

As such, the IEEE drafted 25 GbE and 50 GbE with data centers specifically in mind.

While desktop computers would need only 1 GbE or 10 GbE connections, data centers with high-performance servers require more throughput. All other options for faster speeds are fiber-based only. In addition to fiber-based 10 GbE, available 10 Gb options include copper-based 10GBase-T, which provides higher bandwidth over copper, but it is primarily focused on desktops and hasn't gained much popularity to date. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed 2.5 GbE and 5 GbE to address the need for copper-based links that required more than 1,000 Mbps to support high-speed access points - for Wi-Fi 5 devices and above. While Ethernet was originally one-size-fits-all, it had to branch out to serve the needs of different users. The original Ethernet attained speeds of 10 Mbps, Fast Ethernet reached 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet achieved 1,000 Mbps. The branches of Ethernetįor the first several decades of Ethernet development, every upgrade increased by a factor of 10. That's not surprising, but it might make a slight impact on your results depending on the strength of your connection at the time of the test.Fortunately, 25 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) networking products are already on the market to help turbocharge enterprise server networks and improve throughput for HCI applications. You can even run the Ookla speed test on an Apple TV.Īll of that said, Ookla does display banner ads while you run basic speed tests. It also has apps that you can run on Windows or on Mac. Just recently, the service released a video-specific speed test that measures your network's ability to handle 4K video streams. Ookla's done a good job of keeping up with the times by adding new features and capabilities over the years. Incidentally, Ookla's speed test is also the one we use when we're testing Wi-Fi routers. Popularity aside, we like Ookla for having everything a basic user needs from a speed test: accuracy, the ability to view your speed test history (when you create an account), a wide array of servers to connect to, and even a handy app for speed testing from your Android or iOS device. One of our favorites is the Ookla speed test, which has a strong reputation for consistency and for being one of the first speed tests on the web.
