Check Internet Speed with speedtest-cli on Debian and Ubuntu

Internet connection speed is something that we always check at our homes and offices. The most common method that we use is by visiting a speed test website like speedtest.net. On that site, a javascript application is loaded in the web browser which selects the best (nearby) server based on the ping time and then the speed test results for that server are shown. Speedtest.net also uses a flash player to produce the result graphically. The problem using these web based speed tests is that it does not allow you to schedule the speed test at regular intervals, e.g. as a cronjob and you can’t use them on headless servers. One application that can solve this problem is “speedtest-cli”. This application allows you to check your internet speed using the command line.