Visualware Introduces MySpeed Server

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Visualware Introduces MySpeed Server
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Philbert Shih, theWHIR.com
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June 3, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY
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REVIEW) — In order to distinguish themselves in the marketplace, Web
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hosting providers are constantly introducing value-added services into
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their overall offerings. Site building software, control panels and
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marketing solutions are among the more popular services, but they have
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become increasingly common fare as the majority of hosts now offer them
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and customers, for the most part, have come to expect them.
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For hosts seeking something a little
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different to help generate added value for their customers,
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California-based performance management software developer Visualware (visualware.com)
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may have an answer. On Wednesday, the company introduced MySpeed
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Server, an Internet speed-testing tool that provides Web site visitors
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with an easy and convenient way to measure their upload and download
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connection speeds. With MySpeed, Web site visitors literally just click
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on a button and the graphical results are displayed in their Web
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browsers within seconds.
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MySpeed is a java applet that is
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installed directly on the Web server. “The implementation is very
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easy,” Julie Lancaster, director of marketing for Visualware told the
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Web Host Industry Review. “It’s very different from many other types of
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testers where you have to write scripts or customize it for a
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particular Web server. With MySpeed, you just copy the files on to the
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server and that’s all you need to do.”
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MySpeed, currently being marketed almost
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exclusively for hosting service providers, can also be incorporated
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directly into Web pages, or the default MySpeed Web page can be
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customized with the look and feel of the Web hosting provider with
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their logo and branding information.
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For users, all that is required is a
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java-enabled Web browser, which times a sample HTTP download and upload
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to come up with the user’s connection speed. The user also won’t face
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any security hassles, the company says. The applet provides
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problem-free access and users won’t have to download any software or
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change any security settings. MySpeed is compatible with any Web server
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platform, though the company says servers running the latest version of
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Apache render the most accurate results.
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What differentiates MySpeed, says
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Lancaster, is that it measures both upload and download speeds. This is
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in contrast to other testers, which typically only provide measurements
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of download speeds. According to Visualware, MyServer is designed to
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deliver highly precise measurements, accounting for variables such as
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upload burst and the consistency of download capacity.
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Among its benefits, Web site operators
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can use MySpeed to generate extra traffic for marketing and promoting
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their products and services, says Lancaster. In fact, the traffic
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MySpeed generates for the Visualware site, which runs over 800
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individual tests a day, was the impetus behind the product’s
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development and release to the public. Licenses for MySpeed are priced
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starting at $249 for a single domain, single server license.
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“We had placed it on our server to
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attract traffic to test their Internet speed and it turned out to be so
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popular, we had so many people using it,” recalls Lancaster. “We were
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getting requests from various people to be able to purchase it and put
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it on their server. So we did that. We ‘productized’ it and made it
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available for purchase.”
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The Web hosting provider also benefits.
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Lancaster, echoing comments made by Jerry Jongerius, chief technology
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officer for Visualware, says MySpeed can be used for technical support
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purposes. “MySpeed not only enables customers to easily test their
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connection speeds on demand, but it’s also a valuable tool for
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networking support staff, since it provides fast, accurate results
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useful for troubleshooting connection problems,” Jongerius said in a
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release.
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Web hosting and streaming content
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delivery provider StreamGuys and its customers both reap the benefits
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of MySpeed. StreamGuys uses the tool to monitor connection speeds to
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its network. And its customers, especially those who are broadcasting
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streaming content, rely heavily on accurate measurements of bandwidth
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speed.
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“StreamGuys finds it most helpful to
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verify our client’s network transit speeds to and from our network with
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a real world measurement,” says Kiriki Delany, president and chief
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technical officer of StreamGuys. “It’s important for the broadcasters
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to understand their network speeds when they plan their broadcast
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services with StreamGuys. This insures that the broadcasts are working
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within the physical limits of the real world network speeds, and not
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just the theoretical limits of the Internet account.”
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