Stratum Pool Ping Pong

Stratum Ping Pong is a prototype for a nearest location stratum ping latency measurement tool. Find the fastest pool (by stratum latency) near you. Using the location field you can select a network location as close to your location as possible. Nowhere near you? Drop me a line and I’ll add your location.

Unlike a standard network ping test, this tool measures the actual connection performance using the Stratum protocol – the same protocol used for real mining operations. To do so, we can’t make your browser do it, so the only usual choice would be to hope that a standard ping sent from bash would be a reasonable proxy to stratum latency. It probably isn’t the same.

Stuff you might like to know

1. Total Latency: Shows the complete round-trip time for your connection to the pool. Lower numbers (ideally under 100ms) mean better performance and potentially fewer stale shares when mining.
2. Connection Time: How long it takes to establish the initial connection to the pool. This indicates network path quality and can help identify routing issues.
3. Reply Time: How quickly the pool responds to your mining software. Fast reply times mean your mining rig gets new work assignments quickly, potentially improving efficiency.
4. DNS Time: How long it takes to resolve the pool’s address. High DNS times might indicate network configuration issues that could affect mining stability.

Why These Metrics Matter:

• Lower latency means your mining rig receives new work faster and submits shares more quickly
• Consistent connection times indicate a stable network path to the pool
• Fast reply times help reduce stale shares and improve mining efficiency
• Good DNS resolution ensures reliable pool connections

Using the Results:

• Find the best pool stratum server nearest to your region
• Test various times of day to understand pool performance patterns
• Use the results to troubleshoot connection issues
• Make informed decisions about which pools to mine with based on connection quality

The tool supports testing across multiple global locations (London, Frankfurt, Netherlands, etc.), helping you identify the best-performing pool server for your mining operation. If you have a specific location in mind, drop me a line and I’ll add it.

For most miners, choosing a pool location with consistent sub-100ms latency will provide the best mining experience and help maximize earnings by reducing stale shares and network-related issues.

Remember that regular testing can help you stay ahead of potential connection problems and ensure your mining setup runs as well as possible. Huge thanks to the 2miners team for Stratum Ping (view repo here).