Automatically collect internet (broadband) speed metrics over time

1. Not exactly an answer, but conceptually relevant:

Your ISP is selling you a speed from your house to their border router situated at the edge of The Internet. Your ISP has no control over what happens to your packets once they're out 'mongst the tubes.

The metrics you're describing are actually tracking latency between servers well outside your provider's network. Information like that is not at all relevant to the speed your provider is selling you, and can easily be obtained at places like internettrafficreport.com.

I assume the software you're describing was always meant for people managing networks, and not for end users who would confuse latency with last mile speed performance as you have.

2. Not a software solution, but still a way to get the information you want:

To test the health of your connection, run a tracert to some random server on the internet. Find the last hop on your provider's network: that's their border router, and the last point over which they have any control. Run a ping -t to that IP for up to a week: there's your real last mile performance metric.

If you're on a shared resource like cable, expect packet loss during peak hours (when everyone's online) and bursts of awesome performance when all your neighbors are at work or asleep. If you're on a private connection like DSL, expect a fairly uniform response over time.

3. A way to approach your provider with information they'll listen to:

If you think you're not getting the speed you're paying for, find your provider's own speed test (it will be on a server on their network and not out on the internet like the speed tests you mention). Perform this test ten or fifteen times over the course of a week. Calculate the average of all these tests.

Your final number should be roughly ten percent under the speed your provider sold you. (The missing 10% is protocol overhead.) If the end result is much lower, contact your provider and have them fix the problem.

The simplest bandwidth measuring tool is your router, if it supports a more advanced firmware such as DD-WRT or Tomato. Both firmwares automatically track bandwidth usage, so it's just a matter of knowing where to look.

See for example : How to use the DD-WRT firmware to monitor your bandwidth.

A free tool that I have found is NetWorx, that does much more than just bandwidth measuring.

(It would help to know your operating system when suggesting products.)