Linux / Unix: Test Internet Connection Speed From Console Over SSH Command Line

I have recently rented a dedicated server for my hobby projects and learning CentOS Linux server. I was informed that I am connected to the 100M/s port. How do I test my Internet connection download speed from the console over the ssh session without using HTML5 or Adobe flash/Java applets based websites? How do I test my upload speed from the console?

Tutorial details
Difficulty	Easy (rss)
Root privileges	No
Requirements	lftp or wget+wput/ftp

I recommend that you use lftp command to test Internet upload and download speed from console. You can run lftp using the ssh client:

[a] wget - Retrieves files from the web (download speed test).

[b] wput - A tiny wget-like ftp-client for uploading files (upload speed test).

[c] axel - Another light download accelerator.

[d] iperf - Perform network throughput tests.

Installation

You can use the following yum command to install lftp and iperf under RHEL / CentOS / Fedora Linux:
# yum install lftp iperf
OR use the following apt-get command under Debian or Ubuntu Linux:
$ sudo apt-get install lftp iperf

Step #1: Find out download url

You need a large size file to test download speed. For example, you can visit the home page of "Argonne National Laboratory Public Software Mirror" to grab Centos Linux ISO file.

Step #2: Use lftp command to test download speed

The syntax is:

lftp -e 'pget http://example.com/file.iso; exit; '
lftp -e 'pget http://speedtest.example.com/500M.bin; exit; '
lftp -e 'pget http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/centos/6.3/isos/x86_64/CentOS-6.3-x86_64-LiveCD.iso; exit; '

Sample outputs:

Fig.01: lftp testing internet speed

You will also get the report as follows:

725617504 bytes transferred in 65 seconds (10.63M/s)

A note about wget command

You can use the wget command as follows for testing download speed:
$ wget -O /dev/null http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/centos/6.3/isos/x86_64/CentOS-6.3-x86_64-LiveCD.iso
Sample outputs:

Fig.02: wget command in action

Step #3: Use lftp command to test upload speed

The sytnax is as follows:

 
lftp -u userName ftp.example.com -e 'put largecd1.avi; bye'
lftp -u userName,passWord ftp.example.com -e 'put largecd1.avi; bye'
lftp -u userName,passWord ftp.example.com -e 'put /path/to/large.iso; bye'

In this example, I am uploading a file to my private ftp server:

lftp -u admin homeserver -e 'cd video; put /home/vivek/Downloads/debian-testing-amd64-CD-1.iso; bye'

lftp -u admin homeserver.public.ip.here -e 'cd video; put /home/vivek/Downloads/debian-testing-amd64-CD-1.iso; bye'

Sample outputs:

Fig.03: lftp upload speed test in action

How do I test network throughput rate between two Linux or Unix servers?

Consider the following setup:

+------------------+                                  +----------------+
| Linux server A    +--------- ISP Internet-----------+ Linux server B +
+------------------+                                  +----------------+
IP:202.54.1.1                                         IP:203.54.1.1
iperf server                                          iperf client

Iperf is a tool to measure maximum TCP bandwidth, allowing the tuning of various parameters and UDP characteristics. Iperf reports bandwidth, delay jitter, datagram loss. On server A start iperf as follows:
# iperf -s -B 202.54.1.1
On server B type the same command as follows:
# iperf -c 202.54.1.1 -d -t 60 -i 10
Sample outputs: