PowerEdge: How to test network bandwidth using 'iperf'
Summary: This article provides information about how to test available network bandwidth using iperf3.
This article applies to
This article does not apply to
Instructions
Note: The iperf3 tool is open source software that is available with source code and developed by ESnet / Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It is released under a three-clause BSD license. It is not a Dell Technologies tool.
Download or install the iperf3 utility for the operating system (OS) being used:
Windows Installation:
- Download the latest Binary found here
- Extract the Binary .zip file anywhere on the local file system to later run it from.
- There is no install for Windows, instead open a command prompt at the location the utility was extracted to.
Red Hat Linux Installation:
- Run the following command with superuser privileges (root):
dnf install iperf3
Ubuntu Linux Installation:
- Run the following command with sudo privileges:
sudo apt install iperf3
Note: The iperf utility is installed by default on VMware ESXi 7.0 and newer located on the local file system: "/usr/lib/vmware/vsan/bin/iperf3"
How to test available network bandwidth:
On the server receiving data, run the following command:
iperf3 -s
The port used (Default 5201) must be opened if a local firewall is enabled. You can specify a specific port If needed with the "-p <port>" option.
On the server sending data, run the following command:
On the server sending data, run the following command:
iperf3 -c x.x.x.x
Replace the <x.x.x.x> with the IP address of the server from step 2.
Figure 1: Image of iperf3 running on Windows as server ready to receive data.
Figure 2: Image of iperf3 running on Linux as client showing transfer results
Additional Information:
The iperf3 utility is a commonly used network testing tool that measures the throughput of a network between two systems.
It allows the user to set various parameters that can be used for testing a network, or alternatively for optimizing or tuning a network. It has a client and server functionality and can measure the throughput between the two ends, either unidirectionally or bi-directionally. It is open-source software and runs on various platforms including Linux, Windows, and VMware.
If a specific interface address must be used, you can specify the address to use with the "-B <x.x.x.x>" option.
When testing networks above 10G speeds its best to connect the client with multiple threads using the "-P <threads>" option.
It allows the user to set various parameters that can be used for testing a network, or alternatively for optimizing or tuning a network. It has a client and server functionality and can measure the throughput between the two ends, either unidirectionally or bi-directionally. It is open-source software and runs on various platforms including Linux, Windows, and VMware.
If a specific interface address must be used, you can specify the address to use with the "-B <x.x.x.x>" option.
When testing networks above 10G speeds its best to connect the client with multiple threads using the "-P <threads>" option.
Note: Additional information about iperf3 and its uses can be found at iperf.fr.