Home / server / Questions / 70043
Accepted
BCS
Asked: 2009-10-01 08:44:25 +0800 CST

Network load tester app

  • 772

I'm looking for an app that I can run to test available bandwidth (and error rate) over a LAN. I'm thinking of a pair of programs that run on two computers and send a big known block of data from one computer to another and checks it on the receiving end.

If I were on Linux, I could get somthing working with time, cat, nc and md5 or diff but I'm on Windows.

networking

3 Answers

  1. I've always used NetCPS. If it doesn't immediately meet your needs, it's open-source, so you might be able to extend it.

    • 2
  2. Best Answer

    There are plenty of network load generators out there. However the error rate should be 0 as tcp will detect any problems and retransmit packets that fail to arrive or arrive with bad checksums. You should be able to find out how many send/receive errors and dropped packets occurred from the hosts involved by looking at the statistics from their NIC. However a managed switch should be able to show you the global picture of these sort of things.

    Here's a load generator made for networks:
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/traffic/

    This is also a nice testing app but its main use is to test a file server. But it will do the job of testing the network connections as well. It can simulate multiple clients and access patterns as well.
    http://www.iometer.org/

    • 1

  3. IxChariot will transfer a block of your own definition between agents residing on any two hosts of your choice, up to and including the ability to embed agents in custom hardware for WiFi certification testing.

    http://www.ixchariot.com

    I don't work for the vendor. I don't work for a VAR for the vendor. I have received no compoensation from the endorsement of this exceptionally cool network test tool.

    • 0