What software can I use to monitor the quality of my Internet connection?

Question

I've been having a lot of problems with both of my Internet providers lately, and I'd like to start monitoring and graphing the quality of my Internet connections. My ultimate goal is to be able to produce graphs and data that I can take to my ISP to assist them in narrowing down what the problem might be. I'd like something that runs nicely in the background on Windows 7 with a convenient task bar icon that I can use to browse the collected data and change the configuration of the program as needed. I want to collect the following types of data: - Pings to various hosts that I define - The time it takes to complete a HTTP request to various hosts that I define - How long it takes to download a 1 MB file at an interval (to get a rough estimate of speed) Timestamps, of course, would be critical in logged data. I imagine being able to create graphs similar to what the [Cacti network monitor](http://www.cacti.net/) produces. I have something that monitors the quality of my WiFi connections, the [Xirrus WiFi inspector and companion desktop gadget](http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Network-Management-and-Software/Network-Management/Wi-Fi-Inspector), but this only measures the quality of signal from my router to my machine, and the data doesn't easily persist. Still, it illustrates the kind of interface I'm hoping for. Is there something that fits, or comes close to fitting this criteria?

Answer 1

Hi,

You can always check your download/upload speeds at Speedtest.net.

Check you ISP monthly bill and compare the download speed you are paying for against the test results.

Good quality starts with an efficient internet signal speed.

Frank C