The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods HW057: Orb – A New Tool for Monitoring Internet Connectivity
Jul 29, 2025
Doug Suttles, CEO and co-founder of Orb, brings insights into his innovative tool designed to revolutionize internet connectivity monitoring. The discussion covers how Orb continuously assesses network performance, emphasizing reliability over just peak speed. Doug explains the user-friendly scoring system and plans for integrating AI to enhance guidance for consumers. He also explores the platform's scalability and upcoming features, as well as creative methods to repurpose old devices for more effective home network management.
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Beyond Speed: Responsiveness Matters
- Orb measures internet experience beyond peak speed by focusing on responsiveness, reliability, and speed.
- Responsiveness, reflecting packet round-trip speed and stability, is the principal metric to assess real-time connectivity.
Orb's Lightweight Testing
- Orb's responsiveness test is very lightweight, using only about 20 MB data per 24 hours.
- You don't need to disable Orb sensors to save bandwidth as its impact is minimal.
Scaling Orb Deployments Strategically
- Orb currently supports up to about 50 sensors but plans to limit free consumer accounts to 10 orbs.
- Larger deployments rely on an enterprise business model for scalability and advanced features.