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How accurate are the automatic speed/quality tests?

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TheLyppardMan

Very Senior Member
I decided to try some automatic speed/quality tests for a day or so on my new router/full fibre service from Zen, but I'm getting some strange results, especially with respect to the upload speeds. Could this just be an anomaly with the way these speed tests are carried out? I'll probably uninstall the script this afternoon and try some more speed tests in the morning (when no-one else will be using the internet) with my laptop connected to a LAN port on the router to see how that compares.
 

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I am on a relatively slow WAN link (T-Mobile Gateway). I run the spdmerlin app with a slight modificaction on my AX88U Pro to check for low speeds - then reboot the Gateway if so.
I also have an HP Elitedesk PC plugged into the router.

From some testing I have done using the Ookla speedtest app on both - I am getting the same speedtest results. They range from ~10 Mbit/sec to 300 Mbit/sec.

I plan on moving the speedtest check/reboot Gateway function from the router to the PC.
I am trying to reduce the script usage on the router. That’s why I have the HP Elitedesk running Debian. My plan is to move spdmerlin and ntpmerlin from the router to the PC.

Ideally I will attempt to port the @Jack Yaz scripts from Asus land to Debian.

BTW, no matter how hard I try getting Unbound working well (or at all) in Debian 11 is not going well.
Unbound-Manager/Unbound on Asuswrt-merlin is great. Believe me, Unbound is complex and the work @Martineau and others put into Unbound-Manager is incredible.
 
I decided to try some automatic speed/quality tests for a day or so on my new router/full fibre service from Zen, but I'm getting some strange results, especially with respect to the upload speeds. Could this just be an anomaly with the way these speed tests are carried out? I'll probably uninstall the script this afternoon and try some more speed tests in the morning (when no-one else will be using the internet) with my laptop connected to a LAN port on the router to see how that compares.
Speed test apps running from your router should be "for entertainment purposes only". They will give you an idea of what's generally going on, but they are not going to be truly accurate, mainly due to the processing power required to measure bandwidth. For example, my AC86U couldn't measure more than 400Mb down, though I have a 1.5Gb connection. My AX6000 with more high-powered CPUs can get more real-world results, but still not completely accurate. To get a true measure, jack a laptop or pc into one of your LAN ports, and do it directly from that device. For even better results, jack your laptop/pc directly into your Broadband modem, and bypass the router completely.
 
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I am on a relatively slow WAN link (T-Mobile Gateway). I run the spdmerlin app with a slight modificaction on my AX88U Pro to check for low speeds - then reboot the Gateway if so.
I also have an HP Elitedesk PC plugged into the router.

From some testing I have done using the Ookla speedtest app on both - I am getting the same speedtest results. They range from ~10 Mbit/sec to 300 Mbit/sec.

I plan on moving the speedtest check/reboot Gateway function from the router to the PC.
I am trying to reduce the script usage on the router. That’s why I have the HP Elitedesk running Debian. My plan is to move spdmerlin and ntpmerlin from the router to the PC.

Ideally I will attempt to port the @Jack Yaz scripts from Asus land to Debian.

BTW, no matter how hard I try getting Unbound working well (or at all) in Debian 11 is not going well.
Unbound-Manager/Unbound on Asuswrt-merlin is great. Believe me, Unbound is complex and the work @Martineau and others put into Unbound-Manager is incredible.

I use https://hub.docker.com/r/mvance/unbound

And

Docker is pretty awesome and takes away the complexity of making packages work with a given OS
 
Thanks @Jack Yaz , I'll give it a go.
Now, to enter the world of containers! ;-)
 
My AX86U with QOS off, seems to give pretty accurate results from Virgin Media 1Gig connection.

1682952825973.png
 
Docker is pretty awesome and takes away the complexity of making packages work with a given OS
With an added bonus when testing and experimenting - they're easy to wipe without having to worry about the mess left behind and significantly reduces the chance you break the machine they're running on.

Takes a bit to understand them but we'll worth the effort.
 

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