Speed of ResNet
This page describes the speed of ResNet compared with other forms of Internet access.
- How fast is ResNet? Is it a broadband connection?
- Upload speeds
- Network games - ping times
- Technical specification
- Monitoring your connection speed and bandwidth usage
How fast is ResNet?
ResNet is much faster than broadband you might have at home. The connection to your room operates at a theoretical maximum speed of 100 Mbit/sec. In practice you won't see this maximum, but will see speeds of over 50Mbit/sec.
In contrast, domestic broadband is often marketed as 'up to 8 Mbit/sec' or even 'up to 20Mbit/sec', but average speeds people achieve in practice are about 5.2 Mbit/sec (which.co.uk). Either way, ResNet is much faster.
The speed of wireless ResNet depends on many factors but you should see speeds close to wired ResNet.
Upload speeds
For 2011 we've made ResNet symmetric which means that upload speed is exactly the same as download.
Why is this awesome? (Apart from it being obvious that faster is better!)
Well it means you can take full advantage of cloud based storage/backup solutions such as iCloud, Windows Live SkyDrive or Ubuntu One. It makes uploading photos or video to facebook/vimeo/flickr/youtube super quick, but most importantly - whatever cool new internet functionality is coming round the corner, we want your ResNet connection to be ready to handle it.
Network games - ping times
For gamers the 'ping' time (a measure of the round-trip time for data sent) is more important than the bandwidth. Ping times on ResNet are typically extremely good (less than 10ms) for games with other ResNet users, and broadly similar to domestic broadband (less than 100ms to UK games servers, often around 20-30ms).
Technical specification
ResNet provides a connection to your computer at 100 Mbit/sec. Set your ethernet adapter speed/duplex setting to 'Auto' in order to work correctly - most are set this way by default.
Monitoring your connection speed
Our My ResNet system will tell you how much of your weekly external on-peak bandwidth allocation you are using. You can also use the Windows Task Manager (press Control+Alt+Delete and click Networking).
There are many sites that will test your connection speed. One of the best is speedtest.net
If your particular ResNet connection seems much slower than other people on ResNet there could be a problem with your ethernet adapter, cable, software or settings. See How to test the speed of your ResNet connection for advice about diagnosing and fixing the problem.