How to Measure Network Throughput
Measuring the true throughput of a network can be a difficult task due to the challenge of removing all of the non-network related bottlenecks. An example of such a bottleneck is when a large file is copied over a network so that the duration of the transfer can be divided by the size to calculate throughput. The question becomes whether the hard drive in the system being copied from was capable of reading the file as fast as the network was capable of transferring it. Thankfully there are a few programs, which can be downloaded and run for free, that can assist in evaluating the performance of a LAN (Local Area Network).
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Things You'll Need
- Broadband connection (to download these test files)
- LAN (not in use)
- IP addresses of all system to be used in this test
Instructions
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NetCPS
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1
Download NetCPS (see Resources).
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2
Select one system on your network to act as a server and one (or more) system(s) to act as a client.
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3
Install NetCPS's server component on the temporarily designated server.
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4
Click on "Start," "Run" and type in "cmd" (command) to bring up the system prompt.
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5
Enter the following command using the full file/path name, "netcps -server" (without the quotation marks).
As a specific example, if you installed NetCPS in the C:Drive, programs folder (C:\Programs\) the steps you would take are, command you would type would be "c:\programs\netcps -server" (without the quotation marks) and press "Enter." -
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Install NetCPS's client component on the client system or if you choose to test multiple client systems on each system to be tested.
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7
Click on "Start," "Run" and type in "cmd" (command) to bring up the system prompt.
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8
Enter the following command using the full file/path name, "netcps *IP address/hostname of the server*" (without the quotation marks).
As a specific example, if you installed NetCPS in the C:Drive, programs folder (C:\Programs\) the steps you would take are, command you would type would be "c:\programs\netcps *IP address/hostname of the server*" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. -
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Review the results.
Iperf
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10
Download Iperf (see Resources).
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11
Select one system on your network to act as a server and one (or more) system(s) to act as a client.
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12
Install Iperf's server component on the temporarily designated server.
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13
Click on "Start," "Run" and type in "cmd" (command) to bring up the system prompt. Enter the following command using the full file/path name, "iperf -s -p 1234" (without the quotation marks).
As a specific example, if you installed Iperf in the C:Drive, programs folder (C:\Programs\) the steps you would take are, command you would type would be "c:\programs\iperf -s -p 1234" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. -
14
Install Iperf's client component on the client system or if you choose to test multiple client systems on each system to be tested.
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15
Click on "Start," "Run" and type in "cmd" (command) to bring up the system prompt. Enter the following command using the full file/path name, "iperf -c *IP address/hostname of the host*" (without the quotation marks).
As a specific example, if you installed Iperf in the C:Drive, programs folder (C:\Programs\) the steps you would take are, command you would type would be "c:\programs\iperf -c *IP address/hostname of the host*" (without the quotation marks) and press Enter. -
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Review the results.
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1
Tips & Warnings
To find the hostname of a computer (from that computer) click the "Start" button. Then choose "Run" and enter "cmd" (without the quotation marks). Press "Enter." At the prompt, type the following command "hostname" (without the quotes) and press "Enter." To find the IP Address of a computer (from that computer) click the "Start" button. Then choose "Run" and enter "cmd" (without the quotation marks). Press "Enter." At the prompt, type the following command "ipconfig" (without the quotes) and press "Enter."
