nPerf is a network performance measurement tool solely for measuring UDP throughput. Several different system calls as well as kernel features, such as GSO, GRO, or io_uring, can be compared along with several different features. It is targeted for Linux systems and is written in Rust.
The dependencies are required to build the project:
- libhwloc-dev
- libudev-dev
These are required for the automatic core affinity feature of nPerf to work.
For building this project, you need to have cargo installed. With cargo installed, you can build the project with the following command:
cargo build --releaseAll options can be found in the help message of nPerf.
The help message can be shown with nperf --help.
Usage: nperf [OPTIONS] [MODE]
-
<MODE>— Mode of operation: sender or receiverDefault value:
receiverPossible values:
receiver,sender
-
-a,--ip <IP>— IP address to measure against/listen onDefault value:
0.0.0.0 -
-p,--port <PORT>— Port number for sender to measure against and receiver to listen onDefault value:
45001 -
-s,--sender-port <SENDER_PORT>— Port number the sender uses to send packetsDefault value:
46001 -
--parallel <PARALLEL>— Start multiple sender/receiver threads in parallel. The port number is incremented automatically for every threadDefault value:
1 -
-r,--run-infinite— Do not finish the execution after the first measurementDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
-i,--interval <INTERVAL>— Interval printouts of the statistic in seconds (0 to disable). WARNING: Interval statistics are printed at the end of the test, not at the interval!Default value:
0 -
-l,--datagram-size <DATAGRAM_SIZE>— Length of single datagram (Without IP and UDP headers)Default value:
1472 -
-t,--time <TIME>— Amount of seconds to run the test forDefault value:
10 -
--with-core-affinity— Pin each thread to an individual core. The receiver threads start from the last core downwards, while the sender threads are pinned from the first core upwardsDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--with-numa-affinity— Pin sender/receiver threads alternating to the available NUMA nodesDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--with-gsro— Enable GSO or GRO for the sender/receiver. The gso_size is set with --with-gso-bufferDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--bandwidth <BANDWIDTH>— Use kernel pacing to ensure a send bandwidth in total (not per thread) in Mbit/s (0 for disabled)Default value:
0 -
--with-gso-buffer <WITH_GSO_BUFFER>— Set GSO buffer size which overwrites the MSS by default if GSO/GRO is enabledDefault value:
64768 -
--with-mss <WITH_MSS>— Set the transmit buffer size. Multiple smaller datagrams can be send with one packet of MSS size. The MSS is the size of the packets sent out by nPerf. Gets overwritten by GSO/GRO buffer size if GSO/GRO is enabledDefault value:
1472 -
--with-ip-frag— Enable IP fragmentation on sending socketDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--without-non-blocking— Disable non-blocking socketDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--with-socket-buffer <WITH_SOCKET_BUFFER>— Setting socket buffer size (in multiple of default size 212992 Byte)Default value:
1 -
--exchange-function <EXCHANGE_FUNCTION>— Exchange function to use: normal (send/recv), msg (sendmsg/recvmsg), mmsg (sendmmsg/recvmmsg)Default value:
msgPossible values:
normal,msg,mmsg -
--with-mmsg-amount <WITH_MMSG_AMOUNT>— Size of msgvec when using sendmmsg/recvmmsgDefault value:
1 -
--io-model <IO_MODEL>— Select the IO model to useDefault value:
selectPossible values:
select,poll,busy-waiting,io-uring -
--output-format <OUTPUT_FORMAT>— Define the type the outputDefault value:
textPossible values:
text,json,file -
--output-file-path <OUTPUT_FILE_PATH>— Define the path in which the results file should be saved. Make sure the path exists and the application has the rights to write in itDefault value:
nperf-output.csv -
--label-test <LABEL_TEST>— Test label which appears in the output file, if multiple tests are run in parallel. Useful for benchmark automationDefault value:
nperf-test -
--label-run <LABEL_RUN>— Run label which appears in the output file, to differentiate between multiple different runs which are executed within a single test. Useful for benchmark automationDefault value:
run-nperf -
--repetition-id <REPETITION_ID>— Repetition label which appears in the output file, to differentiate between multiple different repetitions which are executed for a single run. Useful for benchmark automationDefault value:
1 -
--multiplex-port <MULTIPLEX_PORT>— Configure if all threads should use different ports, share a port or use port shardingDefault value:
individualPossible values:
individual,sharing,sharding -
--multiplex-port-receiver <MULTIPLEX_PORT_RECEIVER>— Same as for multiplex_port, but for the receiverDefault value:
individualPossible values:
individual,sharing,sharding -
--simulate-connection <SIMULATE_CONNECTION>— CURRENTLY IGNORED. Simulate a single QUIC connection or one QUIC connection per threadDefault value:
multiplePossible values:
single,multiple -
--uring-mode <URING_MODE>— io_uring: Which mode to useDefault value:
normalPossible values:
normal,zerocopy,provided-buffer,multishot -
--uring-sqpoll— io_uring: Use a SQ_POLL thread per executing thread, pinned to CPU 0Default value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--uring-sqpoll-shared— io_uring: Share the SQ_POLL thread between all executing threadsDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--uring-burst-size <URING_BURST_SIZE>— io_uring: Amount of recvmsg/sendmsg operations are submitted/completed in one goDefault value:
64 -
--uring-ring-size <URING_RING_SIZE>— io_uring: Size of the SQ ring bufferDefault value:
256 -
--uring-sq-mode <URING_SQ_MODE>— io_uring: Event loop strategyDefault value:
topupPossible values:
topup,topup-no-wait,syscall -
--uring-task-work <URING_TASK_WORK>— io_uring: Set the operation mode of task_workDefault value:
defaultPossible values:
default,coop,defer,coop-defer -
--uring-record-utilization— io_uring: Record utilization of SQ, CQ and inflight counterDefault value:
falsePossible values:
true,false -
--markdown-help— Show help in markdown formatPossible values:
true,false
The most important components of nPerf are shown in the following component diagram.
