December 31, 1999
Web posted at: 6:34 a.m. EST (1134 GMT)

By D. Ian Hopper
CNN Interactive Technology Editor

(CNN) - Servers in New Zealand are handling increased network traffic following the rollover, due to Internet users checking to see if their connection is still functional.

Net performance measurement firm Keynote Systems is testing major Web sites within each time zone to check how they handle the rollover.

The New Zealand site, govt.nz, responded at an average of 6.2 seconds since the change. This is slower than what it had been before Y2K. The slowest times were recorded immediately after Midnight local time. After an initial loss of performance the website seems to be back to it's normal performance levels.

"With the crossing of the Millennium into it's second time zone we are seeing some performance anomalies that appear to be caused by curious Internet users testing their system. Overall the Internet is absorbing this in rush of traffic and is showing the resilience it was designed for," according to the Keynote site.

A site in Tonga, in the first time zone to roll over, responded at an average of 4.1 seconds since Y2K struck. This response time was comparable to before the new year.

The Keynote Web sites are owned by Internet providers, computer firms, government and media sites. Keynote will test the People's Daily newspaper in China, the Vatican's site in Vatican City, the White House site in Washington, and Cisco Systems in San Francisco, among others.

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