Testing Internet Connection Speed with speed-test (with examples)

Introduction

In today’s digital age, having a reliable and fast internet connection is crucial. Whether you are working, streaming, or gaming, knowing your internet connection speed can help you troubleshoot any issues and optimize your online experience. The speed-test command is a powerful tool that allows you to test your internet connection speed and ping using the popular website “speedtest.net”. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the speed-test command and provide code examples for each scenario.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the different use cases, we need to make sure that we have the speed-test command installed. You can install it by running the following command:

npm install --global speed-test

Once installed, you can start using the speed-test command to test your internet connection speed and ping.

1: Testing Internet Connection and Ping Speed

To test your internet connection speed using speed-test, you simply need to run the following command:

speed-test

Motivation: This use case allows you to quickly check your internet connection speed and ping. It is useful when you suspect that your internet is slow or experiencing network issues.

Explanation: The speed-test command sends a series of data packets to the nearest speedtest.net server and measures the time it takes for the packets to be sent and received. Based on these measurements, it calculates the upload speed, download speed, and ping.

Example Output:

Ping: 10 ms
Download: 50.22 Mbps
Upload: 10.48 Mbps

2: Outputting Results as JSON

You can also output the results of the speed test as JSON by adding the --json option to the command:

speed-test --json

Motivation: Outputting the results as JSON can be useful when you want to programmatically process the speed test results or integrate the command with other tools or scripts.

Explanation: The --json option tells the speed-test command to format the output as a JSON object. This makes it easier to parse and work with the results programmatically.

Example Output:

{
  "ping": 10,
  "download": 50.22,
  "upload": 10.48
}

3: Outputting Results in Megabytes per Second

By default, the speed-test command outputs the results in Megabits per second (Mbps). If you prefer to see the results in Megabytes per second (MBps), you can use the --bytes option:

speed-test --bytes

Motivation: Some internet service providers (ISPs) might advertise their internet speeds in Megabytes per second. By using the --bytes option, you can directly compare the results with the advertised speeds.

Explanation: The --bytes option converts the download and upload speeds from Megabits per second (Mbps) to Megabytes per second (MBps) in the output.

Example Output:

Ping: 10 ms
Download: 6.28 MBps
Upload: 1.31 MBps

4: Outputting More Detailed Information

If you want to get more detailed information about the speed test, such as the server used and the server location, you can use the --verbose option:

speed-test --verbose

Motivation: The additional information provided by the --verbose option can be useful when troubleshooting network issues or comparing the performance of different speedtest.net servers.

Explanation: The --verbose option instructs the speed-test command to include additional details in the output, such as the server used for the test, the server location, and the distance to the server.

Example Output:

Server: My ISP
Location: New York, NY
Ping: 10 ms
Download: 50.22 Mbps
Upload: 10.48 Mbps

Conclusion

The speed-test command is a handy tool for testing your internet connection speed and ping. In this article, we explored different use cases of the command, including testing your internet connection speed and ping, outputting the results as JSON, converting the speeds to Megabytes per second, and getting more detailed information about the speed test. With these examples, you now have the knowledge to effectively measure and analyze your internet connection speed.