Test Ethernet and IP Network Performance from Layer 1 to Layer 4

04th, Sep 2026

Ethernet and IP networks must reliably carry traffic by maintaining throughput, packet delivery and low latency. Packet errors, dropped or out-of-sequence frames, network congestion, overloaded switches or routers, and deteriorating cabling can affect performance, creating a need for controlled and repeatable network testing.

GL Communications’ PacketCheck™ – Software Ethernet/IP Tester provides a PC-based solution for testing networks across LAN and WAN environments. Using the PC’s Network Interface Card (NIC), PacketCheck™ generates controlled traffic, evaluates network performance and identifies packet-delivery and delay issues.

PacketCheck™ – Software Ethernet/IP Tester

Test Across Multiple Network Layers

PacketCheck™ tests across multiple protocol layers, providing a common test environment for physical connections, Ethernet switches, routers and end-to-end IP networks.

  • Layer 1 – Bit Error Rate testing using PRBS and fixed test patterns
  • Layer 2 – Ethernet testing with configurable MAC parameters and Stacked VLAN
  • Layer 2.5 – Stacked MPLS testing with up to three MPLS stacks
  • Layer 3 – IP traffic generation and analysis
  • Layer 4 – UDP, TCP and ICMP traffic generation and analysis
  • Supports direct Ethernet, switched LAN, routed IP, VLAN and MPLS test environments

Generate Realistic Multi-Stream Network Traffic

PacketCheck™ generates multiple full-duplex traffic streams with independently configurable parameters. Individual streams can operate as Transmit Only, Receive Only, or Transmit and Receive, allowing different traffic conditions to be created within the same test.

Key traffic generation capabilities include:

  • Run multiple PacketCheck™ instances on a single PC to utilize available NICs
  • Configurable MAC, VLAN, MPLS, IP, UDP, TCP and ICMP parameters
  • Fixed, random and statistical frame-size generation
  • Frame Size Buckets with configurable frame-size ranges and probability distributions
  • Burst Mode and Inter Frame Gap Mode for controlling traffic transmission
  • PRBS and user-defined payload patterns for BERT
  • Jumbo-frame support depending on NIC capability
  • Zero-padding for testing interoperability with smaller packet sizes
  • File-based traffic generation using previously recorded traffic

Measure Network Performance

PacketCheck™ provides stream-wise and common statistics to monitor traffic and evaluate network performance during testing.

Key measurements include:

  • Bit Error Rate and Bit Error Count
  • Tx/Rx throughput and packet counts
  • Packet Loss and Out-of-Sequence Frames
  • Errored Frames and Sync Loss
  • Round Trip Delay
  • One-Way Delay

Configurable Out-of-Order Detection Window and Loss Declaration Timeout, together with sequence-number tracking, help distinguish delayed or out-of-order frames from frames that are actually lost.

For delay testing, Smart Loopback swaps source and destination MAC, IP and UDP information in incoming traffic and retransmits the traffic through the same interface, supporting Round Trip Delay measurements. PacketCheck™ also supports ARP and IP-to-MAC address resolution. Streams can be resolved before testing to populate MAC/routing tables and help avoid unnecessary flooding during Layer 3 testing.


Generate Reports

PacketCheck™ provides flexible reporting capabilities to document test results and monitor statistics during long-duration tests. Users can generate a PDF report for the complete test upon completion. Users can also configure periodic CSV reports to capture stream Tx/Rx statistics at user-defined intervals.

Key reporting capabilities include:

  • Report Generation – Generate reports for the completed test in PDF format, providing a convenient record of test configuration and results
  • Periodic CSV Reports – Generate reports while the test is running, with a user-configurable reporting interval for individual streams
  • Flush/Split Settings – Manage periodic reports during long-duration testing. The Flush Period periodically writes buffered report data to disk, helping reduce the risk of statistics loss if PacketCheck™ stops unexpectedly
  • Split Period – Periodic report files can be split at configured intervals, making large report files easier to manage during extended tests
  • Combined Periodic Reports – Combine periodic statistics from multiple streams into a single CSV report, simplifying the review and comparison of multi-stream test results

Evaluate Networks with Controlled Impairments

PacketCheck™ can introduce impairments into outgoing traffic, allowing engineers to evaluate how a network or Device Under Test responds under controlled error conditions.

Supported impairment operations include:

  • Delete Bytes and Insert Bytes
  • Replace Bits and Toggle Bits
  • Logical AND, OR, and XOR operations

Offsets, masks, values, intervals, and durations can be configured to control where and how impairments are introduced, enabling repeatable testing under error conditions.


Capture, Replay and Analyze Network Traffic

PacketCheck™ supports both User Defined and File Based traffic streams, providing flexibility to generate configured traffic or replay previously captured traffic.

  • Capture test and non-test traffic in PCAP/PCAPNG or GL proprietary HDL format
  • Replay previously recorded traffic for repeatable testing
  • Record received payload into binary files for diagnosis
  • Generate BERT diagnostic logs
  • Capture unidentified traffic through the Default Stream
  • Analyze captured traffic using Wireshark® or GL’s PacketScan™

Applications

PacketCheck™ can be used for network performance testing, validation and troubleshooting applications such as:

  • Determine available IP bandwidth between enterprise locations
  • Measure BER, throughput, packet loss and out-of-sequence traffic
  • Measure Round Trip and One-Way Delay
  • Test switch forwarding performance and behavior under traffic overload
  • Validate Layer 2 networks with Stacked VLAN
  • Test Stacked MPLS and VLAN + MPLS configurations
  • Evaluate routed Layer 3 and Layer 4 IP networks
  • Generate multi-stream traffic for switch and router testing
  • Generate and receive IP traffic over Frame Relay links using MFR-IP-PacketCheck™, with support for multiple Virtual Channels
  • Evaluate network and device response to controlled traffic impairments
  • Capture and replay traffic for repeatable testing
  • Troubleshoot LAN/WAN performance and packet-delivery issues

Why GL Communications?

  • 40+ years of expertise in network testing solutions
  • Comprehensive voice, video, data and protocol testing solutions
  • Support for analog, TDM, VoIP, wireless, IP and 5Gnetworks
  • Solutions for laboratory, field and distributed network testing
  • Protocol expertise across hundreds of telecom and IP protocols
  • Scalable automated testing and centralized analysis solutions

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