Introduction to Your Whitebox
Last updated
Last updated
The Whitebox is a purpose-built hardware measurement device. The current model of Whitebox (9+) can measure fixed-line broadband connections of up to 2.5 Gbps. It supports a wide range of network and application-specific measurements, including download speed, upload speed, video streaming, online gaming stability, latency, and packet loss, to name just a few. It can also detect the presence of user-generated cross traffic.
The Whitebox is:
A dedicated device capable of highly accurate internet performance tests.
A trusted measurement unit that you can use to track your home internet performance, so you can be confident that you are getting the service you expect.
Part of our specially developed Test Kit, which is used by internet service providers (ISPs) and government regulators, and includes an account and dashboard.
The Whitebox is NOT...
a way to improve your internet speed or performance by itself.
a replacement for your router and/or modem.
a replacement for any other Wi-Fi access points in your home.
a smart meter for electricity and gas usage.
The Whitebox does not directly improve your internet performance. It provides you with the data to help you improve your internet performance.
The Whitebox stays in one place and only runs regular tests when you are not using the internet. This reduces the window for variables and other external factors that can influence the metrics. Thanks to this diligent testing method, the Whitebox gives you more consistent data about your home broadband performance over time.
The Whitebox communicates with our cloud to retrieve its test schedule and configuration. These updates occur automatically, approximately once per hour. The Whitebox retrieves configuration updates using the IETF LMAP protocol, and communicates over HTTPS using TLS 1.2. Additionally, we will periodically issue firmware updates which are applied automatically by the Whitebox. No user interaction is required for the Whitebox to retrieve software or configuration updates.
The Whitebox runs a custom distribution of Linux, derived from OpenWrt. Many standard OpenWrt features have been removed to save space on the device, and some additional features have been added to support the measurements.
The custom firmware is flashed at the factory and is not directly upgradeable by the user hosting the Whitebox. The firmware is remotely upgradeable by our team. This cut-down operating system provides network connectivity and the measurement applications alone – there is no web interface and the Whitebox provides no routing functionality. Users have no ability to disable, reconfigure or influence the Whitebox software in any way through normal usage.
Our firmware makes use of General Public License (GPL) v2.0 licensed code. We publish our firmware source code in compliance with the GPL.
To find out more about how to interpret the data your Whitebox gathers, see Our Tests.
The current generation of Whitebox (9+) is capable of measuring 2.5 Gbps downstream and upstream over both TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol).
Dual core 1.36GHz CPU
• 512MB RAM
• 128MB flash
• 1x 2.5Gbps Ethernet WAN port
• 4x 1Gbps Ethernet LAN ports
• 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi 6
• 12V at 2.5A DC power supply
