The following represents data and results gathered from the first consumer connection cloud transfer test. The methodology applied during this test is detailed here and should be reviewed prior to considering the results or commentary below.

Test Overview:

• 05561 Cloud Transfer Tests: Consumer Connection Test 01
• Local Connection: Comcast Residential
• Started: February 9, 2010
• Finished: February 14, 2010
• Origination Point: Knoxville, TN

Disclaimer:

• Standard Disclaimer Applies

Test Objectives:

• Standard objectives apply
• Specific to this test: Test a consumer/commodity connection as the researcher’s “workstation” and gather data aimed at building a realistic expectation of performance

Test Setup

• Included File Sizes:
  • 2KB, 32KB, 64KB, 128KB, 256KB, 512KB, 1MB, 5MB, 10MB, 25MB, 50MB, 100MB
• Network Connectivity - “typical home network”
  • Consists of a computer connected to a local router via 1GE hard-wire.
  • Router is then directly connected to service provider’s modem
  • Consumer has a “general” plan for internet connectivity
  • Reasonable effort has been made to ensure that no other applications or TSRs are running on the source computer for the duration of the test.
  • For this test, a newly-installed Windows 7 Professional installation was used, fully patched, with no other applications (beyond the test harness) installed.

Test Execution:

• Standard execution approach applied

Report Generation

• Standard report generation approach applied

Conventions:

• Standard conventions apply

Resources:

• Standard resources apply - no test-specific customizations beyond adaptations for the specific file sizes included in the test

Results:

In contrast to some other test runs on other networks, in this test Azure seemed to generally (if barely) out-perform the Amazon platform and, consistent with other tests, Amazon’s interaction with Amazon’s platform shows greater variability across a given file size.

The test was limited to file sizes up to and including 100MB so as to avoid being flagged by the residential ISP for poor traffic habits (an issue to be addressed for large-bandwidth users on consumer connections).

Full results are available in slide form here:

PDF of results are available here: http://sciencecloud.us/media/05561_Xfer-Consumer_01.pdf