Sonic.net

I use a commercial VPN service, PureVPN, and have a question about the speeds I get while using it.

While connected to a UK server a typical SpeedTest.net test gives me something like 6.24 Mbps down and 6.01 Mbps up. I understand and expected the download speeds to be just a fraction of the 36 Mbps down that I get when I am not using a VPN.

What I find confusing though is that when using the VPN, the upload speed is so much higher than my usual 2.3 Mbps. Can I really triple my upload speed just by using this VPN or is this some sort of false reading? How can it get so much more/faster data to someplace so far away than it does to Sonic? How does it get that 6.24 Mbps through Sonic's equipment, if that same equipment can only handle 2.3 Mbps normally.

I'm not complaining, mind you. I am just curious as to whether that uplink speed is correct, and if so, how?

Likely compression. Some speed tests use compress-able data, basically telling an app in your browser to send all zeros.

Instead, download the uncompressable test file from ftp.sonic.net, then re-upload it to your home directory here, for a true test of actual performance. More details here: http://sonic.net/support/faq/advanced/d ... shtml#test

-Dane

Thanks. I'll give that a try.