In any event, the networks have total control and responsibility for their own web servers, much as they do for their own network if you define that as something separate from their networks. We measured web page downloads from an end user perspective, and those are the results in aggregate. If it leads to a flurry of web server upgrades, and that moves the numbers, we'll know more than we did. If it leads to a flurry of web server upgrades, and it FAILS to move the numbers, that will tell us something as well.
So, these providers should be wasting their time to upgrade the web server that their own site sits on JUST to come out better in a survey?? Just by hinting at a flurry of web server upgrades you're pointing to the fact that that issue plays at least a small part in the results. Even a small variance like that can throw th results off to a large degree when the results are aggregated (like the outlying 14.x versus rest were 4.x results that was mentioned earlier by someone - memory lapses as to the name at this point.) I would certainly hope that these providers have better things to do than upgrade their own web server just to prove a point through a study which seems to be biased away form its intentions. Like someone else mentioned, the study says it is measuring backbone performance, when in fact all that is being measured is how fast web pages load. Come on... -- -Myk Myk O'Leary (System Administrator) --> moleary@ironlight.com Ironlight Digital (Marketing/Design/Network) --> http://www.ironlight.com 222 Sutter Street 6th floor * San Francisco, CA 94108 * 415.646.7000 ------ FOR NETWORK PROBLEMS, WRITE TO tech-support@ironlight.com ------