However, the model of success that is the internet also means that speeds, loading and response times depend on the complex interactions between all partners. If a website is hard to reach, or the uploading of large volumes of data to a provider server takes a very long time, it is not necessarily the internet provider’s fault. The reason may instead lie in “peering” – the interaction between the networks and providers involved. The data rates and network traffic routes of these interactions have a significant impact on the speed of certain offers and services for users.
Complex transmission chains on the internet
For example, many parties are involved in the simple loading of a website: the customer’s internet provider, possibly a transit provider that establishes the connection to the target network, and the hosting provider that stores the page being loaded.
The lines and servers used and the connections between them determine how quickly the website appears in the browser.
Most internet customers are not aware of these factors. However they are part of everyday working life for zafaco, the Ismaning-based network specialist – which regularly works with connect for the tests on fixed-network access and services.
Many effects that stand out in our measurements can be put down to the particular features of peering or the technical basis of the network services. In an article in the current connect issue 7/2017, we therefore want to give you an insight into the complex processes behind the internet scenes – independently of network tests and evaluations.