Checking Your Real Bandwidth
One aspect of SL that is often underestimated is the importance of your network bandwidth setting.
Having this too high or too low can lead to all kinds of problems, from
simple TP failure to being disconnected - among other things. So it is
advisable to not rely on the bandwidth stated by your provider, but to
check for yourself.
- Log out of Phoenix if you are currently logged in
- Measure your download speed to cities where SL has servers 1), by clicking each of these links and making note of the download speed they indicate at the end of the test: Dallas, TX - Phoenix, AZ, Reston, VA. 2) Make sure to select “Preferred Server” and not “Recommended Server” at each of these links.
- Select the lowest of the download speeds you obtained.
- The speeds are given in Mbps; SL works in Kbps - so multiply the speed you get by 1024
- Set your Phoenix bandwidth to 1500, or 80% of the result - whichever is smaller: in Phoenix, go to Preferences → Network & Folders; Maximum Bandwidth is at the top.
- Say the test returns a value of 1.0 Mbps
- Multiplying by 1024, we get 1024 Kbps
- 80% of 1024 Kbps is 819 Kbps (or 800 Kbps for straight numbers)
- So the bandwidth in Phoenix should be set to 800 Kbps or less
- Speedtest returns a value of 6.0 Mbps
- Converting to Kbps gives 6144 Kbps
- 80% of this is 4915.2 Kbps
- This is larger than 1500 Kbps, so set the bandwidth in Phoenix to 1500 Kbps.
Recommendation
Based on our experience, we strongly recommend the following maximum
settings for bandwidth - unless the calculations above suggest lower
values:
- Any type of wireless connection, including home wireless: 500
- Hardwired DSL: 1000
- Hardwired cable or better: 1500.
Checking The Quality of Your Connection
SpeedTest will give some indication of the quality of your connection.
But another very useful indication is ping and packet loss.
You can determine these from within the viewer by accessing the statistics bar (in Phoenix: View → Statistics Bar). Look for Packet Loss and Ping SIM. Ideally, these should be 0.0% and under 150ms, respectively. The stats bar gives data based on your present location in the SL grid.
You can also do a check via the web, by surfing to pingtest.net with your browser. As with speedtest, please select locations at, or close to, cities where SL has servers: Dallas TX, Phoenix AZ or Culpeper VA (1).
Pingtest will show a useful result: jitter, which shows how much the data varies over time. It also gives a summary indicating the quality of your network connection.
You can determine these from within the viewer by accessing the statistics bar (in Phoenix: View → Statistics Bar). Look for Packet Loss and Ping SIM. Ideally, these should be 0.0% and under 150ms, respectively. The stats bar gives data based on your present location in the SL grid.
You can also do a check via the web, by surfing to pingtest.net with your browser. As with speedtest, please select locations at, or close to, cities where SL has servers: Dallas TX, Phoenix AZ or Culpeper VA (1).
Pingtest will show a useful result: jitter, which shows how much the data varies over time. It also gives a summary indicating the quality of your network connection.
1)
Why the location matters. Second Life has data centers in Dallas, Phoenix
and Culpeper. This is why you need to select one or other of these
cities when measuring your bandwidth. If you live far away and do the
default test, it will be to a city close to you, which will not give a
good indication of your connection to Second Life servers.
2)
NOTE: The cities recommended are not all exactly where
SL has servers, but they are close enough to serve as guides in
determining a good value for bandwidth.
