The correct way to benchmark your network
- Ever tried to measure the network speed between two computers?
- Do you want to know how fast your local network is?
- Would you like to compare your WiFi and ethernet speeds?
- Do you want to check for faulty cables?
You can do all of the above, and more, with iperf3.
As the devolpers state at the official website :
The iperf series of tools perform active measurements to determine the maximum achievable bandwidth on IP networks. It supports tuning of various parameters related to timing, protocols, and buffers. For each test it reports the measured throughput, loss, and other parameters.
iperf3 is a powerful tool that can be used to benchmark the performance of local network computers. It allows you to measure the bandwidth and latency of a network connection between two devices. This can be useful for identifying bottlenecks and troubleshooting network issues.
To use iperf3, you will need to have it installed on both the client and server computers. Once installed, you can run the following commands to start the benchmarking process.
On the server computer, open a command prompt and type iperf3 -s. This will start the iperf3 server and listen for incoming connections.
On the client computer, open a command prompt and type iperf3 -c [server IP]. Replace [server IP] with the IP address of the server computer. This will connect the client to the server and begin the benchmarking process.
By default, iperf3 will perform a test for 10 seconds and provide the results in a summary. However, you can specify a longer test duration or change other settings using command line options. For example, you can use the -t option to specify the test duration in seconds, and the -w option to specify the TCP window size.
Once the test is complete, you will see the results displayed on the client computer. These results will include the bandwidth and latency of the connection, as well as any errors that occurred during the test.
In addition to the basic test, iperf3 also supports various advanced options such as parallel streams, bidirectional tests, and more. It is a great tool for network administrators and developers to check the performance of their network.
In conclusion, iperf3 is a powerful and easy-to-use tool for benchmarking the performance of local network computers. It allows you to measure the bandwidth and latency of a network connection, and provides detailed results that can be used to identify and troubleshoot network issues.
First, install iperf3 for your operating system, do that in every computer you want to benchmark.
Archlinux
sudo pacman -S iperf3
macOS
brew install iperf3
Ubuntu/Debian
apt get install iperf3
Windows
scoop install iperf3
Synology NAS
SynoCli Monitor Tools from the SynoCommunity website
Real-life tests
We will use the Synology NAS as the server and run tests across some local machines acting as clients. Synology NAS has two network interfaces:
- LAN Gigabit Ethernet (builtin, attached to gigabit switch)
- Wi-fi with a
TP-LINK TL-WN722Ndongle
MacbookAir M2
OS : macOS Sonoma 14.2.1
Network : 1000 baseT full duplex, 1500 MTU
Testing the WiFi connection with the MacbookAir M2 (Wi-Fi 6 - 802.11ax)
Connecting to host 192.168.3.2, port 5201
[ 6] local 192.168.3.6 port 61884 connected to 192.168.3.2 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-1.01 sec 1.00 MBytes 8.35 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 1.01-2.00 sec 768 KBytes 6.31 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 2.00-3.00 sec 1.25 MBytes 10.5 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 3.00-4.00 sec 1.12 MBytes 9.43 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 4.00-5.01 sec 1.25 MBytes 10.5 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 5.01-6.00 sec 1.00 MBytes 8.41 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 6.00-7.00 sec 1.25 MBytes 10.5 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 7.00-8.01 sec 1.12 MBytes 9.42 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 8.01-9.00 sec 1.00 MBytes 8.43 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 9.00-10.00 sec 896 KBytes 7.33 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 10.6 MBytes 8.91 Mbits/sec sender
[ 6] 0.00-10.29 sec 10.7 MBytes 8.69 Mbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
Testing the ethernet connection with a TP-LINK UE300 USB3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet adapter
Connecting to host 192.168.3.2, port 5201
[ 6] local 192.168.3.8 port 61992 connected to 192.168.3.2 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-1.00 sec 37.0 MBytes 310 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 1.00-2.00 sec 36.9 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 2.00-3.00 sec 36.5 MBytes 307 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 3.00-4.01 sec 36.8 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 4.01-5.00 sec 36.8 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 5.00-6.00 sec 36.6 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 6.00-7.00 sec 36.8 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 7.00-8.00 sec 36.8 MBytes 309 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 8.00-9.00 sec 36.9 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 9.00-10.00 sec 36.6 MBytes 309 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 368 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec sender
[ 6] 0.00-10.01 sec 367 MBytes 308 Mbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
Testing the ethernet connection with UGREEN USB-C 9-in-1 Multifunctional Adapter
Connecting to host 192.168.3.2, port 5201
[ 6] local 192.168.3.12 port 64525 connected to 192.168.3.2 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-1.00 sec 68.5 MBytes 572 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 1.00-2.01 sec 77.0 MBytes 646 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 2.01-3.00 sec 77.4 MBytes 650 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 3.00-4.01 sec 77.6 MBytes 651 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 4.01-5.01 sec 77.6 MBytes 651 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 5.01-6.00 sec 77.6 MBytes 651 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 6.00-7.01 sec 79.8 MBytes 669 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 7.01-8.01 sec 77.8 MBytes 652 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 8.01-9.00 sec 75.1 MBytes 631 Mbits/sec
[ 6] 9.00-10.00 sec 77.1 MBytes 649 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 766 MBytes 642 Mbits/sec sender
[ 6] 0.00-10.00 sec 765 MBytes 642 Mbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
Desktop PC
B660 GAMING X, i9-12900K with Windows 11 Pro, testing the internal Realtek Gaming 2.5GbE LAN
Connecting to host 192.168.3.2, port 5201
[ 4] local 192.168.3.13 port 54137 connected to 192.168.3.2 port 5201
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.00-1.00 sec 113 MBytes 945 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 1.00-2.00 sec 111 MBytes 933 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 2.00-3.00 sec 111 MBytes 928 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 3.00-4.00 sec 110 MBytes 924 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 4.00-5.00 sec 111 MBytes 929 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 5.00-6.00 sec 112 MBytes 936 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 6.00-7.00 sec 112 MBytes 944 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 7.00-8.00 sec 112 MBytes 941 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 8.00-9.00 sec 112 MBytes 937 Mbits/sec
[ 4] 9.00-10.00 sec 110 MBytes 928 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 934 Mbits/sec sender
[ 4] 0.00-10.00 sec 1.09 GBytes 934 Mbits/sec receiver
iperf Done.
This article is a work in progress. More tests and graphs will follow soon™️ 😊
For more info check the host tuning guides at the Energy Sciences Network website.
