[plug] Network Performance Testing

[Craig Foster]

I must disagree on how "unimportant" Windows Updates can be - especially the security updates.
Firstly, they are usually served from local Akamai CDN servers which quite a few WA ISPs don't meter.
Secondly, exploits wreak havoc on all internet citizens, and most of them target Windows clients.
It's like saying German Measles doesn't affect me as a man who has had it before, so immunisation of the population is irrelevant.

I agree with the suggestion of a Squid proxy, possibly even one seeded from a fast site first. For example, run a netboot and installation from UWA or another fast connection prior to the event, and then when the proxy is transported to SpaceCubed, it's already cached the bulk of the packages. After that it the cache should maintain itself given a large enough cache.

CraigF.

From: plug [mailto:plug-bounces at plug.org.au] On Behalf Of Daniel Axtens
Sent: Tuesday, 5 March 2013 8:33 PM
To: plug at plug.org.au
Subject: Re: [plug] Network Performance Testing

I have found speed test websites to be of very dubious value, especially at high network speeds (I'm currently on an AARNET connection in Canberra, and the displayed result from speedtest.net<http://speedtest.net> in no way matches my actual experience).

Furthermore, the load that a startup weekend will produce is very very different to the load speedtest.net<http://speedtest.net> tests: lots of simultaneous connections, to various servers across the world, rather than a single connection to a single nearby server.

What may be of considerable value is to set up a well-configured Squid caching proxy. Then, if you have a bunch of people all downloading the same Node.js modules/Python packages/whatever, it should only go out to the internet once, and all subsequent hits will be served off the cache. The proxy can also be set up to block common, unimportant, high-bandwidth, background downloads (e.g. Windows Updates).

HTH,
Daniel
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