[Index] 
[FineConnection web site]There are two "Pinging" 'modes' defined:
In One by one mode, FinePing behaves as a normal "Ping" utility. It can be used to verify a network connection to a remote host. To start pinging, enter the IP address or Host name into the Host box, select the Normal ping tab and press the Start button. If you enter a Host name into the Host field, FinePing starts resolving the IP address of the Host specified by performing a Wins or DNS lookup.
The Frame size, Timeout and Use random data controls can be adjusted or modified while pinging. The Frame size is the size of the actual Ethernet frame (ICMP-header + payload). Be aware that this slightly differs from the Microsoft ping command. Microsoft displays the payload size (bytes=x etc).
When testing WAN links, you can get unrealistic statistics if the WAN link uses compression for performance improvement. If the Use random data checkbox is checked, the payload is filled with randomly generated data. In some cases, this will produce statistics that are more realistic.
The Stats box shows a number of fields. The number of Send, Received and Lost frames need no further explanation since they are self-explanatory. RTT stands for "Round Trip Time" and is a running average of the time it takes to get a response from the remote host.
The Generator mode gives you the possibility to use FinePing as a controllable load-generator. The number of ICMP echo request packets sent per second can be controlled by adjusting the value of the Time between packets field. The entered value is the time in milliseconds that is waited before a consecutive ICMP echo request packet is sent after a reply packet is received. If Time between packets = 0 ms, the maximum number of sent packets per second is determined by the speed of the network connection between the two hosts and the CPU speed of the involved devices on both sides.
The Generator mode can be used to test the behavior of a network connection under heavier load.
In Generator mode, the Stats box slightly differs from when being in One by one mode. Instead of Send and Received packets, now the average/sec is calculated and displayed!
Another interesting feature (only enabled in Generator mode) is the possibility to get a rough indication of how well (in terms of variation of RTT delay "Jitter") the network between the two hosts involved, is performing.
More and more delay sensitive applications such as Voice and Video over IP but also Terminal Server applications make use of internet or VPN based networks these days. For best results, delay critical applications should normally only use QOS enabled or "Application aware" networks. For this category of applications the "Jitter rate" is often more important then the speed of the connection!
The FinePing Generator mode can be used to get an indication of the variation in delay (Jitter) on a network link. The RTT deviation against the reference RTT (average RTT) is shown as a pie chart. Some examples:
The image below shows an example of a network connection suffering from Jitter. This connection is not suitable for delay sensitive applications like VOIP etc. The green portion in the pie means: almost half of the echo replies have a RTT deviating more than 20% and less than 40% of the average of 50msec!
The image below shows a better network link. As can be seen from the figure, nearly 95% of the packets have a RTT deviating no more than 20% from the average RTT. This network link should be suitable for Terminal server- or Citrix sessions.
This network link is OK and should be able to carry VOIP as well as Terminal- or Citrix sessions.
