- Network test
- HTTPS test
See where an HTTPS connection spends its time
Novabench times a real HTTPS connection phase by phase, measures how much a resumed TLS session saves, and reports the protocol and certificate the server negotiates.
Every phase of the connection, timed
A slow HTTPS connection can be slow for different reasons. Novabench separates the DNS lookup, the TCP connect, the TLS handshake, and the time to the first response byte, so you can see which phase is responsible instead of guessing.
- DNS, TCP connect, TLS handshake, and time to first byte measured separately
- A connection timeline shows where the time goes, like a browser network waterfall
- The slowest phase is called out, with a plain-language read of the result
- Per-phase statistics (median, min, max, standard deviation) across repeated samples
Measure what TLS session resumption saves
The first connection to a server pays the full TLS handshake cost. A later connection can resume the session and skip part of that work. Novabench runs cold and warm samples so you can see the real speedup on repeat connections.
- Cold samples run with resumption disabled to establish a baseline
- Warm samples allow resumption and report the time saved per phase
- Resumption is read directly from the TLS handshake, not inferred
How the HTTPS test works under the hood
The HTTPS test opens real connections and measures them the way an application would experience them, without bypassing the operating system DNS cache or the platform TLS stack.
- Four timed phases per connection
- Each sample times the DNS lookup, the TCP connect, the TLS handshake, and the time to the first response byte, so the total connect cost is broken into parts you can act on.
- Cold and warm sampling
- For each target Novabench runs cold samples with resumption disabled, then warm samples with resumption allowed and seeded by a priming connection, so the warm speedup reflects a genuine resumed session.
- Protocol and certificate facts
- A dedicated connection records the negotiated ALPN protocol, TLS version, cipher suite, certificate chain length, days until the certificate expires, the issuer, and whether an online revocation check ran.
- Resumption detection from the handshake
- Novabench reads the TLS ServerHello to detect a resumed session (a TLS 1.3 pre-shared-key extension or a TLS 1.2 session-ID echo) and reports it as unknown when the handshake does not make it clear.
- Failures reported by phase
- When a connection cannot complete, the result names the phase that failed (DNS, TCP, TLS, or HTTP) and still records the phases that succeeded before it.
- Configurable targets
- The test targets novabench.com by default and needs no elevated permissions. On Plus, you can add up to 10 custom targets, each a host name with an optional port, to test specific sites, APIs, or internal hosts.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Novabench Free runs the HTTPS test against the default target on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with the full phase timing, resumption comparison, and certificate details. Plus adds the ability to test multiple custom targets in one run.
Run an HTTPS test
Download Novabench free and time your HTTPS connections in minutes on Windows, macOS, or Linux.