Hey all,

Lately, I have been using a server test tool at hostcompare. What it does is that it connects to the server every 15 min or so for 8 hours. And it tests the time it takes to ping, to download a 10K file, to connect to DNS and the no. of timeouts.

Besides, testing the hosting company's site, I have also tested some of their clients.

However, I am just wondering whether this is the right way to test the performance of a server, or are there better way to do it. Except from actually trying it out.

Also, what does it mean if I cannot ping a site?

Thanks everyone.

It is a good way to determine the response of the server, but if it lasts for only 8 hours, then you won't get a good idea of the uptime.

If you cannot ping a site, then the server could be down.

Regards
Matt

That's what I initially thought too, however, their site at the same time is up and also I have tried that for more than once.

If I can't ping it, does it mean that it is unreliable or there is something wrong or they have done something to their server?

btw, the site is bbcwebservices.com

oh, actually, aside from what I have been doing, is there any other way that I could use to test the performance and speed of the hosting company?

thanks again.

It could just be that they are blocking ping requests, i believe site5 do this.

Netmechanic also offers a free server report. They monitor the server for 12 hours (I think).

qwkmon.net has also free monitoring accounts...

One thing to keep in mind, when you are testing a server response from anywhere outside of the network the server resides on, is that you can get false results.

For example, if you are testing from NetMechanic and NetMechanic experiences problems within their own network and/or if any of the lines they go through to get to your server are having problems, then it is going to report a problem but it will not specify where the problem was.

It is a good way to get a general idea of the connectivity but it is also important to run your own tracert or other tests, when a bad status is reported. This will help you to determine whether or not the problem was in fact with your host.