Preface: Distance and optimization, which is more important?

When choosing a VPS, we often hesitate between a local, standard connection and a more distant, optimized connection. To visually demonstrate the performance differences between the two at different times of day, I conducted a comparative test. This article is the first part, documenting the results from the off-peak hour (8:00 AM).

Test environment

projectConfiguration
Local networkBeijing Mobile 500Mbps (measured speed: 585Mbps / 108Mbps)
Node 1 (Japan)Tokyo, regular line (IIJ), 10Gbps bandwidth
Node 2 (Singapore)Singapore, standard line, 10Gbps bandwidth
Node 3 (US-1)Silicon Valley, regular line (residential IP), 1Gbps bandwidth
Node 4 (US-2)United States, standard line, 1Gbps bandwidth
Node 5 (US-Optimized)Los Angeles, Bandwagon Host (China Telecom CN2 GIA, China Mobile CMIN2), 2.5Gbps bandwidth

Speed test results during off-peak hours (8 a.m.)

1. Tokyo, Japan (short-distance ordinary line)

  • Download speed: 576 Mbps
  • analyze: It basically maxed out my home broadband limit and performed very well.

2. Singapore (short-distance ordinary route)

  • Download speed: about 580 Mbps
  • analyze: It also fully utilized the home broadband limit, which is comparable to the performance of the Japanese node.

3. Silicon Valley, USA (Long-distance Ordinary Line)

  • Download speed: about 250 Mbps
  • analyze: The speed is about half of the local bandwidth, which is acceptable for ordinary lines during off-peak hours.

4. United States (Long-distance ordinary line)

  • Download speed: about 240 Mbps
  • analyze: There were certain network fluctuations, but the final speed was basically the same as the previous ordinary US line.

5. Los Angeles, USA (Long-Distance Optimized Route)

  • Download speed: 580+ Mbps
  • analyze: Despite being the farthest geographical location, it easily maxed out my home broadband limit thanks to the optimized lines.

Off-peak testing summary

Line TypeGeographical locationOff-peak download speed (based on 585Mbps local bandwidth)in conclusion
Ordinary linesClose range (Japanese/Singapore)~580 MbpsFully utilize local bandwidth
Ordinary linesLong distance (US)~250 MbpsAbout half of the local bandwidth
Optimize routesLong distance (US)~580 MbpsFully utilize local bandwidth

From the test results during off-peak hours, we can draw the following conclusions:

  1. For 500M-level home broadband,Long-distance optimized lines (such as the US CN2 GIA) and short-distance ordinary lines (such as Japan and Singapore) can both reach the bandwidth limit in terms of download speed, with almost no difference in performance.
  2. For ordinary long-distance lines, even during non-peak hours when the network is idle, the speed loss is quite obvious and can only reach about half of the theoretical bandwidth.
  3. From the perspective of latency, close-range nodes are undoubtedly more advantageous.

Next issue preview: The real test will come during the evening rush hour. How will the performance of these routes change then? Will the value of optimizing routes become more apparent? Stay tuned for the second part of the test.

By Loogn sir

An ordinary person who likes to use fun to resist mediocrity; often writes about his own interests; so you will see technology, digital, entertainment, credit cards, Internet... Refuse to be high-sounding and don't be a pseudo-expert; make professional life-like and biochemistry interesting; well, that's it~

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