TOPEX Bytton (HSPA+ / LTE)
ByttonLTE(full)_genericUsermanual_sw306FAS_revN.1.docx
Page: 265 / 290
IPERF
In the BW test web page, first enable BW test, then Disable the FTP option and go to IPERF to choose
“Client”:
Figure 5-245: Using IPERF for BW Tests of the Topex wireless router.
What it is?
Generally, “Iperf” is an industry standard tool to measure the bandwidth and the quality of a network link.
The network link under test is delimited by two hosts running Iperf. This tool is accurate and provides clear
metrics to understand and use the performance metrics it produces. As you notice, the Iperf feature on
Bytton LTE may operate either as a Client or as a Server. For extensive BW tests over a link, one host
must be set as client, the other one as server.
The quality of a link can be tested as follows:
- Latency (response time or RTT): can be measured with the PING command available in “Test Net“ link
that shows up in the “Interface Status” pages.
- Jitter (latency variation): can be measured with an Iperf UDP test.
- Datagram loss: can be measured with an Iperf UDP test.
The “iperf” running on Bytton LTE is a simplified application, it just measures the bandwidth.
The bandwidth is measured through TCP tests.
The main difference between TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is
precisely that TCP use processes to check that the packets were correctly received at the destination,
while with UDP the packets are sent without any checks but with the advantage of being quicker than
TCP. The “Iperf” utility uses the different capacities of TCP and UDP to provide statistics about network
links.
Iperf has a both a client and server functionality, and can measure the throughput between the two ends,
either unidirectionally or bi-directionally.
A typical Iperf output contains a time stamped report of the amount of data transferred and the throughput
measured.
