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Bandwidth Test

Bandwidth Test

Section titled “Bandwidth Test”

TL;DR (Quick Start)

Section titled “TL;DR (Quick Start)”

Enable bandwidth test server:

/tool bandwidth-server set enabled=yes authenticate=no

Run a basic test to another router:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=udp direction=both duration=10s

Run authenticated test:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 user=admin password=mypass duration=10s

Quick speed test (ping + jitter + throughput):

/tool speed-test address=192.168.1.1 user=admin password=mypass

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

What this covers: Using the Bandwidth Test tool to measure network throughput between MikroTik devices for link verification, troubleshooting, and performance testing.

When to use this:

  • Verifying ISP link speeds after installation
  • Testing wireless link throughput
  • Measuring WAN connection performance
  • Identifying network bottlenecks
  • Validating QoS configurations

How it works:

  1. One router runs as a BTest server (listens on TCP port 2000)
  2. Another router runs the client to initiate the test
  3. Data flows in configured direction (transmit, receive, or both)
  4. Statistics report throughput, packet loss, and CPU usage

Key concepts:

  • Server: Listens for incoming test connections (/tool bandwidth-server)
  • Client: Initiates tests to a server (/tool bandwidth-test)
  • UDP mode: Best for measuring raw throughput (includes headers in stats)
  • TCP mode: Tests with acknowledgments (excludes headers from stats)
  • Speed Test: Simplified tool combining ping, jitter, and bandwidth (/tool speed-test)

Test Through, Not To/From

For accurate results, test through a router, not from or to it. Testing on the device itself skews results due to CPU overhead from generating/receiving test traffic.

Prerequisites:

  • BTest server enabled on target device
  • Firewall rules allowing TCP 2000 and UDP 2000-65535
  • Authentication credentials (if server requires them)

Part 1: Server Configuration

Section titled “Part 1: Server Configuration”

Enable the Bandwidth Test Server

Section titled “Enable the Bandwidth Test Server”

Without authentication (open testing):

/tool bandwidth-server set enabled=yes authenticate=no

With authentication (requires credentials):

/tool bandwidth-server set enabled=yes authenticate=yes

Server Parameters

Section titled “Server Parameters”
ParameterDefaultDescription
enabledyesEnable/disable the server
authenticateyesRequire client credentials
allocate-udp-ports-from2000Starting port for UDP allocation
max-sessions100Maximum concurrent test sessions

Check Server Status

Section titled “Check Server Status”
/tool bandwidth-server print

Example output:

          enabled: yes
     authenticate: yes
allocate-udp-ports-from: 2000
     max-sessions: 100

View Active Sessions

Section titled “View Active Sessions”
/tool bandwidth-server session print

Part 2: Running Bandwidth Tests

Section titled “Part 2: Running Bandwidth Tests”

Basic UDP Test

Section titled “Basic UDP Test”

UDP mode gives the most accurate throughput measurement:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=udp direction=both duration=30s

Example output:

              status: running
            duration: 15s
          tx-current: 487.2Mbps
  tx-10-second-average: 485.1Mbps
      tx-total-average: 483.8Mbps
          rx-current: 491.3Mbps
  rx-10-second-average: 489.7Mbps
      rx-total-average: 488.2Mbps
        lost-packets: 12
      local-cpu-load: 45%
     remote-cpu-load: 42%

Authenticated Test

Section titled “Authenticated Test”

When the server has authenticate=yes:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 user=admin password=mypassword duration=30s

TCP Test with Multiple Connections

Section titled “TCP Test with Multiple Connections”

TCP mode with parallel connections improves throughput on high-latency links:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=tcp connection-count=10 duration=30s

Speed-Limited Test

Section titled “Speed-Limited Test”

Avoid saturating the link during production hours:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 local-tx-speed=100M remote-tx-speed=100M duration=30s

Test Parameters

Section titled “Test Parameters”
ParameterDefaultDescription
address(required)Target server IP
directionreceiveData flow: both/receive/transmit
durationunlimitedTest duration (e.g., 30s, 1m)
protocoludpTransport: tcp or udp
user-Authentication username
password-Authentication password
local-tx-speed0 (unlimited)Local transmit limit
remote-tx-speed0 (unlimited)Remote transmit limit
connection-count1TCP parallel connections (1-255)
random-datanoUse incompressible random data

Part 3: Speed Test (Simplified)

Section titled “Part 3: Speed Test (Simplified)”

Speed Test provides a quick combined measurement of ping, jitter, and throughput:

/tool speed-test address=192.168.1.1 user=admin password=mypassword

Example output:

          status: done
      ping-min: 1.2ms
      ping-avg: 1.8ms
      ping-max: 3.1ms
          jitter: 0.4ms
    tcp-download: 892.3Mbps
      tcp-upload: 876.1Mbps
    udp-download: 941.2Mbps
      udp-upload: 923.8Mbps

Speed Test runs 5 sequential tests (ping, TCP receive/send, UDP receive/send) totaling about 55 seconds.

Part 4: IPv6 Testing

Section titled “Part 4: IPv6 Testing”

Test to IPv6 Address

Section titled “Test to IPv6 Address”
/tool bandwidth-test 2001:db8::1 protocol=udp duration=30s
Section titled “Test to Link-Local Address”

Include the interface suffix:

/tool bandwidth-test fe80::1%ether1 protocol=udp duration=30s

Part 5: Firewall Configuration

Section titled “Part 5: Firewall Configuration”

Server-Side Rules

Section titled “Server-Side Rules”

Allow incoming test connections:

/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=2000 action=accept \
    comment="BTest TCP control"
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=2000-65535 action=accept \
    comment="BTest UDP data"

IPv6 Firewall Rules

Section titled “IPv6 Firewall Rules”
/ipv6 firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=2000 action=accept
/ipv6 firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=2000-65535 action=accept

Part 6: Scripted Testing

Section titled “Part 6: Scripted Testing”

Basic Script

Section titled “Basic Script”
:local result
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 duration=10s user=admin password=pass do={
    :set result $"rx-total-average"
}
:log info "Bandwidth: $($result / 1000000) Mbps"

Capture Multiple Metrics

Section titled “Capture Multiple Metrics”
:local txAvg
:local rxAvg


/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 duration=15s protocol=udp direction=both \
    user=admin password=pass do={
    :set txAvg $"tx-total-average"
    :set rxAvg $"rx-total-average"
}


:log info "TX: $($txAvg / 1000000) Mbps, RX: $($rxAvg / 1000000) Mbps"

Threshold Alert Script

Section titled “Threshold Alert Script”
:global btestThreshold 50000000
:local result


/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 duration=10s user=admin password=pass do={
    :set result $"rx-total-average"
}


:if ($result < $btestThreshold) do={
    :log warning "Bandwidth below threshold: $($result / 1000000) Mbps"
}

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Problem 1: “Can’t Connect” Error

Section titled “Problem 1: “Can’t Connect” Error”

Symptoms: Connection refused or timeout.

Causes:

  • BTest server disabled
  • Firewall blocking port 2000
  • Network routing issue

Solutions:

# Check server is enabled
/tool bandwidth-server print


# Verify connectivity
/ping 192.168.1.1


# Check firewall on server
/ip firewall filter print where dst-port=2000

Problem 2: Authentication Failed

Section titled “Problem 2: Authentication Failed”

Symptoms: “auth.failed” error despite correct credentials.

Cause: RouterOS 6.43+ uses EC-SRP5 authentication, incompatible with older versions.

Solutions:

  1. Ensure both devices run compatible RouterOS versions
  2. Or disable authentication: /tool bandwidth-server set authenticate=no

Problem 3: UDP Test Shows 0 Bytes

Section titled “Problem 3: UDP Test Shows 0 Bytes”

Symptoms: UDP test fails while TCP works.

Cause: Firewall blocking incoming UDP on non-established connections.

Solution:

/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=2000-65535 action=accept

Problem 4: Low Throughput Results

Section titled “Problem 4: Low Throughput Results”

Symptoms: Measured speed much lower than expected.

Causes:

  • Testing on the device instead of through it
  • Single-core limitation (pre-6.44beta39)
  • CPU overload from test generation

Solutions:

  1. Test through the router using 3 devices: 
    [Server] ←→ [Router Under Test] ←→ [Client]
  2. Upgrade to RouterOS 6.44+ for multi-core support
  3. Use shorter test durations

Problem 5: Test Impacts Production Traffic

Section titled “Problem 5: Test Impacts Production Traffic”

Symptom: Network slows down during test.

Cause: Bandwidth test uses all available bandwidth by default.

Solution: Set speed limits:

/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 local-tx-speed=50M remote-tx-speed=50M duration=30s

Problem 6: TCP vs UDP Show Different Speeds

Section titled “Problem 6: TCP vs UDP Show Different Speeds”

Symptom: TCP reports lower throughput than UDP.

Explanation: This is expected behavior:

  • TCP statistics count only payload data (excludes headers)
  • UDP statistics include IP + UDP headers
  • UDP better represents raw link throughput

Understanding Results

Section titled “Understanding Results”

Output Fields

Section titled “Output Fields”
FieldDescription
tx-currentCurrent transmit speed
tx-10-second-average10-second transmit average
tx-total-averageOverall transmit average
rx-currentCurrent receive speed
rx-10-second-average10-second receive average
rx-total-averageOverall receive average
lost-packetsDropped packets (UDP only)
local-cpu-loadLocal device CPU usage
remote-cpu-loadRemote device CPU usage

Interpreting CPU Load

Section titled “Interpreting CPU Load”
  • High CPU (>80%): Results may be limited by CPU, not network
  • Low CPU (<50%): Network is the limiting factor
  • If testing on the device itself, high CPU is expected and skews results

Verification Commands

Section titled “Verification Commands”
# Check server configuration
/tool bandwidth-server print


# View active test sessions
/tool bandwidth-server session print


# Quick connectivity test
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=udp duration=5s


# Full speed test
/tool speed-test address=192.168.1.1 user=admin password=pass
Section titled “Related Topics”

Reference

Section titled “Reference”

Official Documentation

Section titled “Official Documentation”

Quick Reference Commands

Section titled “Quick Reference Commands”
# Server
/tool bandwidth-server set enabled=yes authenticate=no
/tool bandwidth-server print
/tool bandwidth-server session print


# Client - Basic tests
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=udp duration=30s
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 protocol=tcp connection-count=10 duration=30s
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 user=admin password=pass duration=30s


# Speed test
/tool speed-test address=192.168.1.1 user=admin password=pass


# Limited speed test
/tool bandwidth-test 192.168.1.1 local-tx-speed=100M remote-tx-speed=100M duration=30s

Summary

Section titled “Summary”

Bandwidth Test measures network throughput between MikroTik devices:

  1. Server setup - Enable on target device with /tool bandwidth-server
  2. UDP tests - Best for raw throughput measurement
  3. TCP tests - Use with connection-count for high-latency links
  4. Speed Test - Quick combined ping + jitter + throughput
  5. Firewall rules - Open TCP 2000 and UDP 2000-65535

Key points:

  • Test through routers, not from/to them, for accurate results
  • UDP includes headers in stats; TCP excludes them
  • RouterOS 6.43+ uses different authentication (EC-SRP5)
  • Multi-core support requires RouterOS 6.44beta39+
  • Limit test speeds to avoid impacting production traffic