The sys admin's daily grind – Speedometer
Speeding in the Sticks
Thanks to LTE, state-of-the-art Internet technology has now made its way into Charly's quiet home. Accustomed to the sorrows of low surf speeds, our columnist prefers to make his own measurements.
I live in the sparsely populated lower left, lower Rhine area of Germany, or as a good friend once put it, "out in the sticks." Tranquility offers many advantages: Peace and quiet and a green environment, and parents do not need to choose their children's schools based on the quality of the drugs trafficked there.
But I have to admit, there are also some disadvantages: Public transport and a choice of Internet providers are things we have heard about but not actually experienced. If a port becomes available on the regional distributor, Deutsche Telekom graciously assigns a "DSL light" connection with a downstream rate of "up to" 384Kbps. This is the speed to which the Telekom shareholders are looking to slow down all DSL connections at some point, if customers do not sign up for video on demand from the same source.
As an alternative, you could try Internet via satellite, which might be floating somewhere up in the heavens but offers latencies straight from hell. About six months ago – we are so lucky – a mobile phone company introduced 800MHz LTE with a downstream rate of 21Mbps. Although the latencies are still not what gamers need, for my fellow hinterland dwellers, this radio link is like traveling at warp factor 8. My fingers were wet with sweat when I signed the contract.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.