how to do a basic internet speed test on Linux mint?

CataclysmicGentleman

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hello.
I am using linux mint.
I am fine using the terminal, how do I test my internet speeds?
what are the command?
the test I wanna do is just a simple upload, download, and ping test. like spectrum or other wifi service providers all have.
thanks.
 


ok i figured it out. Speedtest brought up sudo install speedtest (or something like that) which gave almost the same results as the website i used.
 
see screenshot:
 

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in the Mint repository, you will find Speedtest.cli based on the Ookla server system [formally speedtest.net]
 
CataclysmicGentleman asked:
how do I test my internet speeds?
what are the command?

There are many means of testing internet speed, and you can make up your own if you like.
Here are some results from three tests:

Code:
[flip@flop ~]$ speedtest-cli
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Telstra Internet (125.187.217.15)...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by Telstra (Sydney) [0.09 km]: 22.887 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 53.32 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed......................................................................................................
Upload: 18.74 Mbit/s
This speedtest-cli output came through within a couple of minutes, so it's quite snappy in producing a result.

Code:
[flip@flop ~]$ ./yabs.sh
# ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #
#              Yet-Another-Bench-Script              #
#                     v2023-03-24                    #
# https://github.com/masonr/yet-another-bench-script #
# ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #

<snip>

iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv4):
---------------------------------
Provider        | Location (Link)           | Send Speed      | Recv Speed      | Ping         
-----           | -----                     | ----            | ----            | ----         
Clouvider       | London, UK (10G)          | busy            | 44.1 Mbits/sec  | 291 ms       
Scaleway        | Paris, FR (10G)           | busy            | 44.1 Mbits/sec  | 332 ms       
NovoServe       | North Holland, NL (40G)   | 9.54 Mbits/sec  | 42.6 Mbits/sec  | 296 ms       
Uztelecom       | Tashkent, UZ (10G)        | busy            | busy            | 394 ms       
Clouvider       | NYC, NY, US (10G)         | 12.8 Mbits/sec  | 50.9 Mbits/sec  | 219 ms       
Clouvider       | Dallas, TX, US (10G)      | 9.80 Mbits/sec  | 51.1 Mbits/sec  | 255 ms       
Clouvider       | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 15.9 Mbits/sec  | 51.8 Mbits/sec  | 224 ms       

iperf3 Network Speed Tests (IPv6):
---------------------------------
Provider        | Location (Link)           | Send Speed      | Recv Speed      | Ping         
-----           | -----                     | ----            | ----            | ----         
Clouvider       | London, UK (10G)          | 8.92 Mbits/sec  | 48.7 Mbits/sec  | 292 ms       
Scaleway        | Paris, FR (10G)           | 7.66 Mbits/sec  | 48.4 Mbits/sec  | 304 ms       
NovoServe       | North Holland, NL (40G)   | 10.6 Mbits/sec  | 45.2 Mbits/sec  | 295 ms       
Uztelecom       | Tashkent, UZ (10G)        | busy            | 40.5 Mbits/sec  | 436 ms       
Clouvider       | NYC, NY, US (10G)         | 14.3 Mbits/sec  | 50.6 Mbits/sec  | 227 ms       
Clouvider       | Dallas, TX, US (10G)      | 9.25 Mbits/sec  | 49.6 Mbits/sec  | 284 ms       
Clouvider       | Los Angeles, CA, US (10G) | 9.93 Mbits/sec  | 50.3 Mbits/sec  | 233 ms       

<snip>

YABS completed in 22 min 29 sec
This output of yabs ran all the tests in the script which took over 22 minutes. It's possible to run fewer tests with the script so a shorter time is possible, but perhaps not very much so since it tests the network speed over many routes.

Here is a command that could be made into a shell script using a testfile supplied by the site in the script:
Code:
[flip@flop ~] wget --output-document=/dev/null --report-speed=bits http://speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com/downloads/test500.zip

--2023-04-22 15:56:41--  http://speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com/downloads/test500.zip
Resolving speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com (speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com)... 2607:f0d0:3006:154::3, 169.54.48.218
Connecting to speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com (speedtest.wdc01.softlayer.com)|2607:f0d0:3006:154::3|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 524288000 (500M) [application/zip]
Saving to: ‘/dev/null’

/dev/null        100%[=======>] 500.00M  32.1Mb/s    in 87s   

2023-04-22 15:58:08 (48.4 Mb/s) - ‘/dev/null’ saved [524288000/524288000]
It took under two minutes to run.

The results are varied:
The speedtest-cli program output a speed of 53.32 Mbit/s.
The yabs script output a speed range of 40.5 Mbits/s to 51.1Mbits/s
The softlayer script outputs 48.4 Mbit/s.

It's a "suit yourself" situation I think with plenty of options to choose to get a result.
 
The results are varied:
The speedtest-cli program output a speed of 53.32 Mbit/s.
The yabs script output a speed range of 40.5 Mbits/s to 51.1Mbits/s
The softlayer script outputs 48.4 Mbit/s.

It's a "suit yourself" situation I think with plenty of options to choose to get a result.
If you tried all the commercial speed testers [Ookla, speedof me, or your providers own & etc] they will all be different due to the different test packages they use, and the quality of the connection between your router and your computer, the most accurate test [if your router is set up for it] is to check the download sync speed at the router,

This is a snapshot of 3 computer connections [my current down sync speed is 39.999 MBS at the router] and speedtest gives
at my main computer connected by a 4 mts of cat 5E ethanet cable is 37.4 MBS
My laptop with built-in 11g Wi-Fi is 23.8 MBS
or my laptop with a 11N300 USB dongle is 36.2 MBS [the laptop is in another room about 6 mts [point to point] from the router.
 
I've always been happy enough with Speedtest. Because I like my GUIs so much (!), I've combined YAD and speedtest.cli together into a wee point-and-click multiarch utility for the Puppy community:-


GIFCap-46.gif



I have to concur with Brickwizard, too. All the different 'testers' will have their own specific infrastructure set up, so latency & 'round-trip' ping times will vary depending on the location of the servers involved...

At the end of the day, you're only getting an approximate idea anyway. I'm more than happy with approx 50-60 MBps 'down', and 12-18 MBps 'up'. That's what I was led to expect when we signed for this current package, and it's never really dropped outside those average ranges.

When it boils down to it, data speeds are usually set by your ISP/telecoms people via 'chokers' at the local exchange...


Mike. ;)
 
Last edited:
Cat...
You mentioned Spectrum. Is Spectrum your provider? Just wondering what your experience with them is. I have plenty of complaints about them Often it takes 2 or 3 minutes to get my mail loaded. Many many times their website is down or takes forever to connect. Only reason we keep Spectrum is that we have no other options in this area.
 
We have a choice of Spectrum cable or AT&T fiber here. AT&T may still be supporting existing DSL customers as well, but I doubt there are new ones. We have used Spectrum cable for years. The cable brand changed names several times - we started with them when it was TimeWarner cable.

We are aware that many people have issues with Spectrum, but so far Spectrum has been good and reliable for us. We have had minor issues throughout the years, but they have been fast to come out and fix the problems. Service has been very reliable since the last repair a long time ago. The damage was caused by animals chewing on a part somewhere near our end of the line, so they replaced it. It is hard to blame Spectrum for that.
 

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