Cisco Real Speed
Last updated
Last updated
Cisco Real Speed tests not just the internet speed in users’ homes and offices, but can help pinpoint where issues lie, i.e., with the users’ Wi-Fi, personal device (e.g., computer, tablet, phone), or on your network. Cisco Real Speed works as a web iFrame, or as a web app in conjunction with a Device Agent (such as a router enabled with Connected Devices software, i.e., an enabled router). It can be used from any personal device with a browser that is connected to an enabled router (and is not on a VPN, or virtual private network). Its purpose is to show a simple side-by-side comparison of the performance of the router compared to the performance of the personal device. Making internet performance more transparent is beneficial to both broadband users and network owners such as ISPs.
Wi-Fi is the most popular method of connecting personal devices to the internet. It’s not widely understood that the available speed at the router isn’t the same as the available speed on users’ personal devices. We have created the Cisco Real Speed test to show the difference.
ISPs are responsible for delivering broadband to the home or office, so what happens beyond the router is largely out of their control. But problems with Wi-Fi account for over 50% of the support calls ISPs receive. Cisco Real Speed can help users understand how their Wi-Fi performance varies when tested in different locations around the home or office and troubleshoot common problems without having to contact their ISP or IT team.
The test is a two-step process that compares speed to the enabled router to speed to a personal device (see How Cisco Real Speed Measures Speed). The combination of these two results can be used to better inform users about their network performance. A big difference indicates the problem is likely Wi-Fi related, which may be something users can fix themselves, saving them time on the phone troubleshooting with their ISP or IT team.
For those times where users do still need to contact their support, the support staff can see those same results from the user’s ConstantCare dashboard, giving the support staff a head start in diagnosing the cause of the issue.
See how Wi-Fi performance changes around the home or office by testing in different locations. This is ideal for setting up Wi-Fi in a new home/office, or optimizing the positioning of a user’s router and Wi-Fi boosters or access points within the home/office for maximum coverage and performance.
Users can use Cisco Real Speed on any personal device connected to an enabled router, so long as the personal device is not on a VPN. Due to hardware and software configurations, every personal device has a maximum throughput. Sometimes these limits can be below the available speed users are trying to test, obscuring the actual speed. These figures aren’t published or readily available, so we use a custom-built algorithm to sift through our vast dataset of previous tests to create a database of personal device limits. We need a minimum sample of results before we can display a personal device limit.
If a test result looks like it has been limited by the hardware, not the available speed on the network, we let users know.
Examples of the limits on specific devices include:
iPhone 11 limit: 930 Mbps
iPhone 7 limit: 476 Mbps
iPad mini 2nd Gen limit: 150 Mbps
The Cisco Real Speed test is actually two separate tests – the personal device-based speed test (either via a web browser or a smartphone), and a router-based speed test. This provides a measurement of:
Performance from the user’s enabled router to the internet.
Performance from the user’s personal device to the internet.
The combination of these two results can be used to infer whether a performance issue exists inside the user’s premises or on the internet connection, likely outside the premises.
A large difference between the router speed and the personal device speed could indicate, for example, that the user has poor Wi-Fi signal strength.
The two-step Cisco Real Speed test relies on the user’s ISP-provided router having our Device Agent installed. Client applications such as the Cisco Real Speed App can also run the two-step speed test when it can communicate with a Device Agent.
Third-party applications (such as one an ISP might have) can also integrate our Instant Test API and web and mobile SDKs (software development kits) to recreate Cisco Real Speed test functionality for their customers. The host application (the enabled smartphone or web app) communicates with the enabled Device Agent (e.g., router) via our Instant Test API (see Connected Devices > Your APIs for more information). Client applications may authenticate with account login details, or via federation with an ISP/enterprise’s backend.
If the host application detects an enabled Device Agent and the agent supports the instant testing functionality, the host application can run a Cisco Real Speed test. If not, the host application (at present, only the web iFrame) reverts to a pure device-based test (from the host application to the internet directly, or step 2 of the Cisco Real Speed test), similar to how other speed rating services perform their tests.
Measurements are carried out according to the following process:
Identify a router to test from: Tests triggered from the web app or iFrame search for and connect to a Device Agent without requiring authentication via either local discovery using mDNS or via an IP query to an API (both of which are automated and instantaneous). Tests triggered via a host application require authentication with our Instant Testing API to retrieve the list of enabled routers that users are authorized to carry out measurements on, as described above. If multiple routers are found, users are prompted to select one.
Measure router internet performance: The host application then instructs the router to carry out a set of download, upload, and latency measurements to the internet. These results are returned to the user’s personal device once completed. This set of results represents the router-to-internet performance.
Measure device/application internet performance: The host application then itself carries out a set of download, upload and latency measurements to the internet. This set of results represents the device-to-internet performance.
View and compare results: The host application presents both sets of active measurement results. Users will find some general guidance below the results to help them troubleshoot any issues the results indicate.
Allow data to be viewed elsewhere: The host application submits all of the measurement results to the user’s ConstantCare dashboard on your account.
Below, we detail what users would see from a web app test.
The screen is divided to indicate the two different speed tests and distinguish their results. The left of the screen applies to the router-to-internet test, while the right applies to the personal device-to-internet test.
Note: once a user launches Cisco Real Speed on their browser, both tests run automatically and sequentially.
On screen, users see:
Left: the Device Agent name, if available, test type (e.g. download, upload), and the test results, which update as the test progresses.
Right: the name of the personal device the user is testing, test type (e.g. download or upload), and the test results, which update as the test progresses.
Middle: test refresh button. Users can run another speed test instantly by clicking this after the previous test has finished.
Middle bottom: Run full test button. Users click this to initiate a test that measures upload speed, latency, jitter, and packet loss against both the router and the device.
Note: There is no packet loss on the personal device test because it's not technically possible on a browser-based test.
Bottom: the test’s progress bar (the router-to-internet portion completes at the Run full test button; the device-to-internet portion begins at the Run full test button).
Note: clicking the test refresh button on the full test screen reruns the full set of test metrics, including download speed.
Users can scroll below the test results to find guidance on steps they can take to improve the speed of their internet to either their router or their personal device.
Using the Cisco Real Speed App on a phone is ideal for testing room-by-room. The Cisco Real Speed app is a responsive site and works just the same on a moveable device as on a desktop computer. Phone users of Cisco Real Speed, like desktop users, get the additional device limits functionality, explained above at See Device Limits. If Cisco Real Speed detects that a user’s phone is likely being limited by the capabilities of its Wi-Fi hardware, then this will be noted below the device test results.
When initializing a test, users may encounter one of these errors:
"Real Speed is not yet configured for this " – we don’t recognize the router, your account group is not configured to run Cisco Real Speed, or your account group has no Cisco Real Speed test configurations.
"Incompatible Firmware" – the router does not support instant testing.
"Real Speed can’t connect to your right now." – the router should be reachable but isn't (e.g., we discovered it via IP discovery but it's not online right now, or it's having issues responding).
"Lost connection" – the router has an error in the middle of a test.
"Another test is running" or " is busy" – another test is already running (e.g., someone is using the ConstantCare Instant Test, or another user in the network is using Cisco Real Speed, or it's running in another tab).
"Servers are busy" – the test server cannot accept the speed test right now.
"iCloud Private Relay is active" – for Apple users, iCloud Private Relay is a type of VPN which may impact the speed results.
"Real Speed iFrame cannot perform tests" – the iFrame is misconfigured.
"Something went wrong" – unknown or unhandled error.
