3
When running network speed tests (like speedtest.net), why do further away servers give distance-proportionally slower speeds?
I gather there are more "hops" for the packets to bounce through, and that the first packet would take longer to arrive than a closer server's, but once that first packet hits and the "stream" is established, shouldn't it flow just as fast as a nearby server?
The water analogy I'm imagining this as (perhaps wrongly) --
Holding two cups of water, I pour one of them into a single straw, taking two seconds to pour out the other end. With the second cup, I pour it into a route composed of three straws, taking six seconds to pour out the other end. But now that both straws are saturated, shouldn't the outpour speed between them be the same?
Why would further away servers lead to slower bandwidth test speeds? An elongated latency response would be understandable, as it's a measurement of an amount. A bandwidth speed test, however, is a measurement of a rate, and hence, unless it's a matter of more hops leading to more chances for packet loss/misrouting, I don't understand why it'd be slower.
Coldblackice
Posted 2013-07-06T09:36:07.917
Reputation: 4 774
1Looking at your forum reputation score, I'm confused. Is this a serious question...why would distance add time? Huh? – f1assistance – 2013-07-06T10:52:01.457
2This is not a forum. But yes, the further you are the more noise you have came across. Giving a sentence to someone sitting next to me is easy; passing it through a chain of other people can be a hard task, it might not be received properly the first time. All those problems add up, adding additional time. – Tamara Wijsman – 2013-07-06T11:54:32.477
@packets You misunderstand the question/analogy. Yes, it makes sense that more distance would take more time for the first packet to arrive -- BUT -- once the "flow" of data has established, and provided it's a continuous flow, the distance should no longer matter concerning the rate of flow (speed). Unless, as I hypothesized (and Tom confirmed), the increased distance factor leads to a slower speed because of the extra number of hops in the route, and hence, a likely increase in lost packets (the non-continuous flow). Distance as a measurement alone shouldn't affect the rate of speed. – Coldblackice – 2013-07-07T05:40:27.403