.

 

[Julio Urquidi]

your links going somewhere strange


https://fast.com/

Thanks, Pete! I fixed the link...

 

[pete y testing]

np , its not a bad little tool , i get a pretty constant 95Mbps from my 100/40M fiber connection

 

[Brian W.]

Fast.com result: 74Mbps. Speedtest.net: 178Mbps.

Which tool is a more reliable version of the truth, and why?

 

[RussellInCincinnati]

Fast.com result: 74Mbps. Speedtest.net: 178Mbps.

Which tool is a more reliable version of the truth, and why?

Have the same experience, "fast.com" showing half of Speedtest.net speed with RT-AC68U on Time Warner cable in Cincinnati, Ohio USA.

 

[RMerlin]

Those of you with slow results, are you using your ISP's DNS, or a third party one?

They probably rely on a CDN to host the test, so being able to be pointed at the proper server is critical. Using a third party DNS can break that.

 

[Homenetgeek]

Speedtest is hosted by almost all isp because it's so popular. Therefore by default, the app chooses the nearest point of presence. Which is the host on your isp. It is in your isp interest to make sure that the server is full able to max out your connection otherwise you would complain.

Netflix is hosted deeper on the internet so it had to travel across various routes.

In short, both tests are accurate. One tests your equipment to the isp, the other tests the internet more real world.

You can use speedtest to select different hosts around the world. In this case, the tool can map out performance on the internet around your country

 

[Homenetgeek]

Fast.com result: 74Mbps. Speedtest.net: 178Mbps.

Which tool is a more reliable version of the truth, and why?

As above, both tools are accurate. But each is measuring something different.

Also, just thought, the Netflix test might be capped at some arbitrary maximum maybe 100mbs. This would be because Netflix do not yet steam above half this amount. Again, it might not be capped. But importantly, relies on a path from your isp to Netflix.

 

[sfx2000]

Those of you with slow results, are you using your ISP's DNS, or a third party one?

They probably rely on a CDN to host the test, so being able to be pointed at the proper server is critical. Using a third party DNS can break that.

Considering the "why" they're doing it - I agree, it's thru their CDN, as it's measuring potential performance for their service.

I don't find Speedtest.net to be very accurate on pipes faster than 100Mbps, and a lot of operators game it - DSLReports speed test seems to be the better one...

 

[RMerlin]

Speedtest is hosted by almost all isp because it's so popular. Therefore by default, the app chooses the nearest point of presence.

It's a website, not an application. Therefore the only logical way it can select a nearest point of presence is through the DNS lookup, which is why it's most likely critical to use your ISP's DNS if you want the test to run from something close to your ISP.

 

[RMerlin]

Here's why - see how the fast.com website is on a different IP depending on whether I ask a Level 3 or a Google DNS:

merlin@mint-dev ~ $ dig fast.com @4.2.2.2

; <<>> DiG 9.8.1-P1 <<>> fast.com @4.2.2.2
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 31050
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;fast.com.       IN   A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
fast.com.     20   IN   A   69.192.26.128

;; Query time: 110 msec
;; SERVER: 4.2.2.2#53(4.2.2.2)
;; WHEN: Mon May 30 13:39:54 2016
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 42

merlin@mint-dev ~ $ dig fast.com @8.8.8.8

; <<>> DiG 9.8.1-P1 <<>> fast.com @8.8.8.8
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 18475
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;fast.com.       IN   A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
fast.com.     19   IN   A   104.93.179.196

;; Query time: 67 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Mon May 30 13:39:58 2016
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 42

 

[sfx2000]

Here's why - see how the fast.com website is on a different IP depending on whether I ask a Level 3 or a Google DNS:

Yep, CDN nodes... makes sense as Fast.com is geared towards testing for the Netflix user experience. Anyways, good for them, and a cool idea to actually quantify performance for their services that an end-user can directly see...

(hence why it's only download speeds)

 

[greg50]

It's a website, not an application. Therefore the only logical way it can select a nearest point of presence is through the DNS lookup, which is why it's most likely critical to use your ISP's DNS if you want the test to run from something close to your ISP.

The servers to be used are actually returned by this URL: https://api.fast.com/netflix/speedtest?https=true&token=YXNkZmFzZGxmbnNkYWZoYXNkZmhrYWxm&urlCount=3
They use a CDN for this subdomain as well, but I think the servers are returned based on your IP address, and not based on the DNS query. I did a short test: I manually added one of their US CDN IP to the hosts file for this URL, and I still got the same test servers, but the page was coming from the US (instead of EU).

 

[RMerlin]

The servers to be used are actually returned by this URL: https://api.fast.com/netflix/speedtest?https=true&token=YXNkZmFzZGxmbnNkYWZoYXNkZmhrYWxm&urlCount=3
They use a CDN for this subdomain as well, but I think the servers are returned based on your IP address, and not based on the DNS query. I did a short test: I manually added one of their US CDN IP to the hosts file for this URL, and I still got the same test servers, but the page was coming from the US (instead of EU).

I still wouldn't trust running any performance test while using a third party DNS.

Interesting results on that sub-domain BTW:

merlin@mint-dev ~ $ dig +short api.fast.com @4.2.2.2
fast.geo.netflix.com.
fast.us-east-1.prodaa.netflix.com.
23.21.224.117
23.23.154.133
23.21.189.165
merlin@mint-dev ~ $ dig +short api.fast.com @8.8.8.8
fast.geo.netflix.com.
fast.us-west-2.prodaa.netflix.com.
54.245.80.135
54.245.250.171
54.212.248.134

Google's DNS points me at a west coast server, while Level 3 correctly points me at an east coast server. I would have actually expected the opposite. Another demonstration as to why you cannot make your Internet "faster" by using a third party DNS...

 

[sfx2000]

As a point of reference - San Diego, CA on CoxHSI...

pretty clever what they're doing.. gotta love CDN's

sfx@blaster:~$ dig +short api.fast.com @4.2.2.2
fast.geo.netflix.com.
fast.us-west-2.prodaa.netflix.com.
54.212.248.134
54.245.80.135
54.245.250.171

sfx@blaster:~$ dig +short api.fast.com @8.8.8.8
fast.geo.netflix.com.
fast.us-west-2.prodaa.netflix.com.
54.245.250.171
54.212.248.134
54.245.80.135

and a traceroute...

sfx@blaster:~$ traceroute fast.com
traceroute to fast.com (104.75.182.39), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1)  0.220 ms  0.163 ms  0.157 ms
 2  10.143.0.1 (10.143.0.1)  11.887 ms  8.430 ms  12.805 ms
 3  fed1sysc02-vlan500.sd.sd.cox.net (68.6.11.102)  12.812 ms  12.940 ms  12.987 ms
 4  68.6.11.204 (68.6.11.204)  12.837 ms  12.853 ms  12.900 ms
 5  68.1.4.112 (68.1.4.112)  15.767 ms  92.733 ms  15.793 ms
 6  a104-75-182-39.deploy.static.akamaitechnologies.com (104.75.182.39)  14.681 ms  15.434 ms  14.431 ms

 

[sfx2000]

Their end-point is amazingly stable compared to Google, Facebook...

Google's CDN has nodes inside my ISP's network, as does the Facebook front ends... looking at their stuff vs. Netflix, Netflix has done a very nice job...

 

[sfx2000]

What's kind of fun is watching things over time... last 10 days...

Compared to Google.com