Testing Procedures
In order to thoroughly test the router we actually used two completely different programs and testing methods to test. The two programs that we used were Lan Speed Test by Tutosoft and Performance Test by passmark. With each program we tested three different ways. The first was wired to wired, we simply hooked two PCs together via Ethernet wires and let the tests run. The second way was a wired connection to a wireless G connection. Finally we connected a wired computer to a Wireless AC connection to see what the router was capable of under its most ideal situation.
The actual testing procedures for the two different programs were relatively simple. We tried to make the testing that we did as easy as possible to replicate so that readers could do their own testing at home if they like. First up was Performance Test 8.0, generously provided to us by Passmark for this and future testing. Once the program is loaded we selected the “Advanced” tab at the top and went to networking. Inside the networking tab we left every setting to default besides one. Under the Test duration we set it to 300 seconds to have a solid five minute test to get some good results. We always used the desktop (The computer we were testing with that had an SSD) as the server. This assured that if any writing was taking place, it was being done as quickly as possible. On the other computer we repeated the same process but selected client, and entered the local IP of the desktop in the field that read “Host” and clicked Go. Once it was off and running we went to make a sandwich or otherwise entertain ourselves for five minutes while testing took place. We repeated this setup and process for the other two methods of connecting.
Setting up Lan Speed Test was a little bit more complicated, but I think it is only because the program that Tutosoft gave us is designed from the group up to test networks and therefore has more tweakable and customizable options. We actually chose to go with a slightly different setup for this program; we used the Lan Speed Test as well as the Lan Speed Test Server. This allowed for us to get readings of how fast the router would be if hard drives were removed from the equation. We started the server again on our desktop, even though it wouldn’t matter as hard drives weren’t coming into the equation, we still did it for consistency sake. On the other computer we booted another instance of the program, entered the server IP in the appropriate field and set up one settings change. The only setting we changed under “config” was the number of packets to test. We slid the slider all the way over to the maximum of 1,000 packets so that we could again some accurate long term readings. After it was all set up, we clicked Start Test and let it run its course. Again we did this three times for the three different methods of testing and collected our data.
