[Feature Request] Add iperf3 support for network performance testing

[loren2018tw]

Add iperf3 support for network performance testing

[thongor77]

Hey Loren, thanks for opening this — good suggestion.

Quick heads up on scope though: iperf3 measures something different from the current Speed Test module. Speed Test today hits Cloudflare's public endpoint, so it works out of the box with nothing to set up on the other end. iperf3 measures throughput between two machines you control — one has to run iperf3 -s (server mode) for the other to test against. So it's really a "test my LAN" tool, not a "test my internet" tool. Good complement, not a replacement.

A couple of things I want to nail down before building this:

• Client mode only, or do you also want nmlinux to be able to run as the iperf3 server (so someone else on the LAN can point their iperf3 at you)?
• New module, or a second tab inside Speed Test ("Internet" / "LAN")?

If you've got a specific use case in mind (testing NAS throughput, WiFi vs ethernet, VM-to-host, etc.) let me know, it'll help shape the UI.

[loren2018tw]

Currently, only the upper-layer mechanism has a fixed iPerf3 server, allowing us to test the connection speed of the upper-layer within the organization.
There are also iperf3 servers from various countries available for testing online, allowing you to assess bandwidth conditions in different countries. Therefore, you can also build a built-in list of existing iperf3 servers for each country, making it easy to quickly select tests for testing.
Additionally, iPerf3 can test the speed differences between IPv4 and IPv6

Other features, but currently no specific ideas

[thongor77]

Hey Loren, this shipped in v1.7.8 — thanks for the details on the public server list and IPv4/IPv6 comparison, that shaped the implementation.

What's there now (Speed Test → new "LAN" tab):

• Client only for this first version (no server mode yet — see below)
• Server picker: either a bundled public list grouped by country (~26 countries, from the public-iperf3-servers community list), or your own custom server saved locally (e.g. your organization's fixed server)
• TCP or UDP, IPv4 / IPv6 / auto, and reverse (download) direction
• Jitter + packet loss shown for UDP tests

Requires iperf3 installed separately (it's an optional dependency, same as nmap/mtr/etc — the tab just shows a disabled banner if it's missing).

Get it via:

• AUR: nmlinux package, already updated to 1.7.8
• Or the release directly: https://github.com/thongor77/nmlinux/releases/tag/v1.7.8 (wheel or AppImage)

Would you mind testing it against your org's server and/or the public list, and telling me if anything's off (wrong result parsing, a public server that's consistently dead, UI friction)? Also open to hearing whether server mode (nmlinux listening for incoming tests) is something you'd actually use, or if client-only covers your case — that one's still just an idea, not committed to a version yet.