Network
Looking glass: test our network from your own connection
A looking glass lets you test our network from your own connection before you order. Each location below has its own looking glass, where you can run a ping and a traceroute back to your connection and download a test file to see the real routing and download speed from where you are.
Looking glass by location
Open the looking glass for the location nearest the people who use the server, or nearest the services it talks to all day. Each one runs from that location's own network, so the result reflects the path your traffic will actually take.
United States
Canada, Europe and Asia
A looking glass opens over a plain http:// connection because it is a network-testing host, not a
place you sign in or enter any details.
How to use a looking glass
On a looking glass you can usually:
- run a ping to see the round-trip time between that location and your connection;
- run a traceroute (or mtr) to see the network path and where the delay is added;
- download a test file to check real throughput and routing from where you are.
Run the test from the network you will actually connect over — home, office or mobile — and run it a couple of times, because the result depends on distance, your internet provider and the route on the day.
What the result does and does not tell you
A ping or traceroute shows latency: how responsive the connection to that location feels, which is set mostly by distance and the route. It does not measure how fast the server itself is — the CPU, memory and NVMe storage are set by the plan you choose, not by the network path. So use the looking glass to pick the location with the best path to your users, then size the plan for the workload.
Looking glass FAQ
What is a looking glass?
A looking glass is a public network-testing page hosted in one of our locations. It lets you run a ping and a traceroute, and download a test file, to and from that location, without an account, so you can see the routing and latency to your own connection before you order.
How do I test latency to a location before I order?
Open the looking glass for the location you are considering and run a ping or a traceroute, or download its test file. It shows the round-trip time and the path your traffic takes from that location to your connection. Test from the network you will really use, and run it more than once.
Does a lower ping mean a faster server?
No. Ping, or latency, is how responsive the connection feels; it does not change how fast the server's CPU, memory or disk are. Pick the location with the best path to your users, then choose a plan sized for the workload on the pricing page.
Which location should I choose?
The one nearest the people who use the server, or nearest the services it connects to all day. Compare the options on the locations page, then test the best few with their looking glasses.
Why does the looking glass open over http rather than https?
A looking glass is only a network-testing tool: you never sign in or enter any details on it, so it does not need a secure connection. Your server and our website and console always use https.
Deploy in the location that tests best
Pick the location with the best path to you, then choose a plan sized for the workload.