bwping(8)                   System Manager's Manual                  bwping(8)

NAME
       bwping  and  bwping6  are tools to measure bandwidth and response times
       between two hosts using Internet Control Message Protocol  (ICMP)  echo
       request/echo  reply  mechanism.  bwping deals with IPv4 networks, while
       bwping6 - with IPv6 networks.

SYNOPSIS
       bwping [ -u buf_size ] [  -r  reporting_period  ]  [  -T  tos  ]  [  -B
       bind_addr ] -b kbps -s pkt_size -v volume target

       bwping6  [ -u buf_size ] [ -r reporting_period ] [ -T traf_class ] [ -B
       bind_addr ] -b kbps -s pkt_size -v volume target

OPTIONS
       -u buf_size
            Sets the send/receive buffer size in bytes. Default value will  be
            automatically  calculated based on transfer speed, packet size and
            host timer accuracy.

       -r reporting_period
            Sets the interval time in seconds between periodic bandwidth, RTT,
            and  loss  reports.  If  zero,  there  will be no periodic reports
            (default).

       -T tos (bwping only)
            Sets the TOS value of outgoing ip packets. Default value is zero.

       -T traf_class (bwping6 only)
            Sets the IPv6 Traffic Class value of outgoing ip packets.  Default
            value is zero.

       -B bind_addr
            Sets  the  source  address  of outgoing ip packets. By default the
            address of the outgoing interface will be used.

       -b kbps
            Sets the transfer speed in kilobits per second.

       -s pkt_size
            Sets the size of  ICMP  packet  (excluding  IPv4/IPv6  header)  in
            bytes.

       -v volume
            Sets the volume to transfer in bytes.

AUTHORS
       Oleg Derevenetz <oleg.derevenetz@gmail.com>

BUGS
       None known.

RESTRICTIONS
       This  utility  uses  raw  sockets  to  deal with ICMP messages, so root
       privileges are required to run it.

       Although bwping and bwping6 does not require any  special  software  on
       the  remote  host  (only  the  ability  to respond on ICMP echo request
       messages),   there   are   some   special   requirements   to   network
       infrastructure, local and remote host performance:

       1. There should be no ICMP echo request/reply filtering on the network.
       This includes QoS mechanisms (which often affects ICMP) at any point in
       the testing path;

       2.  Local  host  should  have  enough  CPU  resources to send ICMP echo
       request messages with  given  rate,  and  remote  host  should  quickly
       respond  on  these  messages and should have no ICMP bandwidth limiting
       turned on.

       If some of these  requirements  are  not  satisfied,  then  measurement
       results  will be inadequate or fail completely. In general, for testing
       bandwidth where QoS is  implemented,  always  test  with  traffic  that
       matches the QoS class to be tested.

SEE ALSO
       netstat(1), ping(8)

                                                                     bwping(8)
