
⇨ MLab Internet Speed Test
Legacy Internet Speed Test Explained
Most internet speed tests base are based on traditional measurement of downloading a single stream (large file download). This is not a true representation of start/stop internet mixed traffic like your browser.
Most of us are most test internet speed while browsing sites. A typical browser loads thousands of mini files (html, css, js, media files) when you visit a page.
Now adays, even traditional single file videos streams are chunked into smaller pieces, so single file download test is outdated. Below picture, are files loaded when watching a Youtube.com video.
Enter, a modern traffic internet speed therefore was needed, enter M-Lab Tests - M-Lab (measurementlab.net)
Legacy Internet Speed Test
Speed test by Ookla (used by all internet providers) measures only continuous single stream (large file download) but is not a true representation of start/stop internet mixed traffic like your browser.

I am contracted with Rogers for 1.5Mbps Down, 50Mbps up, and this lines up conveniently, but my internet is slow.
MLab Internet Speed Test is block internally by
Rogers Support, when I recently called technician about my slow internet!
Modern Internet Speed Test
The Measurement Lab test sponsored by Google, uses mixed traffic. MSAK measures multi-stream traffic focused on throughput and latency, while NDT focuses on single-stream upload/download speeds and network diagnostics. MSAK is a more realistic internet traffic measurement.
Do ⇨ MLab Internet Speed Test
The MSAK test is more accurate load test that more accurately represents browsing websites.
| | NDT | MSAK |
| Test Server | Toronto, CA | Toronto, CA |
| Download | 409.85 Mb/s | 711.61 Mb/s |
| Upload | 17.36 Mb/s | 5.87 Mb/s |
| Latency | 38 ms | 20 ms |
| Retransmission | 0.23% | 0.00% |
Modern Internet Speed Test Explained
MSAK (Measurement Swiss-Army Knife)
MSAK is a measurement service hosted by M-Lab that implements two different test protocols:
- throughput: A configurable Websocket-based throughput measurement protocol capable of multi-stream tests. Its design is partially based on M-Lab’s single-stream measurement protocol, NDT. Configurable parameters currently include:
- Number of streams
- Congestion control algorithm
- Test duration
- Per-stream byte limit
- latency: A UDP-based latency measurement protocol.
NDT is a single stream performance measurement of a connection’s capacity for “bulk transport” (as defined in IETF’s RFC 3148). NDT reports upload and download speeds and latency metrics.
This is more like a traditional test; a more technical test used to for diagnosing issues with the network.
🔍 Key Differences
| Feature | MSAK | NDT |
|---|
| Measurement Type | Throughput (multi-stream) + Latency | Throughput (single-stream) + Diagnostics |
| Protocols Used | WebSocket (TCP), UDP | TCP (BBR, Cubic, Reno) |
| Configurability | High (streams, duration, CCA) | Low (standardized test) |
| Diagnostic Depth | Basic latency + throughput | Detailed TCP-level diagnostics |
| Target Audience | Researchers, engineers' | General users, policymakers |
MSAK (Measurement Swiss-Army Knife)
Purpose: A flexible tool for measuring throughput and latency using configurable protocols.
NDT (Network Diagnostic Tool)
Purpose: Measures single-stream performance for bulk data transport, focusing on upload/download speeds and latency.