iPerf3 Network Performance Testing Between QNAP and MacBook Pro - Results & Challenges

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share some results and challenges I’ve encountered while testing network performance using iPerf3 between two devices on my network. Below are the details of the tests I performed and the results I obtained.

Test 1:

• Server: QNAP device (192.168.112.75) running iPerf3 server.

• Client: MacBook Pro (192.168.115.126) running iPerf3.

Here are the outputs:

QNAP (Server):

[admin@QNAP bin]$ ./iperf3 -s -i 10

Server listening on 5201 (test #1)

Accepted connection from 192.168.115.126, port 55776

[ 5] local 192.168.112.75 port 5201 connected to 192.168.115.126 port 55777

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 65.4 MBytes 54.8 Mbits/sec

[ 5] 10.01-10.14 sec 768 KBytes 47.6 Mbits/sec

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate

[ 5] 0.00-10.14 sec 66.1 MBytes 54.7 Mbits/sec receiver

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 107 MBytes 89.7 Mbits/sec

[ 5] 10.01-10.02 sec 384 KBytes 306 Mbits/sec

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate

[ 5] 0.00-10.02 sec 107 MBytes 89.9 Mbits/sec receiver

MacBook Pro (Client):

admin@pmb ~ % iperf3-darwin -i 10 -c 192.168.112.75

Connecting to host 192.168.112.75, port 5201

[ 5] local 192.168.115.126 port 55777 connected to 192.168.112.75 port 5201

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd RTT

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 67.1 MBytes 56.3 Mbits/sec 72 816 KBytes 314ms

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 67.1 MBytes 56.3 Mbits/sec 72 sender

[ 5] 0.00-10.14 sec 66.1 MBytes 54.7 Mbits/sec receiver

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 109 MBytes 91.5 Mbits/sec 7 1.50 MBytes 115ms

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 109 MBytes 91.5 Mbits/sec 7 sender

[ 5] 0.00-10.02 sec 107 MBytes 89.9 Mbits/sec receiver

Test 2:

• Server: MacBook Pro (192.168.115.126) running iPerf3 server.

• Client: QNAP device (192.168.112.75) running iPerf3.

Here are the outputs:

MacBook Pro (Server):

admin@pmb ~ % iperf3-darwin -i 10 -s

Server listening on 5201

Accepted connection from 192.168.112.75, port 39232

[ 5] local 192.168.115.126 port 5201 connected to 192.168.112.75 port 39234

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Rwnd

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 352 MBytes 295 Mbits/sec 4.00 MBytes

[ 5] 10.00-10.08 sec 3.59 MBytes 393 Mbits/sec 3.96 MBytes

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate

[ 5] 0.00-10.08 sec 356 MBytes 296 Mbits/sec receiver

[ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 333 MBytes 279 Mbits/sec 4.00 MBytes

[ 5] 10.00-10.10 sec 3.77 MBytes 306 Mbits/sec 3.87 MBytes

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate

[ 5] 0.00-10.10 sec 337 MBytes 280 Mbits/sec receiver

QNAP (Client):

[admin@QNAP bin]$ ./iperf3 -i 10 -c 192.168.115.126

Connecting to host 192.168.115.126, port 5201

[ 5] local 192.168.112.75 port 39234 connected to 192.168.115.126 port 5201

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 363 MBytes 304 Mbits/sec 0 4.14 MBytes

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 363 MBytes 304 Mbits/sec 0 sender

[ 5] 0.00-10.08 sec 356 MBytes 296 Mbits/sec receiver

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 347 MBytes 291 Mbits/sec 0 4.09 MBytes

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr

[ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 347 MBytes 291 Mbits/sec 0 sender

[ 5] 0.00-10.10 sec 337 MBytes 280 Mbits/sec receiver

Challenges Faced:

• Inconsistent Results: I noticed a significant variance in results between the two test scenarios. The performance when the MacBook was the server was notably higher compared to when the QNAP device was the server.

• Retransmissions: There were a noticeable number of retransmissions during the tests, especially when the MacBook Pro was the client, which might indicate network issues or inefficiencies.

• Latency: RTT varied significantly between tests, impacting throughput.

I would appreciate any insights or suggestions on how to address these inconsistencies or improve overall performance. Has anyone else faced similar issues when testing with iPerf3 across different devices?

EDIT: QNAP Model TS-453be with 4x14TB Drives in RAID5.