perfSONAR User Q&A and Other Discussion

[Alex Moura <>]

Hi Aaron, 

When I was trying to look the help of an specific parameter -- let's say, -x -- I was looking back and forth trying to find it, since they were not in alphabetical order. 
This way it looks better, IMHO. 

Thanks,

Alex

On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 4:17 PM, Aaron Brown <> wrote:

Hey All,

Does this work better for folks?

Cheers,
Aaron

[aaron@desk146 bwctl]$ ./bwctl -h
bwctl:
usage: bwctl [arguments]

Connection Arguments

-4|--ipv4                        Use IPv4 only
-6|--ipv6                        Use IPv6 only
-B|--local_address <address>     Use this as a local address for control connection and tests

-c|--receiver <address>          The host that will act as the receiving side for a test

-E|--no_endpoint                 Allow tests to occur when the receiver isn't running bwctl (Default: False)
-o|--flip                        Have the receiver connect to the sender (Default: False)

-s|--sender <address>            The host that will act as the sending side for a test

Scheduling Arguments

-a|--allow_ntp_unsync <seconds>  Allow unsynchronized clock - claim good within offset

-I|--test_interval <seconds>     Time between repeated bwctl tests

-L|--latest_time <seconds>       Latest time into an interval to allow a test to run

-n|--num_tests <num>             Number of tests to perform (Default: 1)

-R|--randomize <percent>         Randomize the start time within this percentage of the test's interval (Default: 10%)

--schedule <schedule>            Specify the specific times when a test should be run (e.g. --schedule 11:00,13:00,15:00)

--streaming                      Request the next test as soon as the current test finishes

Test Arguments

-b|--bandwidth <bandwidth>       Bandwidth to use for tests (bits/sec KM) (Default: 1Mb for UDP tests, unlimited for TCP tests)

-D|--dscp <dscp>                 RFC 2474-style DSCP value for TOS byte
-i|--report_interval <seconds>   Tool reporting interval
-l|--buffer_length <bytes>       Length of read/write buffers
-O|--omit <seconds>              Omit time (currently only for iperf3)
-P|--parallel <num>              Number of concurrent connections
-S|--tos <tos>                   Type-Of-Service for outgoing packets

-T|--tool <tool>                 The tool to use for the test
                                   Available Tools:
                                      iperf
                                      iperf3
                                      nuttcp

-t|--test_duration <seconds>     Duration for test (Default: 10)
-u|--udp                         Perform a UDP test
-w|--window <bytes>              TCP window size (Default: system default)
-W|--dynamic_window <bytes>      Dynamic TCP window fallback size (Default: system default)

--tester_port <port>             For an endpoint-less test, use this port as the server port (Default: tool specific)

Output Arguments

-d|--output_dir <directory>      Directory to save session files to (only if -p)
-e|--facility <facility>         Syslog facility to log to

-f|--units <unit>                Type of measurement units to return (Default: tool specific)

-p|--print                       Print results filenames to stdout (Default: False)

-q|--quiet                       Silent mode (Default: False)
-r|--syslog_to_stderr            Send syslog to stderr (Default: False)

-v|--verbose                     Display verbose output

-x|--both                        Output both sender and receiver results
-y|--format <format>             Output format to use (Default: tool specific)

--parsable                       Set the output format to the machine parsable version for the select tool, if available

Misc Arguments

-h|--help                        Display the help message
-V|--version                     Show version number

On Apr 16, 2014, at 7:38 PM, Eli Dart <> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> My opinion only: if groupings make sense, then groupings are fine - they should just be explicit, and options listed alphabetically within the group.  Iperf's man page almost does this - there are sections for options, and the options are alphabetical within the sections (mostly).  I find that to be much more readable than something like the rsync man page which is just a big jumble.
>
> Again - my opinion only.
>
> Eli
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 1:29 PM, Aaron Brown <> wrote:
> Hey Alex,
>
> They’re roughly grouped by functionality, though I can re-arrange them. In general, I find alphabetical order less useful when I’m reading help options, because I’m usually reading them from a “how do I do X?” perspective as opposed to “what does -x mean?”.
>
> Cheers,
> Aaron
>
> On Apr 16, 2014, at 4:23 PM, Alex Moura <> wrote:
>
>> Hi Aaron,
>>
>> Just asking (really!): is there any reason for the help options not listed in aphabetical order?
>>
>> bwctl:
>> usage: bwctl [arguments]
>> -c|--receiver <address>          The host that will act as the receiving side for a test
>> -s|--sender <address>            The host that will act as the sending side for a test
>> -4|--ipv4                        Use IPv4 only
>> -6|--ipv6                        Use IPv6 only
>> -B|--local_address <address>     Use this as a local address for control connection and tests
>> -n|--num_tests <num>             Number of tests to perform (default: 1)
>> -I|--test_interval <seconds>     Time between repeated bwctl tests
>> --streaming                      Request the next test as soon as the current test finishes
>> -L|--latest_time <seconds>       Latest time into an interval to allow a test to run
>> -R|--randomize <percent>         Randomize the start time within this percentage of the test's interval (Default: 10%)
>> -T|--tool <tool>                 The tool to use for the test
>>                                    Available Tools:
>>                                       iperf
>>                                       iperf3
>>                                       nuttcp
>> -o|--flip                        Have the receiver connect to the sender (default: False)
>> -a|--allow_ntp_unsync <seconds>  Allow unsynchronized clock - claim good within offset
>> -f|--units <unit>                Type of measurement units to return (Default: tool specific)
>> -x|--both                        Output both sender and receiver results
>> -y|--format <format>             Output format to use (Default: tool specific)
>> -b|--bandwidth <bandwidth>       Bandwidth to use for tests (bits/sec KM) (Default: 1Mb for UDP tests, unlimited for TCP tests)
>> -i|--report_interval <seconds>   Tool reporting interval
>> -l|--buffer_length <bytes>       Length of read/write buffers
>> -O|--omit <seconds>              Omit time (currently only for iperf3)
>> -P|--parallel <num>              Number of concurrent connections
>> -D|--dscp <dscp>                 RFC 2474-style DSCP value for TOS byte
>> -S|--tos <tos>                   Type-Of-Service for outgoing packets
>> -t|--test_duration <seconds>     Duration for test (Default: 10)
>> -u|--udp                         Perform a UDP test
>> -w|--window <bytes>              TCP window size (Default: system default)
>> -W|--dynamic_window <bytes>      Dynamic TCP window fallback size (Default: system default)
>> -v|--verbose                     Display verbose output
>> -p|--print                       Print results filenames to stdout (Default: False)
>> -d|--output_dir <directory>      Directory to save session files to (only if -p)
>> -e|--facility <facility>         Syslog facility to log to
>> -q|--quiet                       Silent mode (Default: False)
>> -r|--syslog_to_stderr            Send syslog to stderr (Default: False)
>> -V|--version                     Show version number
>> -h|--help                        Display the help message
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Alex
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 10:28 AM, Aaron Brown <> wrote:
>> Hey Alan,
>>
>> There’s a poorly documented (read: not documented) way of doing that for traceroute (doesn’t work for tracepath, but will when I do another release), if you specify “-y a”, it’ll skip the hostname checks. Presumably, I chose ‘a’ for ‘addresses’ or something.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Aaron
>>
>> On Mar 27, 2014, at 1:54 PM, Alan Whinery <> wrote:
>>
>> > One nit, after spending some time messing about with bwctl 1.5.1 --
>> >
>> > The existence of a "-n (number of tests)" arg in bwtraceroute
>> > effectively masks "-n (don't do name resolution)" in tracepath and
>> > traceroute. With many (most?) paths including a hop with some proportion
>> > of hops with no associated reverse DNS record, doing name resolutions
>> > can increase the trace* time-to-complete by several orders of magnitude,
>> > so it's good to be able to send traceroute/tracepath a "-n".  This
>> > creates issues when the extra time stacks up across multiple traces, and
>> > if you really want names at some point you could resolve them from the
>> > collected IP addresses.
>> >
>> > I suggest adding a bwctl switch which tells the tool in question to
>> > not-resolve, not necessarily "-n" itself, like "--no-dns" .
>> >
>> > On 2/18/2014 8:11 AM, Aaron Brown wrote:
>> >> Hi all,
>> >>
>> >> A new version of BWCTL is now available. BWCTL 1.5.1 is a major upgrade over the previously released version.
>> >>
>> >> Notable additions in this release:
>> >> - Support for ping and owping (Run 'bwping -h' to see the available options)
>> >> - Support for traceroute and tracepath (Run 'bwtraceroute -h' to see the available options)
>> >> - Support for iperf3, and improved support for nuttcp
>> >> - Support for working behind a firewall for iperf3, ping, traceroute and tracepath (use the "--flip" flag when the receiver is behind the firewall)
>> >> - Handles NTP unsync a bit better (the daemon start, but will deny tests until NTP is synchronized)
>> >>
>> >> Those who are using the perfSONAR Toolkit, or otherwise have the Internet2 RPM repository enabled, can run 'yum update' to get the latest changes. For those who are installing from source or prefer to install the RPMs manually, the newest version can be downloaded from http://software.internet2.edu/ . After installation, you will need to restart bwctld to use the new features. You can do this by running “/etc/init.d/bwctld restart”.
>> >>
>> >> Please let us know if you have any questions and we look forward to everyone's continued feedback and support!
>> >>
>> >> Thank you,
>> >> The perfSONAR-PS Development Team
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
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