Speedtest CLI. Run speedtest on pfSense box

aln · May 20, 2020, 9:56 AM

I've created a widget to run speedtest directly from your pfSense dashboard
https://github.com/aln-1/pfsense-speedtest-widget

provels · May 20, 2020, 9:56 AM

@aln Hey, it works! Nice job! :)

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johnpoz · May 20, 2020, 10:44 AM

Pretty slick.. Nice work..

Not really a fan of running speedtest on pfsense itself, its always better to do them "thru" pfsense (from a client behind).. But yeah could see how it could come in handy for some.

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Allowing for some settings, like picking server, etc.. would be even extra slick ;)

2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@sg4860.local.lan]/: speedtest -h
usage: speedtest [-h] [--no-download] [--no-upload] [--single] [--bytes]
                 [--share] [--simple] [--csv] [--csv-delimiter CSV_DELIMITER]
                 [--csv-header] [--json] [--list] [--server SERVER]
                 [--exclude EXCLUDE] [--mini MINI] [--source SOURCE]
                 [--timeout TIMEOUT] [--secure] [--no-pre-allocate]
                 [--version]

Command line interface for testing internet bandwidth using speedtest.net.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://github.com/sivel/speedtest-cli

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --no-download         Do not perform download test
  --no-upload           Do not perform upload test
  --single              Only use a single connection instead of multiple. This
                        simulates a typical file transfer.
  --bytes               Display values in bytes instead of bits. Does not
                        affect the image generated by --share, nor output from
                        --json or --csv
  --share               Generate and provide a URL to the speedtest.net share
                        results image, not displayed with --csv
  --simple              Suppress verbose output, only show basic information
  --csv                 Suppress verbose output, only show basic information
                        in CSV format. Speeds listed in bit/s and not affected
                        by --bytes
  --csv-delimiter CSV_DELIMITER
                        Single character delimiter to use in CSV output.
                        Default ","
  --csv-header          Print CSV headers
  --json                Suppress verbose output, only show basic information
                        in JSON format. Speeds listed in bit/s and not
                        affected by --bytes
  --list                Display a list of speedtest.net servers sorted by
                        distance
  --server SERVER       Specify a server ID to test against. Can be supplied
                        multiple times
  --exclude EXCLUDE     Exclude a server from selection. Can be supplied
                        multiple times
  --mini MINI           URL of the Speedtest Mini server
  --source SOURCE       Source IP address to bind to
  --timeout TIMEOUT     HTTP timeout in seconds. Default 10
  --secure              Use HTTPS instead of HTTP when communicating with
                        speedtest.net operated servers
  --no-pre-allocate     Do not pre allocate upload data. Pre allocation is
                        enabled by default to improve upload performance. To
                        support systems with insufficient memory, use this
                        option to avoid a MemoryError
  --version             Show the version number and exit
[2.4.5-RELEASE][admin@sg4860.local.lan]/:

aln · May 20, 2020, 3:43 PM

@provels I'm glad I could contribute something back to the community.
@johnpoz the only reason to run speedtest on pfSense is to test your ISP without speed drops of other elements in your network.

adamoutler · May 20, 2020, 4:00 PM

Thank you very much, @aln!

I don't know why this isn't a stock package. Speed test on a router is a must. Thank you ever so much. This is by far my most needed package and you have just made my dreams come true.

To show my appreciation, I'd like to contribute some easy-install instructions. This short script does what you said to do. It won't install the widget if the pkg install fails. This can be run from the Diagnostics> Command Prompt > Execute Shell Command

pkg update ; pkg install -y py37-speedtest-cli && curl -o /usr/local/www/widgets/widgets/speedtest.widget.php https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aln-1/pfsense-speedtest-widget/master/speedtest.widget.php

Please consider further development, making this an official pFSense package. I'm very happy this is now a thing and thank you ever so much.

After hitting the refresh button, it comes up blank and never shows my results. I have to refresh the page to see the results. Any ideas?
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aln · May 20, 2020, 5:04 PM

@adamoutler when hitting the refresh button did it finish spinning? Can you see if there are any warning or errors in the browser's developer tools?
The widget will show an empty image initially and will cache the last speedtest results. You will be able to see them for as long as Ookla is caching them, as far as I can say this is forever.

provels · May 20, 2020, 5:11 PM

FWIW, when I ran it the second time, I also got an empty box, but every subsequent run it went fine. I just hit the chasing arrows again.

aln · May 20, 2020, 5:22 PM

I get some positive feedbacks and that's nice.
This was really quick and dirty widget. Maybe I'll take it a step further.
I'll keep you posted.

adamoutler · May 20, 2020, 9:56 PM

@aln maybe a reboot is required to reload the PHP system? It just stopped spinning and went blank.

aln · May 20, 2020, 11:24 PM

@aln new and improved version is now available
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aln · May 20, 2020, 11:25 PM

@adamoutler reboot should not be needed

adamoutler · May 21, 2020, 7:23 AM

@aln not sure how to activate it.
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J24 · May 21, 2020, 2:14 AM

@aln Maginficent!!! Thank you!

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aln · May 21, 2020, 7:23 AM

@adamoutler I committed a fix. try the latest version.

johnpoz · May 21, 2020, 12:09 PM

@aln said in Speedtest CLI. Run speedtest on pfSense box:

only reason to run speedtest on pfSense is to test your ISP without speed drops of other elements in your network.

And what might those be? While I hear you, the problem is running speedtest on your router doesn't always show you full speed of your connection.. Router meant to route, not but be a client... There are many thread here with people asking why when run speed test on pfsense do I not see my full isp speed..

Such any tool that makes it easy to do the test, it for sure going to bring more and more of those questions.
See @jimp post from above https://forum.netgate.com/post/675198

example just ran, to same server
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Not saying not good work.. Problem is there is rarely a time you need to run such a test from the edge.. If you think something in your network is slowing down your connection, then connect direct to the router with your client.

2nd test.. same thing connection from router is showing slower than thru router
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This is to be expected.. Nothing wrong with the router.. Its just not really a place to test if your getting full speed from your isp. Since the router is not meant to be a client in such tests, its meant to route packets..

Same thing comes up all the time over on the unifi forums about their routers doing speed tests.

MoonKnight · May 21, 2020, 12:24 PM

@johnpoz
Hi, I don't see so much different in the speedtest from pfsense or form my computer. Only different is the ping, but not much 2-5 ms different. :)

johnpoz · May 21, 2020, 12:36 PM

And what is your internet speed?

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7400 CPU

That is a pretty hefty "router" cpu ;)

MoonKnight · May 21, 2020, 1:38 PM

@johnpoz
I have 500/500 Mbps

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Yeah, i do have an overkill pfsense. But right now i'm running my backup pfsense, so only Intel (R) Core(TM) i5-6400 CPU, hehe :)

luckman212 · May 21, 2020, 1:38 PM

@johnpoz makes a good point, many pfSense installs on low power CPUs such as ARM or Atom will fail to measure the speed accurately. I've experienced this many times.

BUT, it's still very useful to have this as a "grain of salt" measurement, esp. when access to the LAN is limited or degraded. This has helped me confirm for example, that a remote site's ISP connection (300Mbps) was running fine, and that the slowness they were experiencing was due to a poor WiFi connection. Up to around 300Mbps the speeds can usually be measured reasonably well - even on devices like the SG2440 or SG3100.

aln · May 21, 2020, 2:08 PM

@CiscoX I guess my pfSense also falls in the overkill category i5, 8GB, 60GB :)