Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

Board » Technical Support » data usage for sol

Posted by
captjack1942


Users avatar

Posts
239
Registered at
2008-01-18 03:24:03
2011-06-06 03:38:48 - data usage for sol
I'm considering a pre-paid plan with a mobile usb dongle so that I can have decent internet connection on the boat. Question is: How much data does sol take to load? How much to pick up boat updates, and weather changes?
There was some talk of this in the past someplace in the forum and in chat. I seem to remember that it could take as much as 10 Mbps to load, but don't remember amount to run for say 1 hour,
Is there a way to measure usage? Has anyone done so?
Posted by
Jawz


Users avatar

Posts
154
Registered at
2009-07-21 09:51:19
2011-06-06 06:25:56 - Re: data usage for sol
Hi Jack!

I took a look yesterday on the Vancouver race.

14 hours continuous used up 75 Mbytes.

This included opening up a 2nd sol tab(once) to check on another boat. Plus opening up about 20 tabs to look at links referred to on chat and the Imsyc race boats.

Hourly download is in the region of 4 - 5 Mbytes per hour.

Regards
George
Posted by
AGage


Users avatar

Posts
411
Registered at
2008-12-27 10:31:57
2011-06-06 08:04:49 - Re: data usage for sol
captjack1942 said @ 2011-06-06 03:38:48:
I'm considering a pre-paid plan with a mobile usb dongle so that I can have decent internet connection on the boat.

Question is: How much data does sol take to load?
client is about 800Kb

How much to pick up boat updates,
About 500bytes, which equates to 2Kb per minute.

and weather changes?
The wx, race and map data all depend on the size of the map/fleet - I just used the Vancouver race to have a look at exact numbers - the fleet file is 18.1Kb. Wx was about 1.6Kb. The tiles for initial map load were just over 300Kb.

There was some talk of this in the past someplace in the forum and in chat. I seem to remember that it could take as much as 10 Mbps to load, but don't remember amount to run for say 1 hour,
Is there a way to measure usage? Has anyone done so?
(easy way) You could use Google Chrome's 'Developer Tools' and peek at the network - it shows a running total.
To say it can take 10Mbps you are confusing speed with size. It may 'burst' at the full speed of your own internet bandwidth, be that 3.6 or 7.2 Mbps on a 3G wireless, or 150Mbps on adsl2, but will NEVER sustain that for more than a few seconds.

Jawz numbers are pretty typical I think. If you allowed 10Mb per hour (a high value) and factor how many hours per week you spend on SOL you will never fall short.

Maybe they are different in the US, but about the only mobile data plans here that would not provide enough quota are the small 'Email Only' ones around 2-500Mb per month. 2Gb should cover even the heaviest of SOL users, but consider price per Gb to - and that you will probably want to browse other sites (possibly with even more data).

Also bear in mind, having the Navigation page on brainaid's toolbox open will eat a little bit of data as it refreshes periodically, as will any tool that reads SOL data, like his NMEA proxy.

Most browsers do a good job of caching content. I can reload a race, and FF and Chrome both report using wx from the cache, obviously race files cannot be, nor anything generated as a response to client requests. So the 'penalty' for closing and reopening a race is quite small.

I have a 12Gb 3G mobile plan myself, and use alot (comparatively) of SOL data - staying logged into races for long periods and using brainaids NMEA - I also download movies/tv shows, play other online games and alot of other data besides, and never go over - mind you I could use more if it were available ;-)

I help develop the client interface for the best online ocean racing sim there is... __/)/)_/)__
Posted by
AGage


Users avatar

Posts
411
Registered at
2008-12-27 10:31:57
2011-06-06 09:19:52 - Re: data usage for sol
I just used the Firebug plugin with Firefox, opened Vancouver and let it sit for 1 hour - it resulted in about 3.3Mb of data (about 750Kb of which was in cache) - no commands or chat outgoing - but that is only small data so this is around an 'average' for a SOL race (medium size map/wind/fleet?)
I help develop the client interface for the best online ocean racing sim there is... __/)/)_/)__
Posted by
captjack1942


Users avatar

Posts
239
Registered at
2008-01-18 03:24:03
2011-06-06 18:17:56 - Re: data usage for sol
Thanks Aaron and George. That's some useful info. Now I think I can make a good choice without over paying.

:-)

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m

Current Races:

Africa by Sea - Abidjan to Swakopmund


Our exploration of Africa by Sea continues. Next, it’s off to Swakopmund, on the water’s edge of the Kalahari desert. It’s a wind-blasted coast, and a venue of choice for those seeking to set wind-powered speed records. More likely than not, we’ll have to beat into it in our Steinlager II, to finally find some shelter behind the walls of Platz am Meer where there is a marina of sorts. Only 2200nm!
Race #1856
INFOby brainaid.de
Steinlager II PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - ABS
Race starts: May 14th 17:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Newport to Annapolis 2025


The Newport to Annapolis race, first held in 1947, is one of the most historic and well-known US East Coast blue water races. Linking two seaports dating from the US nation's birth, Annapolis and Newport, the race contrasts the country's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Since 1969, the route has run from Annapolis through the Chesapeake Bay to Newport. The SOLers will sail 470nm in their Carkeek40s in the original direction from Newport to Annapolis, including the Chesapeake, which is such a daunting challenge that the 1997–98 Whitbread Round the World Race for the Volvo Trophy added it to the course, as did the Volvo Ocean Race in 2002 and 2006.
Race #1912
INFO from brainaid.de
Carkeek 40 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking:
ARQ2 - ARCH - SUPSOL – SYC
Race starts: May 12th 17:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Channel Islands TIMED Chase 2025

Join us in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey for a race around the Channel Islands in the J-109, a recent addition to the Sailonline fleet. The course takes us around the islands of Alderney and Jersey finishing back in Saint Peter Port. This is a TIMED race, so you may RE-REGISTER HERE to try again, after finishing a run. You will have 13 days and 11 hours to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #1915
INFO by brainaid.de
J-109 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ2 - TRCH - SUPSOL - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
24 May at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: May 11th 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Elephant Island to Marquesas 2025

Prepare to test your limits as we launch into the third leg of the RWW Series and the fifth leg of the 2025 Ocean Championship Series—an epic voyage from Elephant Island to the Marquesas in the heart of French Polynesia. This 4,700-nautical-mile challenge is a true test of endurance, strategy, and raw sailing adrenaline. Aboard the high-performance Volvo 70v4, competitors will face fierce headwinds as they round the legendary Cape Horn and make the thrilling transition from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Do you have what it takes to conquer the Pacific? Join us, and put your skills to the ultimate test.
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1909
INFO by brainaid.de
VO70_v4 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ2 - RWW - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: May 05th 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Transat à Deux 2025

Above you see a single-handed sailor semi-foiling his Beneteau Figaro III to the horizon. It is in fact Ireland’s Sailor of the Year and the overall winner of last year’s Solitaire du Figaro, Tom Dolan. Somehow, we got our hands on a polar for the Class, and rather than trying to surreptitiously track Tom and his mates in the 2025 edition of the Solitaire, sailing rather-short, single-handed legs across the Celtic Sea and Biscay, we thought we’d see how our virtual craft would fare on the Class’s double-handed 3900nm Trans-Atlantic, from somewhere in Brittanny to somewhere in the Caribbean via somewhere in the Canaries. Allez, mes braves!
Race #1901
INFOby brainaid.de
Figaro III foil PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
RACE CLOSE: Thursday,
May 15 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Apr 20th 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Sinbad by Balloon 2025 - Toamasina to Baia de l'Oiseau


You may recall that when last we visited Madagascar in the company of Sinbad, the Sultan commanded our intrepid inspirator to seek out fabled islands where in Summer the sun barely set. We did and we returned but the Sultan wasn’t happy with Sinbad’s report, so here we go again, now by SOL Balloon instead of sailing vessel. Expect to be in the air for at least 2100nm and depending on how the wind brings us, anything between two weeks and two months before we shall descend at the Sultan’s given coordinates!
Race #1884
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC - SBB
RACE CLOSE: Sunday,
May 18 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Apr 09th 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Patrick70119
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member FreyjaUSA
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Kipper1258
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client