Ten Free Web Services for Better Networking

A few weeks ago we highlighted ten free and noteworthy networking utilities. Here we follow up with ten free Web-based sites/services (with a connectivity focus) that we think may also come in handy.

Check Broadband Connection Speed

If your downloads feel a little pokey lately, it might be time to test your broadband connection speed to make sure you're getting the performance you're expecting (not to mention paying for).

There are places to do this all over the Web, but one of our favorites is speedtest.net. The site uses cool-looking graphics (you'll need the Flash plugin) and will automatically locate the closest test server to reliably report your connection's latency, download, and upload speeds.

Test VoIP Performance

If you're thinking of ditching your landline phone for a VoIP service, you'll want to make sure your broadband connection is up to the task. But raw download and upload performance isn't necessarily indicative of a connection's ability to reliably handle VoIP traffic.

The Broadband VoIP test at www.whichvoip.com/voip/speed_test/ppspeed.html simulates a VoIP call to measure Quality of Service (QoS) parameters like jitter and packet loss, and it will provide an estimated MOS (Mean Opinion Score) to tell you how good the quality of your voice calls is likely to be.