Is it possible that the same machine perform radically different under different network environments when browsing the same sites using the same browser?
If so, what are some of the variables that can affect this?
5 thoughts on “same machine, same browser, radically different performance”
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Sure, it’s possible. You can see performance differences depending on the available bandwidth. If the network is heavily utilized, there’s less room on the wire for your data. This is why my IP phone drops out when I try to shove a gig of data across my DSL at the same time I’m talking. Additionally, the connection to the Internet might be different in the two locations.
Finally, the other things your computer is doing might make a difference. If you’re running some CPU or memory intensive task, it might slow down the browser as well.
Well, it’s this iBook G3 500 I’m referring to, which performs slowly under any situation.
However, at work where the wiring is far superior to my cable connection, the iBook loads pages far slower than at home. Even if all the other apps are off (I killed Dashboard long ago), it still runs slower.
My PC on the work network loads pages at normal speeds.
Ah, now you have to machines on the same network with the browser performing at different speeds! Is there a proxy on this network? Why not try a ‘speed test’ from some ISP, like speakeasy:
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
Try it from both and see what the diff is.
In my experience, proxies can completely distort the speed of an internet connection. Cached pages may load amazingly fast, while other pages are at dial-up speed. Spending a week in the hospital made that all too clear ;) as Fairview proxies all networks.
Strlen, my router offers a prority setting for certain kinds of traffic on the network to avoid VOIP dropouts during hight traffic networking situations. Have you looked into that at all? That might help with your problem, unless it’s not a problem and you are just using it to illustrate the idea to Grant.