What is Iperf?
While tools to measure network performance. Iperf was orginally developed by NLANR/DAST as a modern alternative for measuring TCP and UDP bandwidth performance.
Iperf is a tool to measure maximum TCP bandwidth, allowing the tuning of various parameters and UDP characteristics. Iperf reports bandwidth,
delay jitter, datagram loss.
Iperf features
- TCP
- Measure bandwidth
- Report MSS/MTU size and observed read sizes.
- Support for TCP window size via socket buffers.
- Multi-threaded if pthreads or Win32 threads are available. Client and server can have multiple simultaneous connections.
- UDP
- Client can create UDP streams of specified bandwidth.
- Measure packet loss
- Measure delay jitter
- Multicast capable
- Multi-threaded if pthreads are available. Client and server can have multiple simultaneous connections. (This doesn't work in Windows.)
- Where appropriate, options can be specified with K (kilo-) and M (mega-) suffices. So 128K instead of 131072 bytes.
- Can run for specified time, rather than a set amount of data to transfer.
- Picks the best units for the size of data being reported.
- Server handles multiple connections, rather than quitting after a single test.
- Print periodic, intermediate bandwidth, jitter, and loss reports at specified intervals.
- Run the server as a daemon.
- Run the server as a Windows NT Service
- Use representative streams to test out how link layer compression affects your achievable bandwidth.
Download Iperf pre-compiled binaries
Iperf for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7 :
- Iperf 2.0.5-2 (1239 Kio) - The latest version of Iperf (2011)
- Iperf 2.0.5 (1226 Kio) - Possible server crash with a bidirectional test
- Iperf 2.0.2 (654 Kio)
- Iperf 1.7.0 (125 Kio) - Some options do not work with Windows Vista and Windows 7
Iperf for Linux 32 bits (i386)
:
- Iperf 2.0.5-2 - DEB package (53 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.5-2 simple installation: copy / paste this line into a terminal :
wget http://iperf.fr/download/iperf_2.0.5/iperf_2.0.5-2_i386 ; chmod +x iperf_2.0.5-2_i386 ; sudo mv iperf_2.0.5-2_i386 /usr/bin/iperf - Iperf 2.0.2 - DEB package (47 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.2 simple installation: copy / paste this line into a terminal :
wget http://iperf.fr/download/iperf_2.0.2/iperf_2.0.2-4_i386 ; chmod +x iperf_2.0.2-4_i386 ; sudo mv iperf_2.0.2-4_i386 /usr/bin/iperf - Iperf 2.0.2 - archive.tar.gz (43 Kio)
Iperf for Linux 64 bits (AMD64)
:
- Iperf 2.0.5-2 - DEB package (56 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.5-2 simple installation: copy / paste this line into a terminal :
wget http://iperf.fr/download/iperf_2.0.5/iperf_2.0.5-2_amd64 ; chmod +x iperf_2.0.5-2_amd64 ; sudo mv iperf_2.0.5-2_amd64 /usr/bin/iperf - Iperf 2.0.2 - DEB package (50 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.2 simple installation: copy / paste this line into a terminal :
wget http://iperf.fr/download/iperf_2.0.2/iperf_2.0.2-4_amd64 ; chmod +x iperf_2.0.2-4_amd64 ; sudo mv iperf_2.0.2-4_amd64 /usr/bin/iperf - Iperf 2.0.2 - archive.tar.gz (46 Kio)
Iperf for MacOS X :
- Iperf 2.0.5 (Intel) (57 Ko)
- Iperf 1.7.0 (PowerPC) (82 Ko)
Iperf for Oracle Solaris :
- Iperf 2.0.4 for Solaris 10 x86 (62 Ko) SPARC (62 Ko)
- Iperf 2.0.4 for Solaris 9 x86 (61 Ko) SPARC (62 Ko)
- Iperf 2.0.4 for Solaris 8 x86 (61 Ko) SPARC (64 Ko)
Iperf C++ source :
- Source of the IPERF 2.xx project can be found at http://sourceforge.net/projects/iperf/
- Source of the IPERF 3.xx project can be found at http://code.google.com/p/iperf/
- Iperf 2.0.5 (243 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.4 (243 Kio)
- Iperf 2.0.2 (228 Kio)
- Iperf 1.7.0 (179 Kio)
- Iperf pre-compiled binaries for Solaris SunFreeware.com
Projects around Iperf :
- Kperf : Iperf 2.0.2 + graphical user interface (for Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista) (2321 Ko)
- Jperf : Iperf 1.7.0 + graphical user interface in java (for Linux, Windows 2000, XP) (2764 Ko)
- Iperf 1.7.0 for Windows CE (316 Ko) - Project site on
SourceForge.net - cIperf : utility to calculate the values of options -b et -l en UDP - Windows (677 Ko) Linux (559 Ko) - Project site on SourceForge.net
- Vperf : automated use of iperf + tcpdump + tcptrace + hping3 out of many indicators : under development...
- Iperf 2.0.2 with batch launch (655 Ko)
Iperf User Docs
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Tuning a TCP connection
Running multicast servers and clients |
| Command line option | Environment variable option | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Client and Server options | ||
| -f, --format [bkmaBKMA] | $IPERF_FORMAT | A letter specifying the format to print bandwidth numbers in. Supported formats are
'b' = bits/sec 'B' = Bytes/sec 'k' = Kbits/sec 'K' = KBytes/sec 'm' = Mbits/sec 'M' = MBytes/sec 'g' = Gbits/sec 'G' = GBytes/sec 'a' = adaptive bits/sec 'A' = adaptive Bytes/sec The adaptive formats choose between kilo- and mega- as appropriate. Fields other than bandwidth always print bytes, but otherwise follow the requested format. Default is 'a'. |
| -i, --interval # | $IPERF_INTERVAL | Sets the interval time in seconds between periodic bandwidth, jitter, and loss reports. If non-zero, a report is made every interval seconds of the bandwidth since the last report. If zero, no periodic reports are printed. Default is zero. |
| -l, --len #[KM] | $IPERF_LEN | The length of buffers to read or write. Iperf works by writing an array of len bytes a number of times. Default is 8 KB for TCP, 1470 bytes for UDP. Note for UDP, this is the datagram size and needs to be lowered when using IPv6 addressing to 1450 or less to avoid fragmentation. See also the -n and -t options. |
| -m, --print_mss | $IPERF_PRINT_MSS | Print the reported TCP MSS size (via the TCP_MAXSEG option) and the observed read sizes which often correlate with the MSS. The MSS is usually the MTU - 40 bytes for the TCP/IP header. Often a slightly smaller MSS is reported because of extra header space from IP options. The interface type corresponding to the MTU is also printed (ethernet, FDDI, etc.). This option is not implemented on many OSes, but the read sizes may still indicate the MSS. |
| -p, --port # | $IPERF_PORT | The server port for the server to listen on and the client to connect to. This should be the same in both client and server. Default is 5001, the same as ttcp. |
| -u, --udp | $IPERF_UDP | Use UDP rather than TCP. See also the -b option. |
| -w, --window #[KM] | $TCP_WINDOW_SIZE | Sets the socket buffer sizes to the specified value. For TCP, this sets the TCP window size. For UDP it is just the buffer which datagrams are received in, and so limits the largest receivable datagram size. |
| -B, --bind host | $IPERF_BIND | Bind to host, one of this machine's addresses. For the client this sets the outbound interface. For a server this sets the incoming interface. This is only useful on multihomed hosts, which have multiple network interfaces. For Iperf in UDP server mode, this is also used to bind and join to a multicast group. Use addresses in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 for multicast. See also the -T option. |
| -C, --compatibility | $IPERF_COMPAT | Compatibility mode allows for use with older version of iperf. This mode is not required for interoperability but it is highly recommended. In some cases when using representative streaming you could cause a 1.7 server to crash or cause undesired connection attempts. |
| -M, --mss #[KM} | $IPERF_MSS | Attempt to set the TCP maximum segment size (MSS) via the TCP_MAXSEG option. The MSS is usually the MTU - 40 bytes for the TCP/IP header. For ethernet, the MSS is 1460 bytes (1500 byte MTU). This option is not implemented on many OSes. |
| -N, --nodelay | $IPERF_NODELAY | Set the TCP no delay option, disabling Nagle's algorithm. Normally this is only disabled for interactive applications like telnet. |
| -V (from v1.6 or higher) | . | Bind to an IPv6 address Server side: $ iperf -s -V Client side: $ iperf -c <Server IPv6 Address> -V Note: On version 1.6.3 and later a specific IPv6 Address does not need to be bound with the |
| Server specific options | ||
| -s, --server | $IPERF_SERVER | Run Iperf in server mode. |
| -D (from v1.2 or higher) | . | Run the server as a daemon (Unix platforms) On Win32 platforms where services are available, Iperf will start running as a service. |
| -R (only for Windows, from v1.2 or higher) | . | Remove the Iperf service (if it's running). |
| -o (only for Windows, from v1.2 or higher) | . | Redirect output to given file. |
| -c, --client host | $IPERF_CLIENT | If Iperf is in server mode, then specifying a host with -c will limit the connections that Iperf will accept to the host specified. Does not work well for UDP. |
| -P, --parallel # | $IPERF_PARALLEL | The number of connections to handle by the server before closing. Default is 0 (which means to accept connections forever). |
| Client specific options | ||
| -b, --bandwidth #[KM] | $IPERF_BANDWIDTH | The UDP bandwidth to send at, in bits/sec. This implies the -u option. Default is 1 Mbit/sec. |
| -c, --client host | $IPERF_CLIENT | Run Iperf in client mode, connecting to an Iperf server running on host. |
| -d, --dualtest | $IPERF_DUALTEST | Run Iperf in dual testing mode. This will cause the server to connect back to the client on the port specified in the -L option (or defaults to the port the client connected to the server on). This is done immediately therefore running the tests simultaneously. If you want an alternating test try -r. |
| -n, --num #[KM] | $IPERF_NUM | The number of buffers to transmit. Normally, Iperf sends for 10 seconds. The -n option overrides this and sends an array of len bytes num times, no matter how long that takes. See also the -l and -t options. |
| -r, --tradeoff | $IPERF_TRADEOFF | Run Iperf in tradeoff testing mode. This will cause the server to connect back to the client on the port specified in the -L option (or defaults to the port the client connected to the server on). This is done following the client connection termination, therefore running the tests alternating. If you want an simultaneous test try -d. |
| -t, --time # | $IPERF_TIME | The time in seconds to transmit for. Iperf normally works by repeatedly sending an array of len bytes for time seconds. Default is 10 seconds. See also the -l and -n options. |
| -L, --listenport # | $IPERF_LISTENPORT | This specifies the port that the server will connect back to the client on. It defaults to the port used to connect to the server from the client. |
| -P, --parallel # | $IPERF_PARALLEL | The number of simultaneous connections to make to the server. Default is 1. Requires thread support on both the client and server. |
| -S, --tos # | $IPERF_TOS | The type-of-service for outgoing packets. (Many routers ignore the TOS field.) You may specify the value in hex with a '0x' prefix, in octal with a '0' prefix, or in decimal. For example, '0x10' hex = '020' octal = '16' decimal. The TOS numbers specified in RFC 1349 are: IPTOS_LOWDELAY minimize delay 0x10 IPTOS_THROUGHPUT maximize throughput 0x08 IPTOS_RELIABILITY maximize reliability 0x04 IPTOS_LOWCOST minimize cost 0x02 |
| -T, --ttl # | $IPERF_TTL | The time-to-live for outgoing multicast packets. This is essentially the number of router hops to go through, and is also used for scoping. Default is 1, link-local. |
| -F (from v1.2 or higher) | . | Use a representative stream to measure bandwidth, e.g. :- $ iperf -c <server address> -F <file-name> |
| -I (from v1.2 or higher) | . | Same as -F, input from stdin. |
| Miscellaneous options | ||
| -h, --help | Print out a summary of commands and quit. | |
| -v, --version | Print version information and quit. Prints 'pthreads' if compiled with POSIX threads, 'win32 threads' if compiled with Microsoft Win32 threads, or 'single threaded' if compiled without threads. |
Tuning a TCP connection
The primary goal of Iperf is to help in tuning TCP connections over a particular path. The most fundamental tuning issue for TCP is the TCP window size, which controls how much data can be in the network at any one point. If it is too small, the sender will
be idle at times and get poor performance. The theoretical value to use for the TCP window size is the
bandwidth delay product,
bottleneck bandwidth * round trip time
In the below modi4/cyclops example, the bottleneck link is a 45 Mbit/sec DS3 link and the round trip time measured with ping is 42 ms. The bandwidth delay product is
45 Mbit/sec * 42 ms
= (45e6) * (42e-3)
= 1890000 bits
= 230 KByte
That is a starting point for figuring the best window size; setting it higher or lower may produce better results. In our example, buffer sizes over 130K did not improve the performance, despite the bandwidth delay product of 230K.
Note that many OSes and hosts have upper limits on the TCP window size. These may be as low as 64 KB, or as high as several MB. Iperf tries to detect when these occur and give a warning that the actual and requested window sizes are not equal (as below,
though that is due to rounding in IRIX). PSC has a list detailing how to change the default and maximum window sizes for various OSes. For more information on TCP window sizes, see the
LaFibre.info.
Here is an example session, between node1 in Illinois and node2 in North Carolina. These are connected via the vBNS backbone and a 45 Mbit/sec DS3 link. Notice we improve bandwidth performance by a factor of 3 using proper TCP window sizes. Use the adaptive
window sizes feature on platforms which allow setting window sizes in the granularity of bytes.
node2> iperf -s ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 60.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 2357 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0-10.1 sec 6.5 MBytes 5.2 Mbits/sec node1> iperf -c node2 ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node1, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 59.9 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node1> port 2357 connected with <IP Addr node2> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 6.5 MBytes 5.2 Mbits/sec
node2> iperf -s -w 130k ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 130 KByte ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node 2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node 1> port 2530 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0-10.1 sec 19.7 MBytes 15.7 Mbits/sec node1> iperf -c node2 -w 130k ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node2, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 129 KByte (WARNING: requested 130 KByte) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node1> port 2530 connected with <IP Addr node2> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 19.7 MBytes 15.8 Mbits/sec
Another test to do is run parallel TCP streams. If the total aggregate bandwidth is more than what an individual stream gets, something is wrong. Either the TCP window size is too small, or the OS's TCP implementation has bugs, or the network itself has deficiencies.
See above for TCP window sizes; otherwise diagnosing which is somewhat difficult. If Iperf is compiled with pthreads, a single client and server can test this, otherwise setup multiple clients and servers on different ports. Here's an example where a single
stream gets 16.5 Mbit/sec, but two parallel streams together get 16.7 + 9.4 = 26.1 Mbit/sec, even when using large TCP window sizes:
node2> iperf -s -w 300k ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 300 KByte ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 6902 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0-10.2 sec 20.9 MBytes 16.5 Mbits/sec [ 4] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 6911 [ 5] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node2> port 6912 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 5] 0.0-10.1 sec 21.0 MBytes 16.7 Mbits/sec [ 4] 0.0-10.3 sec 12.0 MBytes 9.4 Mbits/sec node1> ./iperf -c node2 -w 300k ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node2, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 299 KByte (WARNING: requested 300 KByte) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node2> port 6902 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.2 sec 20.9 MBytes 16.4 Mbits/sec node1> iperf -c node2 -w 300k -P 2 ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node2, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 299 KByte (WARNING: requested 300 KByte) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node2> port 6912 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 5001 [ 3] local <IP Addr node2> port 6911 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0-10.1 sec 21.0 MBytes 16.6 Mbits/sec [ 3] 0.0-10.2 sec 12.0 MBytes 9.4 Mbits/sec
A secondary tuning issue for TCP is the maximum transmission unit (MTU). To be most effective, both hosts should support Path MTU Discovery. PSC has a
list detailing what OSes support Path MTU Discovery. Hosts without Path MTU Discovery often use 536 as the MSS, which wastes bandwidth and processing time. Use the -m option to display what MSS is being
used, and see if this matches what you expect. Often it is around 1460 bytes for ethernet.
node3> iperf -s -m ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 60.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node3> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node4> port 1096 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0- 2.0 sec 1.8 MBytes 6.9 Mbits/sec [ 4] MSS size 1448 bytes (MTU 1500 bytes, ethernet) [ 4] Read lengths occurring in more than 5% of reads: [ 4] 952 bytes read 219 times (16.2%) [ 4] 1448 bytes read 1128 times (83.6%)
Here is a host that doesn't support Path MTU Discovery. It will only send and receive small 576 byte packets.
node4> iperf -s -m ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 32.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node4> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node3> port 13914 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 4] 0.0- 2.3 sec 632 KBytes 2.1 Mbits/sec WARNING: Path MTU Discovery may not be enabled. [ 4] MSS size 536 bytes (MTU 576 bytes, minimum) [ 4] Read lengths occurring in more than 5% of reads: [ 4] 536 bytes read 308 times (58.4%) [ 4] 1072 bytes read 91 times (17.3%) [ 4] 1608 bytes read 29 times (5.5%)
Iperf supports other tuning options, which were added for exceptional network situations like HIPPI-to-HIPPI over ATM.
Tuning a UDP connection
Iperf creates a constant bit rate UDP stream. This is a very artificial stream, similar to voice communication but not much else.
You will want to adjust the datagram size (-l) to the size your application uses.
The server detects UDP datagram loss by ID numbers in the datagrams. Usually a UDP datagram becomes several IP packets. Losing a single IP packet will lose the entire datagram. To measure packet loss instead of datagram loss, make the datagrams small enough
to fit into a single packet, using the -l option. The default size of 1470 bytes works for ethernet. Out-of-order packets are also detected. (Out-of-order packets cause some ambiguity in the lost packet count; Iperf assumes they are not duplicate packets,
so they are excluded from the lost packet count.) Since TCP does not report loss to the user, I find UDP tests helpful to see packet loss along a path.
Jitter calculations are continuously computed by the server, as specified by RTP in RFC 1889. The client records a 64 bit second/microsecond timestamp in the packet. The server computes the relative transit time as (server's receive time - client's send
time). The client's and server's clocks do not need to be synchronized; any difference is subtracted out in the jitter calculation. Jitter is the smoothed mean of differences between consecutive transit times.
node2> iperf -s -u -i 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on UDP port 5001 Receiving 1470 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 60.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 4] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 9726 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Jitter Lost/Total Datagrams [ 4] 0.0- 1.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.209 ms 1/ 894 (0.11%) [ 4] 1.0- 2.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.221 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 2.0- 3.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.277 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 3.0- 4.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.359 ms 0/ 893 (0%) [ 4] 4.0- 5.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.251 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 5.0- 6.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.215 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 6.0- 7.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.325 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 7.0- 8.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.254 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 8.0- 9.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.282 ms 0/ 892 (0%) [ 4] 0.0-10.0 sec 12.5 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.243 ms 1/ 8922 (0.011%) node1> iperf -c node2 -u -b 10m ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node2, UDP port 5001 Sending 1470 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 60.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node1> port 9726 connected with <IP Addr node2> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 12.5 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec [ 3] Sent 8922 datagrams
Notice the higher jitter due to datagram reassembly when using larger 32 KB datagrams, each split into 23 packets of 1500 bytes. The higher datagram loss seen here may be due to the burstiness of the traffic, which is 23 back-to-back packets and then a long
pause, rather than evenly spaced individual packets.
node2> iperf -s -u -l 32k -w 128k -i 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on UDP port 5001 Receiving 32768 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 128 KByte ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node2> port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 11303 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Jitter Lost/Total Datagrams [ 3] 0.0- 1.0 sec 1.3 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.430 ms 0/ 41 (0%) [ 3] 1.0- 2.0 sec 1.1 MBytes 8.5 Mbits/sec 5.996 ms 6/ 40 (15%) [ 3] 2.0- 3.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 9.7 Mbits/sec 0.796 ms 1/ 40 (2.5%) [ 3] 3.0- 4.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.403 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 4.0- 5.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.448 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 5.0- 6.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.464 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 6.0- 7.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.442 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 7.0- 8.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.342 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 8.0- 9.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.431 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 9.0-10.0 sec 1.2 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec 0.407 ms 0/ 40 (0%) [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 12.3 MBytes 9.8 Mbits/sec 0.407 ms 7/ 401 (1.7%) node1> iperf -c node2 -b 10m -l 32k -w 128k ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to node2, UDP port 5001 Sending 32768 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 128 KByte ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node2> port 11303 connected with <IP Addr node1> port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 12.5 MBytes 10.0 Mbits/sec [ 3] Sent 401 datagrams
Multicast
To test multicast, run several servers with the bind option (-B, --bind) set to the multicast group address. Run the client, connecting to the multicast group address and setting the TTL (-T, --ttl) as needed. Unlike normal TCP and UDP tests, multicast servers
may be started after the client. In that case, datagrams sent before the server started show up as losses in the first periodic report (61 datagrams on arno below).
node5> iperf -c 224.0.67.67 -u --ttl 5 -t 5 ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to 224.0.67.67, UDP port 5001 Sending 1470 byte datagrams Setting multicast TTL to 5 UDP buffer size: 32.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local <IP Addr node5> port 1025 connected with 224.0.67.67 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0- 5.0 sec 642 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec [ 3] Sent 447 datagrams node5> iperf -s -u -B 224.0.67.67 -i 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on UDP port 5001 Binding to local address 224.0.67.67 Joining multicast group 224.0.67.67 Receiving 1470 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 32.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 224.0.67.67 port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node5> port 1025 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Jitter Lost/Total Datagrams [ 3] 0.0- 1.0 sec 131 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.007 ms 0/ 91 (0%) [ 3] 1.0- 2.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.008 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 2.0- 3.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.010 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 3.0- 4.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.013 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 4.0- 5.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.008 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 0.0- 5.0 sec 642 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.008 ms 0/ 447 (0%) node6> iperf -s -u -B 224.0.67.67 -i 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Server listening on UDP port 5001 Binding to local address 224.0.67.67 Joining multicast group 224.0.67.67 Receiving 1470 byte datagrams UDP buffer size: 60.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 224.0.67.67 port 5001 connected with <IP Addr node5> port 1025 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth Jitter Lost/Total Datagrams [ 3] 0.0- 1.0 sec 129 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.778 ms 61/ 151 (40%) [ 3] 1.0- 2.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.236 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 2.0- 3.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.264 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 3.0- 4.0 sec 128 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.248 ms 0/ 89 (0%) [ 3] 0.0- 4.3 sec 554 KBytes 1.0 Mbits/sec 0.298 ms 61/ 447 (14%)
Start multiple clients or servers as explained above, sending data to the same multicast server. (If you have multiple servers listening on the multicast address, each of the servers will be getting the data)
- IPv6 Mode
- Download the IPv6 version of this release.
Get the IPv6 address of the node using the 'ifconfig' command.
Use the -V option to indicate that you are using an IPv6 address Please note that we need to explicitly bind the server address also.
Server side:
$ iperf -s -VClient side:
$ iperf -c <Server IPv6 Address> -VNote: Iperf version 1.6.2 and eariler require a IPv6 address to be explicitly bound with the
-B option for the server.
- Using Representative Streams to measure bandwidth
- Use the -F or -I option. If you want to test how your network performs with compressed / uncompressed streams, just create representative streams and use the -F option to test it. This is usually due to the link layer compressing data.
The -F option is for file input.
The -I option is for input from stdin.E.g.
Client: $ iperf -c <server address> -F <file-name>Client: $ iperf -c <server address> -I
- Running the server as a daemon
- Use the -D command line option to run the server as a daemon. Redirect the output to a file.
E.g. iperf -s -D > iperfLog.
This will have the Iperf Server running as a daemon and the server messages will be logged in the file iperfLog.
- Using Iperf as a Service under Win32
- There are three options for Win32:
- -o outputfilename
- output the messages into the specified file
- -s -D
- install Iperf as a service and run it
- -s -R
- uninstall the Iperf service
Examples:
- iperf -s -D -o iperflog.txt
- will install the Iperf service and run it. Messages will be reported into "%windir%\system32\iperflog.txt"
- iperf -s -R
- will uninstall the Iperf service if it is installed.
Note: If you stop want to restart the Iperf service after having killed it with the Microsoft Management Console or the Windows Task Manager, make sure to use the proper OPTION in the service properties dialog.
- Adaptive window sizes (under development)
- Use the -W option on the client to run the client with the adaptive window size. Ensure that the server window size is fairly big for this option.
E.g.. If the server TCP window size is 8KB, it does not help having a client TCP window size of 256KB.
256KB Server TCP Window Size should suffice for most high bandwidth networks.
Client changes the TCP window size using a binary exponential algorithm. This means that you may notice that TCP window size suggested may vary according to the traffic in the network, Iperf will suggest the best window size for the current network scenario.
Compiling
Once you have the distribution, on UNIX, unpack it using gzip and tar. That will create a new directory 'iperf-<version#>' with the source files and documentation.
Iperf compiles cleanly on many systems including Linux, SGI IRIX, HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, and Cray UNICOS. Use 'make' to configure for your OS and compile the source code.
gunzip -c iperf-<version>.tar.gz | tar -xvf - cd iperf-<version> ./configure make
To install iperf, use 'make install', which will ask you where to install it. To recompile, the easiest way is to start over. Do 'make distclean' then './configure; make'. See the Makefile for more options.