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Author Topic: BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS  (Read 4393 times)

rireed3

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BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS
« on: January 17, 2007, 09:49:38 PM »

All,

Am I the last to find out?  When the new BT performance tester came out I was told by my ISP (to be 'ex' tomorrow) that the new tester refused the speedtest@speedtest_domain login and would "do all that on its own".

There are two pdf handbooks for the new tester.  Here's the end-user version at an Entanet link:

http://www.enta.net/fileadmin/entanet/PDF_s/pt_end_user_handbook_issue1.pdf

After going through the single test we all know, the document says

"As the tests carried out by the BT Performance Tester covers the BT Wholesale network, your Service Provider?s network and the Internet, the results can be influenced by a number of factors."

It then lists everything from your keyboard through your ISP, across the Internet and back to BT Wholesale and says

"We strongly recommend that all results are discussed with your Service Provider."

My ISP wasn't completely wrong, though.  I've got a copy of the "BT Performance Tester -- Service Provider Handbook" and it apparently supports three tests (can I upload this?):

- The plain vanilla test like all the others ('end user' -- what we're left with now)
- some test to bt_test@startup_domain (the earliest tester we saw)
- some test to speedtest@speedtest_domain (what we had until November)

The last two are apparently not available except for "assured rate users", so we've lost our way to separate BT performance from ISP performance.

Ay Caramba!

Richard
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kitz

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Re: BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2007, 11:05:05 AM »

I havent logged off to try within the past couple of weeks to try but afaik you can still access the speedtest domain by using an IP address .
 - Using speedtester.bt.com now automatically redirects you to the new BT performance tester.

What some people may not have been aware of is that up until about Septemberish last year the "old" speedtest domain (http://speedtester.bt.com) actually forwarded you to 1 of 2 testers.  They each had their own IP address and it was pot luck which tester you got.
The remenants of the info on the 2 testers are still up on the bottom of my page http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/btwspeedtest.htm

Code: [Select]
Resolves to                URL                      Notes
     
speedtester1.nat.bt.com    http://217.32.105.42     Limited to 1 test every 30 mins
speedtester2.nat.bt.com    http://217.35.209.142    wef sep 06 this IP address is used for the BTw performance tester


But what it used to say prior to sept was

Code: [Select]
speedtester1.nat.bt.com    http://217.32.105.42      Limited to 1 test every 30 mins
speedtester2.nat.bt.com    http://217.35.209.142     Can only be accessed from the speedtest domain.


Therefore if you want to bypass your ISPs network and check exchange performance to the RAS you can still log into the speedtest domain and use the IP address http://217.32.105.42 to get an old style BTw speedtest result.

Because the performance tester can now only be used whilst logged on to your ISP - then its invalid for checking against exchange congestion.

>> I've got a copy of the "BT Performance Tester -- Service Provider Handbook" and it apparently supports three tests (can I upload this?):

Please do that would be great thanks :)
If its bigger than the forum software allows then mail it me to web @ and I'll upload it.
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rireed3

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Re: BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2007, 07:19:03 PM »

Hi Kitz,

I've been trying to use http://217.32.105.42 on speedtest@speedtest_domain, but I don't think it's routed on my RAS (ERX12.Ilford4).  It's interesting that you may have done just this within the last few weeks as I'm sure I haven't had this access since November.

I can get to the old tester from my ISP using that IP, but that's not useful as we have the performance tester for that.

I've emailed the "service provider" version of the Performance Tester Handbook to web@....

Thanks,
Richard
« Last Edit: January 18, 2007, 10:05:52 PM by rireed3 »
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kitz

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Re: BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2007, 12:10:16 PM »

Really not sure why you cant access...  I wasnt able to try last night (gales knocked out my dsl for the best part of a couple of hours). 
But this is the results of one I did 2 mins ago.

afaik my RAS is in Manchester (or was) until they changed something a few months ago and it no longer responds to pings so I cant be sure.



[attachment deleted by admin]
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kitz

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Re: BT performance tester -- no longer tests to RAS
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2007, 12:20:03 PM »

Quote
I've emailed the "service provider" version of the Performance Tester Handbook

Thank you very much  :thumbs:

Ive not had chance to read it all yet, but its available for download if anyone else wants to read it at:

http://www.kitz.co.uk/downloads/pt_customer_handbook_issue_2.pdf
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