FTP test getting 200 Mbps but Ookla test showing only 70 Mbps

Dear Gents ,

I have this problem in LTE Drive test for one LTE site that have a consignation in MW link or the DWDM.

When I test FTP I got 200 Mbps and OOkla only 70 Mbps

Can any one explain to me the difference between FTP drive test and Ookla test, using protocols
process used in both, I have congestion on BH that only seen in Ookla and ok at FTP .

Is FTP using TCP tests only?
Is Ookla using TCP and HTTP?

Waiting your reply.
thanks

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I think protocol itself is not that important in this case (you can check more here in any case about how ookla does its measurements: How Ookla Ensures Accurate, Reliable Data: A Guide to Our Metrics and Methodology (Updated for 2021)).

Most probably in your scenario the difference is related to the test server itself. Probably FTP is “closer” to you … perhaps it’s within operator’s network so it’s much faster to reach. Try selecting different server for speedtest, maybe will give you better result.

Good luck

Regards

Totally agreed with @vitalii reply. There can be number of factors like concurrent connections, any flow control or congestion control mechanism at server side. Ookla is after all a public server so there capacity might be limited compared to dedicated FTP server.
In addition to what @vitalii suggested, check with core team if they have defined any speed control on Ookla IP. Although unlikely, it is possible for to apply rate restrictions on certain websites.

But kindly remember that what you test with Ookla may be more representative of actual customer experience. Testing with FTP is good if you want to measure and test site’s performance. But for actual user experience, testing with public server is better since that provides you actual customer experience.

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The delta in the throughput is very significant which shouldn’t be the issue,

  • how is this same scenario on another site assuming the same test servers are use
    -Included latency to understand the rrt.
    -Finally try trace route to troubleshoot the path in question

At some point I had to implement an Ookla server as a replica for the company I worked for and at the same time I used that server for Drive Tests, and one of the configurations at that time was a 100Mbps network card for the server, now they ask 1Gbps minimum and 10Gbps recommended. That limitation could be 1 option.

The 2nd option that may be happening is the routing of the traffic, this was reviewed directly with the person in charge of the IP network addressing, at that time the route that the traffic took from the mobile network to the SpeedTest server was not adequate, and that lowered the THP. Speed tests went from 50 ~ 60Mbps to over 120Mbps after that change.

I recommend that you check how many hops there are from the mobile network to the server’s ip.