stress test new LAN

[rangor gubbins]

hi all,
I'm after some advice on how to 'stress test' a newly installed LAN.
We've refurbed our house, running cat6 all over the place. I've now terminated the cables into patch panels and RJ45 modules, continuity tested the terminations, and installed a Zyxel 24 port switch. Never done this before. How do i test that we've got a good connection on the network, no dropped packets, good speed, etc. without using the really expensive network testing gear like Fluke MS2-KIT. Is there some LAN stress test software that someone can recommend.

 

[rangor gubbins]

cheers.
Had a go wit iperf3. seems to do the job. I'm getting around 900 Mbits/s on most of the cables tested so far. one was a bit slower.
I assume iperf3 will let me know if any data gets lost/broken along the way?

 

[rangor gubbins]

Thanks, that useful info.
I'm testing 34 cables (I got a bit carried away with running cables around the house - its not a big house!). For some of them I'm only getting around 600 Mbps using the default iperf3 settings. Does that indicate that either the cable or the terminal connection into the patch panel of rj45 module is dodgy? There's quite a bit of redundancy in the number of cables i have compared to what i need, so I can just avoid these slow ones. I could try re-terminating them to see if that helps?

 

[rangor gubbins]

...
Personally, I’d just enjoy the network and not worry about data transfer speeds on cables that may never get used.

Good advice. thanks
I re-tested the cables with iperf and now all are getting around 940 Mbits/sec. Not sure why i got a few lower speeds earlier.