Very basic questions , how internet works 101

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seretonin

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#233897 8-May-2018 12:36

Sorry i didnt know where to ask , just have a couple of questions.

so your speeds are judged by speedtests to the nearest test server , eg i could have a 100 down and 20 up for example In NZ . But when it comes to speed tests to overseas servers the speed goes down , so i could for example be getting 22 down and 3 up to a USA westcoast server . Is this speed limited to my ISP and how much bandwidth they provide to a overseas connection / cable ?

Are some ISP's better at providing higher speeds to other countries or are they all roughly the same ?

Im using a paid IPTV provider and have been getting buffering issues , could the bandwidth be stable and could i be getting packet-loss due to bad wiring in my house ?

sorry if i sound ignorant , but just trying to learn.

Came here to make BraaiGuy My B1tch

Oblivian

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#2009909 8-May-2018 12:47

It's all about how big your hose connections are, and the pressure at the pool each one is passing through :)

NZ Only has 2? exit points to the rest of the world. And depending on your provider they may use a % of the total available direct to them or all their joined companies (spark/bigpipe/skinny for instance, M2 group IPSs) Or smaller may buy some set speed capacity chunk of that from 1 or more of the others.

There use to be a table with all the ISPs and their backhaul links to show how many variable paths your traffic may go and be effected. But think its abandoned and out of date now http://www.ispmap.co.nz/

But it gives you an idea on how they may shake hands in 1 form or other.

sbiddle

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#2009927 8-May-2018 13:18

There are so many variables it's probably a 2000 word essay to answer that question in a simple way.

Once traffic leaves the SXC PoP in the US it's also pretty much outside the control of the RSP or upstream provider. This means your RSP for example probably has no control over speeds to say a New York server - they have control (via their upstream provider) until traffic egresses the SXC in the US.

The US has terrible internet, and differences between different cities are often due to the connectivity there, and to an extent the way TCP/IP works.