Install iperf3 with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• iperf3

Project history

iperf3 was built as a clean rewrite of the original NLANR/DAST iperf. Its README says it shares the measurement domain with iperf2 but is not backward compatible, which made the separate `iperf3` executable and package name necessary.

The project is developed by ESnet/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and distributed under a three-clause BSD license. ESnet's download archive shows public 3.0.x tarballs in 2014, while the GitHub repository was created in February 2014.

Adoption history

The README identifies perfSONAR as one of iperf3's primary uses and notes use by ESnet, other research and education networks, the broader networking community, and commercial products.

Package adoption is broad because the tool gives automation-friendly output and a stable `iperf3` command without colliding with legacy iperf2 installations. Homebrew, Linux distributions, Windows package managers, and other ecosystems ship it under the iperf3 name.

How it is used

The basic workflow remains the classic iperf model: run a server endpoint, run a client against it, select protocol and timing parameters, and read bandwidth, loss, and related measurements.

The package is especially useful in scripted diagnostics because iperf3 offers JSON output, explicit client/server compatibility with other iperf3 builds, and documented behavior around supported platforms and known issues.

Why package nerds care

iperf3 matters because it is not just a version bump of `iperf`: it is a parallel implementation with its own ABI, CLI behavior, output formats, and release train. Package managers preserve that distinction by shipping `iperf` and `iperf3` separately.

For network engineers, the package is part of the small toolkit used to turn vague throughput complaints into repeatable measurements. For maintainers, it is a canonical example of a command-line tool whose packaging name encodes compatibility.

Timeline

• 2014: GitHub repository created for ESnet's iperf3 implementation.
• 2014: ESnet download archive lists iperf-3.0.x tarballs.
• 2023: iperf3 3.16 work added a threaded implementation for parallel streams.
• 2026: iperf3 3.21 release appears in the ESnet download archive and GitHub releases.

Related projects

• Iperf 2 remains a separate active project with different features and incompatible wire behavior.
• perfSONAR uses iperf3 as a network measurement component.
• nuttcp and netperf are related network testing tools referenced by the iperf3 README.

Sources

• https://downloads.es.net/pub/iperf/
• https://github.com/esnet/iperf
• https://software.es.net/iperf/