measuring web server speed

[theperlyking]

I am currently trying a different web host and have had a couple of issues with the speed (low throughput and "bursty"), its a nightmare trying to eliminate other factors from the testing such as my browser/ISP etc. After trying three ISP's and 4 browsers i'm pretty sure there was a problem but I would like a slightly more scientific way to test.

Does anyone know of a site that can give me stats on response time and throughput? The only tools i've found are stress testers (I dont think my host will be happy if I use those!) and the common "check my page for size and download time" test thats more aimed at telling people if their page is too graphics heavy.

I quite like this host and am thinking of using it for future hosting but until I can feel confident with their performance I dont want to take the risk.

[bartek]

AnySpeed from Pysoft will give you a good idea of transfer speeds, peak times it will even test your internals (HD, CDROM). It's been my companion for a long time. [pysoft.com...]
hth

[theperlyking]

Thanks, looks useful but it would still be affected by my ISP, so I couldnt allocate the lack of speed directly to being the web server, it could be my ISP :(

[DaveAtIFG]

NetMechanic still offers a free trial of their server monitoring service at [netmechanic.com...]

[theperlyking]

Thanks this looks like its what I need.