Forum Discussion
Best way to test latency?
Yes, 600-700 is normal for satellite internet.
Keep in mind that websites add to the delay because they have so much stuff on them that needs to load, such as images or videos. So on top of the normal server to server delay, you will have added delay from website content.
My initial tracepath attempts were for netflix and google, which didn't work. I decided to try again with amazon.com, and it seemed to work -- screenshot is below. I have no idea how to read the information.
How do I read the latency in Hughes's piece of the chain, and what's a normal value for the their piece? What would be an unacceptably high value for their piece? There are times (not right now) when even simple browsing for me on Hughes seems very slow. Or maybe more accurately, it seems erratic. One minute it's doing well, a minute later it's crawling, then suddenly it's better again -- but when I check mbps, it's reasonable.
The other variable besides mbps that I'm aware of is latency, so I just want to be able to diagnose when I'm getting slow performance by also checking latency. Or more specifically Hughes's latency, since that's the piece of the chain I'm paying for.
The latency for the satellite internet is between 600-700ms on average, regardless of how much you pay for it.
Focusing on the latency for HN makes no sense, as the majority of your delays are caused outside of HN, by internet backbone providers (CenturyLink), and by the websites themselves. HN has no control over that.
Sounds like you're saying that if my latency is high, the odds of it being a problem with Hughes is very tiny? Are there any other variables? I know there are variables on my end, I mean otherwise. I know that periods of high traffic can affect performance, but I assume that's reflected in the mbps number when I do a download test.
"Sounds like you're saying that if my latency is high, the odds of it being a problem with Hughes is very tiny?"
Yes.
"Are there any other variables? I know there are variables on my end, I mean otherwise."
Yes. As the website indicates, your mileage may vary depending on
- the configuration of your computer
- the number of concurrent users
- network or Internet congestion
- the capabilities and content of the websites you are accessing
- network management practices as deemed necessary
- Other factors
and I get it, 600-700 is normal latency for sat and there's no way around that. I'm just looking to diagnose or understand why I sometimes experience slow or erratic performance, and yet my mbps download speeds are the same as when the performance is normal. So I wanted to figure out how to check latency the next time it happens, to see if that explains it.
No way around the laws of physics, so the latency can't be changed. When you experience slowdowns they're likely related to the other causes on the list, all of them things you have basically no control over.
What do you do when you experience slowdowns? Do you ever try to reboot your modem? That's a strategy that sometimes helps.
