Performing Network Speed Testing

Overview

With many users working from home at present, Consulting IT do not have a full overview of your internet's stability, and this can be contributing to any issues you are experiencing.

If Consulting IT have requested you to test your network speeds, the below guide will allow you to provide all of the information that will assist the team in determining the source of your issues.

Ping Tests

The first step is to get a general idea of your ping - that will show your latency from your computer to your server.

Latency is how long it takes for the mouse clicked on your computer to register at the remote server. The larger the latency number, the long it will take for these clicks to 'register' which will appear as a slow and sluggish service.

1. On your computer, press the start button and type "cmd". Open "Command Prompt"

2. Once this has loaded, type the following command and press enter:

ping mail.consultingit.com.au -n 20

This is a Consulting IT hosted service that is located within a Brisbane datacenter on a very stable connection, and will be a good starting indicator to determine your connection stability. 

3. Please either screenshot (you can use "Windows Key + Shift + S" and drag across the command prompt window to take a quick snapshot) or copy the information and send this through to your ticket.



Tracing your Route

Depending on who is providing your internet, your route from your home computer through to your companies servers will vary.

Some internet providers may be routing your connection incorrectly, which can cause large latency.

1. On your computer, press the start button and type "cmd". Open "Command Prompt"

2. Type the following command, replacing the "url.com.au" with the address your Consulting IT tech has provided:

tracert url.com.au

NOTE: If this does not complete and gets 'stuck' at "Request Timed Out" please press "CTRL+C" on your keyboard to end the trace. The results can still be used by Consulting IT.

3. Please either screenshot (you can use "Windows Key + Shift + S" and drag across the command prompt window to take a quick snapshot) or copy the information and send this through to your ticket.

Example of a trace that is "stuck"
Example of a complete trace

Speed Test

A speed test on your connection will show what speeds you  are capable of.

Consulting IT will need two different speed test results from you.
The first, from the service that the system automatically detects and recommends for you to use.
The second, is from a specific Brisbane service to determine the connectivity to local Brisbane Services.

4. Open a Web Browser of your choice (Consulting IT recommends the new Microsoft Edge browser) and go to www.speedtest.net

5. Ensure the settings are left as their defaults, and click "Go"

6. Once the test has completed, copy the address that this page has loaded onto and prepare to email this into your Consulting IT support ticket.

Copy the URL from your address bar.

7. If the above testing selected a Brisbane server, you can skip down to step 11.

If the selected service was not Brisbane, press the back button on your browser and click the "Change Server" option.

8. Type "Brisbane" into the search box and select "Brisbane - AARNet"

9. Once these settings are changed, click Go to perform the second test.

10. Once the test has completed, copy the address that this page has loaded onto and prepare to email this into your Consulting IT support ticket.

Copy the URL from your address bar.

11. Email these results through to the Consulting IT support ticket so that your technician can determine your speed results.

Support

If you are having issues with the above instructions, please contact our helpdesk support team on the details below: