| 1. | What is the Internet Health Monitoring System (IHMS)? | |
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The IHMS is a website providing information relating to the current status of subscribers Internet connection both nationally and internationally.
| 2. | Why was the IHMS set-up? |
The Internet is increasingly becoming an integral part of our daily lives, whether we use it for business, education, communication or entertainment purposes. Therefore, this site was developed to assist users in assessing the quality of their Internet connection.
| 3. | How does the Internet work? |
The Local Internet Backbone is served by:
a. Fixed line infrastructures
- Copper Network offering both dial-up and DSL services
- Cable Network offering cable internet services
b. Wireless infrastructures
These network infrastructures are characterised as follows:
The modem attached to the users PC gives the end-user the ability to connect to a given Operators network. The Operators Outside Plant consists of an extensive copper, coaxial or fibre cabling for fixed line operators, while for wireless operators, nationwide coverage is achieved through numerous base stations.
The aggregation point (for example, DSLAMs for DSL networks, CMTSs for cable networks) acts as a concentration point for all the user connections in a given area.
At this stage the data is processed in the Operators internal network and transferred to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Then, the ISP processes the data sent by the end user and handles the request accordingly. In order to reach the relevant server, an ISP has a number of outgoing connections as shown in the above diagram. Local traffic, for example requests for the MCAs website, is directed to the Malta Internet Exchange (MIX), whereas international data requests are forwarded to one of the International Gateways operated in Malta.
| 4. | Where is the IHMS server hosted? |
The IHMS server is directly connected to the MIX. This strategic position ensures that any tests concerning local connectivity are:
| a. | Impartial; the MIX acts as a central point in the local Internet backbone structure and all ISPs are directly connected to it. |
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| b. | Independent of the international connections. |
| 5. | Why should I use the IHMS system? |
| a. | To test the speed of your Internet connection. This enables you to measure the download and upload speeds between your computer and the Local Internet Exchange, and compare with your purchased Internet connection. Both download and upload speeds are measured in our speed test and indicated as red bars:
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| b. | To check the current status of the international connections with the help of the traffic light application. The results are available on the right hand top corner of the Home page:
 Green - | All sites are responding; therefore there doesnt seem to be a problem with the international connection. |
 Yellow | Some sites are not responding; therefore there might be a problem with the international connection. |
 Red | None of the sites are reachable, and therefore it is highly probable that there are problems with the international connection. |
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| c. | The site will help you monitor the ISPs networks availability (i.e. their ability to provide you with an internet connection of a specified upload and download speed). |
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| d. | You can make use of Various Troubleshooting Utilities: IHMS gives the user the possibility to use a number of useful Internet tools through its user-friendly interface. Detailed examples, including an analysis on how to interpret the results are provided on the Utilities page. |
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| e. | View availability and response time of some popular International Sites, such as BBC, Google, Gov.au, Ntt Do Co Mo, Wind and Yahoo. |
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| f. | You can contact the MCA and post any queries or problems you might have, through the Enquiry page; which has a direct link to the MCA site. |
| 6. | What does the system actually test? |
When carrying out the IHMS speed test, you are testing the speed of the connection from your premises to the IHMS server and back. As shown in the following diagram, this test covers the subscribers physical connection to the network, the operators infrastructure, the ISPs network and MIX:
Before running a speed test, make sure that you do not have any running applications, because this will reduce the speed test results. The speed test, once complete, will show you the current bandwidth download and upload speed that you have. You should get a close result to the connection you have. For example, if you have a 256kbps connection, you should be anywhere between 230kbps and 256kbps.
Click here to view a detailed diagram.
| 7. | Why is it that the speed test run on the IHMS system occasionally gives a different download speed than the speed test run on another ISP system in the same time period? |
The Green arrow represents the path of the IHMS speed test, as outlined in the previous question.
The Red arrow represents the path of a speed test performed through other means, such as those available on a number of ISP websites. In the latter case, you are testing the speed of the connection from your premises, through the network operators infrastructure and part of the ISPs network, as shown in the following simple diagram:
Therefore, it is very clear that due to the difference in the positioning of ISPs speed test server and IHMS server, there will always be a variation between the results obtained by these two systems. It is important to make note that under normal circumstances this variation in results is very small.
Click here to view a detailed diagram.
| 8. | What could be the problem if the ISPs speed test gives a higher result than that of the IHMS test? |
This could be due to:
- Problems with the IHMS server due to a series of parallel users using the system at the same time: Even though it is highly unlikely that so many people are trying to check their download speed simultaneously, nonetheless, if this were actually the case, if the speed test had to be repeated some time later it would give a more accurate result.
- Problems with the MIX: in this case multiple users, from different ISPs would be affected.
- Problems with the outer connections of the ISP network that are not tested by the ISPs speed test, but are tested by the IHMS system.
| 9. | What could be the problem if both speed tests provide low results? |
Low speed results could indicate either:
- Problems with the physical connection, for example, copper loop or coaxial connection; and/or
- Overloaded Network components that need to be upgraded.
| 10. | Is the speed test in other ISP networks Misleading? |
MCA has no indication that the readings taken from the ISP speed test are incorrect. However, given that some of them measure speeds from a different position to that of the IHMS system, they may occasionally give better readings because they cover a shorter path.
| 11. | Is the speed test in the IHMS system Misleading if it differs from that of other ISPs? |
No, IHMS speed test reflects the speed experienced by end users when accessing local content.
| 12. | Does MCA have the power to determine the position of ISPs speed tests? |
No, MCA has no remit over the positioning of the various ISPs speed tests. These are voluntarily provided by the ISPs.
| 13. | How can I monitor the trends in network uptime of my particular ISP? |
It is important to note that ISPs subscribe to the IHMS on a voluntary basis; therefore it could result that you will not be able to test the trends in network uptime of your particular ISP.
By visiting the ‘Statistics’ page in the IHMS website, you will be able to monitor the trends in network uptime. This page provides graphical results by date of the present and historical status of each ISP adhering to the IHMS initiative, and other international sites.
| 14. | What is the data on the graphs in the Statistics page? |
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The IHMS sends regular queries to all ISPs and the time taken for the ISP to reply is recorded. This data is available in graphical format and gives an indication of the status of the ISP network:
- A straight line at the base of the graph represents low response times; therefore this indicates a healthy network.
- Variations in the graph reflect higher response times; that is, some problems or overloading of the ISP network.
- A red vertical bar means that there is no response to the queries sent by the system; therefore this indicates ISP downtime.
| 15. | What are the conditions of use of the IHMS? |
The MCA authorizes you to view and download the materials of this website only for your personal, non-commercial use. That is, you cannot reproduce or publicly display the information in this site for any commercial purpose, because the materials on this Site are copyrighted and any unauthorized use of any data may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. Click here to view all the ‘terms of use’.
