Real fiber speed

Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -  
brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -

Hello, I just changed my provider hoping for a better connection... Meh!

When a provider indicates that "download" can go up to 8 gigabits...

How can I verify that???

Until yesterday, I had Free's Pop with a possible speed of up to 5 gigabits.... I did dozens of tests and I maxed out at 0.8 gigabits..... That's far from the possible 5!

Results: a PS5 "online", Netflix via a PS4, a PC streaming, and the Freebox connected to the TV, well... it lags!!!!!

This morning I got the Bbox Ultym with a possible speed of 8 gigabits!!! After numerous tests, I'm at 0.9 gigabit speed.....

I do the tests on my PC connected via cable to the box.

If I run the test on my TV (also connected via cable).... I'm at 60 Mbps......

What's the problem?:

- either the providers are telling us nonsense about speeds

- or it's me who is testing my speed wrong

- or there's a line problem?

I don't necessarily want 8 gigabits of speed! But the subscription costs more to get a high speed, and I believe that 0.9 gigabits is a "crappy" speed compared to what I could achieve, and therefore I'm likely to experience bugs!.

Isn't there a way to know the actual speed coming out of the box???

If you buy a car with 600 hp. Even if it only does 450... that won't really bother you in everyday life; but if in reality it has the power of a 2CV..... there's a big problem! Well, my box is the same!

What do you think? Thanks

Blacky


11 answers

brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 434
 

Hello,

there are mainly users who take a 600hp car but only have a moped license, you seem to be one of those.

It already seems that you only have a gigabit port (1000 Mbit/s) on your PC, so you will never get more bandwidth than that unless you change your network card.

Anyway, there are plenty of ways to measure real bandwidth, the first being to check what the network settings of your PC display, then there are various utilities from iperf to openspeedtest, the Freebox even has a local speed test generator.

Finally, the Freebox Pop is advertised for 5 Gbit/s shared, one port at 2.5 max and 3 ports + wifi at 1 Gbit/s, the Bouygues box only exceeds one gigabit with a 10 Gbit/s port on the PC.

As for TVs, they are very rare (and don't need) to have gigabit ports, they typically just have 100 Mbit/s ports.


And there you go, there you go ....

But my goodness, how annoying those line spaces are !!

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Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Hello, thank you for your responses, all "enlightening"!

But Brupala's explanation allowed me, just after reading it, to get out of the cart, get my license, and drive the 2CV!!! Not yet the 600 HP car!!! Lol....

In short, an explanation that couldn't be simpler, which anyone can understand... even me!!!!

What is much more worrying is that I had contacted Free 5-6 times to discuss this (false) problem... One of the representatives even told me he would check to upgrade me to the ultra box instead of the pop.... which wouldn't have changed anything at all!

If one of the representatives from Free had given me an explanation like Brupala's, I would still be with them.... "Technical support???????".

In summary:

-when I run the test on my PC, even if my PC's network card was "unlimited", I wouldn't have a connection close to 8 gigas (which the box can provide), but rather close to the max connection of the port the computer is plugged into (the ports are not "communicating vessels", at least I think)!!! 

-the 0.9 gigas that the test gives me on the PC does not correspond at all to the "total" connection provided by the box, but only to that of the PC!!!

-why only 0.9 gigas, even if (I'm just being silly...) I was on a port with a billion gigas??? Well, as Brupala said, and after verification: the network card of my PC, both download and upload, is at maximum: 1 giga!!! So 0.9 is actually pretty good!!!

-when I run the test on the TV (wired connection), I only get about 80-90 Mbit/s.. Which is "normal" for a TV.

-on my son's iPhone... about 800 Mbit/s... not bad, right?

-on my "old" Huawei P30... about 650 Mbit/s... not bad either!

-on the PS4 set up in a bedroom (wifi)... about 60 Mbit/s... is that acceptable or not? I don't know. If it's not great, maybe a repeater could improve the connection?

-to know the "total" connection used, I think you need to add up all the connections from all the connected devices (wired and wifi). And in that case, I'm well above the 0.9 gigas that the PC gives me which I foolishly thought was the total connection!

So, actually, if I understood correctly, by connecting (just like everyone) a PC, a TV, a console, one or two phones...., well we are very, very far from using the "total" connection that a box can provide!

For example, the TV connected to a 1-giga port that "only takes" 80-90 Mbit/s, or the computer connected to a 2.5-giga port, limited to one giga by the network card.

What happens to the "unused connection" of 1.5 gigas in the example of the PC: PC max 1 giga on 2.5 giga port??

Okay: a port has a maximum value: 1 giga, 2.5 gigas... but in WIFI??? I'll take a simple example: box max: 5 gigas with 3 ports of 1 giga... so 3 ports of 1 giga, that's 3 gigas, and compared to the 5 from the box, there are 2 gigas left: are these 2 gigas "reserved" for Wifi?

Finally, is there a way to know the actual speed that "arrives" in the box?

Sorry for being a bit long, but since last night and thanks to you I've made huge progress!!! But I want to make sure I've understood correctly!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blacky

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brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 434 > Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Nothing is reserved for either wifi or ethernet, the speeds you mentioned are maximum speeds, not average.

You probably have in your box's administration interface a counter or even a graph similar to the Windows performance analyzer that shows what the box receives and emits over the fiber, in any case, on the Freebox, it exists:

screen capture freeboxos webpage © brupala
fbx speed curves (not much consumption on my end) © brupala
after a speedtest .... © brupala
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bazfile Posted messages 58480 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   20 264
 

Hello @Blacky30190 StatusMember.

The speed provided by internet operators is in gigabits, so it needs to be divided by 8; for example, a speed of 1 gigabit per second equals 125 MB per second.


bazfile
Moderator/Security Contributor.
A hello, a reply, a thank you are always appreciated.

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yg_be Posted messages 23437 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 1 588
 

Hello, I believe that 0.9 gigabytes is well above what is needed for a PS5 "online", Netflix via a PS4, a PC watching streaming, and the Freebox decoder connected to the TV.

What exactly is your issue?

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casimire666 Posted messages 2483 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   721
 

Good evening

And what's the point of having 8 gigabytes? To download a movie before even thinking about it or hearing about it.


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yg_be Posted messages 23437 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 1 588
 

It reminds me of someone who buys a tractor-trailer to transport a bottle of water, and then complains that the truck doesn't carry more than a 2CV.

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cristali Posted messages 9481 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1 577
 

Hello, for the POP, this is what it looks like for the 5 Giga.

1 port 2.5 Giga

2 ports 1 Giga

1 USB port 0.5 Giga

we do have the 5 Giga

after that, you of course need a network card on your PC that can reach 2.5 Giga.

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Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Hello, and thanks. Today I have the bbox ultym.

But in your example of the pop, there are Ethernet ports. We can indeed add up to 5 gigabits across the ports. What about the Wifi connection?

Where does it "come from"?

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cristali Posted messages 9481 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1 577
 

on the wifi map and it’s always less than ethernet.

As for the bbox ultim, I don’t know how they count it, it doesn’t seem to be the same for everyone, we’ll see.

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Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Yes, okay, I know that the Ethernet connection is generally better than Wi-Fi. But if, in the case of the pop, all the ports are occupied by PCs, one of which has a 2.5-gigabit network card and is connected to the 2.5 port.

The 5 gigabit connection that the pop can provide is being used by the PCs connected via Ethernet.

If we connect a mobile phone, where will it "seek" the connection if the 5 gigabits from the pop are already being used by the Ethernet ports?

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georges97 Posted messages 14549 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   2 912
 

Hello,

There's one thing I don't understand.

Why would the box need to "search" for additional bandwidth for Wi-Fi (beyond total capacity), knowing that there is no priority given to any of the connected devices on the network (except for managed switches)?

To my knowledge, the system manages packets in the order they are sent, which are also not generated simultaneously by all devices.

But I am far from being a specialist.

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brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 434 > georges97 Posted messages 14549 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention  
 

Hello,

yes, that's right, plus a QoS controller can only manage data transmission, reception will always be determined by the sender at the other end of the link.

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georges97 Posted messages 14549 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   2 912 > brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Hello brupala,

It goes to show that it’s useful to follow (while trying to benefit from) your interventions. Thank you for taking over.

And probably see you next year.

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brupala Posted messages 111108 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   14 434
 

The bandwidths do not add up this way; we only transmit (and receive) one single packet from one of the streams (from the same machine or from multiple ones) at a time, so it's each in turn, like a turnstile at the subway or a toll booth on the highway, except there is only one at each port.

Bandwidths only really add up when there are gaps, meaning the ports are not saturated; once saturated, the queues lengthen and fill up, and then everyone slows down at the same time; it's not 2.5 for one and nothing for the others.

A port is never 100% occupied by a single stream, unless it is unidirectional (like video broadcasting, for example); the others are always waiting for a response or an acknowledgment of what has been sent.

I would add that when you want to perform a bandwidth test, it is essential that only this test is being transmitted and received; there must be no other traffic, otherwise the measurement is skewed.

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Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Thank you, I'm already talking about an "extreme" situation. The connection on the mobile will be established but possibly with a lower speed than in a "normal" situation.

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georges97 Posted messages 14549 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   2 912
 

It is undoubtedly the case regardless of the configuration, with priority management slowing down or blocking certain devices alternately.

For Wi-Fi, the limit is set by the specifications of the PC's network card.

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Blacky30190 Posted messages 6 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Thank you georges97. ;)

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IceT
 

Hi, well you need to buy a 10G fiber SFP and replace it. Originally, Free provides a 1G SFP. Maybe this will help you. You need to know what kind of SFP module is connected to your box.

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