PowerEdge: How to test network bandwidth using 'iperf'
Summary: This article provides information about how to test available network bandwidth using iperf3.
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This article is not tied to any specific product.
Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Instructions
Note: The 
/ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory . It is released under a three-clause BSD license. It is not a Dell Technologies tool.
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
.zipfile 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
sudoprivileges:
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
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 "
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.
Affected Products
Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows Server 2022, Microsoft Windows Server 2025, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 9
, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 8, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16
...
Products
Ubuntu Server LTS, VMware ESXi 7.x, VMware ESXi 8.x, VMware ESXi 9.xArticle Properties
Article Number: 000139427
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 30 Jan 2026
Version: 10
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