Install iPerf 3 on Raspberry Pi

The iPerf is a command line tool that allows to test network performance and speed by sending data traffic from one host to another. This tool supports TCP, UDP and SCTP protocols.

This tutorial shows how to install iPerf 3 on Raspberry Pi.

Install iPerf

Connect to Raspberry Pi via SSH. Execute the following command to update the package lists:

sudo apt update

Next, install iPerf 3:

sudo apt install -y iperf3

Once installation is finished, we can check version of iPerf:

iperf3 --version

Testing iPerf

In order to test, you need to have two systems with iPerf. One system will act as a server, while the other will act as a client. Of course, the server and the client can be on the same Raspberry Pi.

Execute the following command to start server:

iperf3 -s

Server starts to listen client connections.

Connect client to server by providing IP address:

iperf3 -c 192.168.0.48

Output example of server (Ubuntu 20.04):

-----------------------------------------------------------
Server listening on 5201
-----------------------------------------------------------
Accepted connection from 192.168.0.3, port 56890
[  5] local 192.168.0.48 port 5201 connected to 192.168.0.3 port 56892
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  11.3 MBytes  94.3 Mbits/sec
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  11.9 MBytes  99.9 Mbits/sec
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  11.8 MBytes  99.4 Mbits/sec
.......
[  5]  10.00-10.03  sec   291 KBytes  83.3 Mbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.03  sec   119 MBytes  99.4 Mbits/sec                  receiver
-----------------------------------------------------------

Output example of client (Raspberry Pi 4 Model B):

Connecting to host 192.168.0.48, port 5201
[  5] local 192.168.0.3 port 56892 connected to 192.168.0.48 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  12.5 MBytes   105 Mbits/sec    0    581 KBytes
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  12.2 MBytes   102 Mbits/sec    0    612 KBytes
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  12.1 MBytes   101 Mbits/sec    0    650 KBytes
.......
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  11.6 MBytes  97.5 Mbits/sec    0    724 KBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec   120 MBytes   101 Mbits/sec    0             sender
[  5]   0.00-10.03  sec   119 MBytes  99.4 Mbits/sec                  receiver

Uninstall iPerf

If you decided to completely remove iPerf and related dependencies, execute the following command:

sudo apt purge --autoremove -y iperf3