In a recent blog post about custom building a mobile WLAN throughput testing device the question was asked “What is ePerf and why do we need it”. Here is the answer that was given plus a link to Ekahau’s official definition.
ePerf is Ekahau’s own internal build of the iPerf 3 package. It allows us to do the same kind of throughput testing that we do with iPerf3 but using it in conjunction with the Ekahau software for performing a site survey.
Why is ePerf recommended over iPerf2 or 3?
The reason you would want to use ePerf over using iPerf2 or iPerf 3 is because the iPerf3 software native code wasn’t necessarily built specifically for Wi-Fi performance testing. It especially wasn’t designed for the way we use it – physically moving around a site, roaming between access points, potentially roaming off the network to the point of being disconnected during a throughput test – which can crash that iPerf server.
The server wasn’t really built for the resiliency of Wi-Fi and that kind of testing. ePerf enhances that and is built specifically for that so if you do get disconnected during a throughput test it will automatically resume itself as soon as you’re re-associated to the network and not crash in the process.
You can read Ekahau’s full description HERE
Here’s a quote from that page…
[ePerf] is Ekahau’s streamlined version of iperf3 throughput testing server. Built from scratch on the Java programming language. This is a simplified version of the official iperf3 server which supports only a bare minimum feature set needed for ESS throughput tests. It was implemented because the official version’s stability is insufficient for unreliable roaming Wi-Fi networks.
Read the full interview where this question was originally asked HERE or listen to the full podcast HERE
What’s been your experience with ePerf? Let’s us know in the comments or on Twitter
Thank you to Jerry Olla for providing this definition.
