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Frequently asked questions What's all this about? Q: What's all this about? A: The Internet Traffic Report monitors the flow of data around the world. It then displays a value between zero and 100. Higher values indicate faster and more reliable connections. Q: How does this relate to me? A: Your Internet surfing safari may be smooth today, but perhaps you can't reach Yahoo or a few web sites in Europe. This web site will tell you if those regions of the Internet are currently slowed down. By checking the Internet Traffic Report, you can determine if your problems are global or local. Q: What is the Global Index? A: The Global Index is the overall average of the response rating from all servers queried in the Internet Traffic report. Higher Index means faster Internet. Q: How often is this site updated? A: Every 5 minutes. Q: How do you measure "Internet traffic?" A: A test called "ping" is used to measure round-trip travel time along major paths on the Internet. We have several servers in different areas of the globe perform the same ping at the same time. Each test server then compares the current response to past responses from the same test to determine if the response was bad or good on a scale of 0 to 100. The scores from all test servers are averaged together into a single index. Q: What is a "router?" A: Routers are traffic cop computers on Internet backbones responsible for redirecting data from sender to receiver. When major routers slow down or stop, it has an adverse affect on Internet data flow in that region. Q: What is a "traffic index?" A: The "traffic index" is a score from 0 to 100 where 0 is "slow" and 100 is "fast". It is determined by comparing the current response of a ping echo to all previous responses from the same router over the past 7 days. A score of 0 to 100 is then assigned to the current response depending on if this response is better or worse than all previous responses from that router. Q: What is "response time (ms)?" A: Response Time in reference to Internet traffic is how long it takes for a chunk of data to travel from point A to point B and back (round trip). A typical response time on the Internet is 200 ms, which is 200 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) = 1/5th of one second. Q: What is "packet loss (%)?" A: Packet Loss measures the reliability of a connection. A known chunk of data is sent to the router and then the router is supposed to send the same data back unaltered (echo). In the case of something like ping, several packets are sent out over the course of a couple seconds. So, if 10 packets were sent out, but only 8 made it back, then that would be 20% packet loss; so the more packets that are sent, the more accurate the picture of what the actual packet loss is. In a perfect world 0% packet loss is what we all want - every packet we send out makes it to where it's supposed to go. In reality, some packet loss is probably going to happen, but as long as it is under 5% or so you shouldn't even notice. So just remember that the higher the packet loss percentage, the slower the connection will work because in most instances it has to send the same piece of information several times. Q: Can I include this data on my web page? A: You can include the current Global Traffic Index gif in your web page, but all other data on this web site is proprietary and can not be republished without permission from the site operators. Q: Why are all seven continents not listed? A: Because we currently do not have enough routers to test especially in Africa or Antarctica. Because of this, we are unable to accurately portray traffic conditions to/from those continents on their own. Likewise, the same is true for the widely-accepted sub-continent of India. We would welcome the opportunity to improve this - click here to see how you can help. Q: Can I get access to the raw data? A: The last seven days of statistics are available in comma delimited (CSV) format here. The data can be used as long as InternetTrafficReport.com is acknowledged as the source of the information. This file and information may NOT be included in any automated system without explicit written consent. For more information, or to request some specific data please use the Contact page. Q: How can I help make ITR as accurate and useful as possible? A: ITR is, and will continue to be, a completely free resource for the Internet community. We are also actively seeking help to make ITR ever-better. Because ITR gathers statistics on a global basis, it requires two things to be continually accurate and useful: many geographically diverse routers to test to, and many geographically diverse "satellite" locations to test from. Thus, if you are a network or systems engineer/operator/administrator, you may be able to help by adding one of your network's routers to the ITR list. Also, if you have any other suggestion on how to improve ITR, by all means don't hesitate to let us know by sending a message from the Contact page. Q: How do I request a router on my network added to the ITR list? A: In order to be as accurate as possible, ITR must test to many geographically-diverse routers on diverse networks. To assist ITR in this manner, all you need to do is fill out the form on the Add a Router page, it's that simple! Q: Where do I send questions/comments/ideas about ITR? A: We welcome any feedback! We are continually looking for ways to improve ITR. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please send us a message using the Contact form. Q: Who is AnalogX? A: AnalogX has made several of the new enhancements to the existing Internet Traffic Report website, and is in the process of completely overhauling the whole system to support many new and exciting features. For more information about AnalogX specifically, please visit the Official AnalogX Website. |
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