Traffic Generator - Wan Killer

The goal is not to be malicious, but to by pushing it to 100% utilization.

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. It is designed to simulate high-load conditions on Wide Area Network (WAN) links by generating customizable IP traffic. By intentionally bombarding target hostnames or IP addresses with traffic, network administrators can proactively identify performance bottlenecks, validate Quality of Service (QoS) configurations, and test the limits of their infrastructure without impacting production data. 2. Core Purpose and Use Cases WAN Killer serves as a "bandwidth killer" and network stress tester to help engineers answer critical performance questions. Infrastructure Stress Testing: Reveals how network devices (routers, switches, firewalls) respond to sudden spikes or extreme jumps in packet volume. Capacity Planning: Assists in determining if current bandwidth is sufficient to support projected traffic growth or a sudden influx of user requests. Pre-Deployment Simulation: Allows for proactive testing before rolling out new applications to see if their traffic receives appropriate priority. Load Balancing Verification: Studies the effectiveness of network activities like load balancing by observing traffic distribution under load. 3. Key Technical Features The tool provides high-level control over generated traffic directly through the SolarWinds documentation interface: Customizable Packet Parameters: Users can adjust packet size (e.g., smaller packets to test high PPS limits) and specify the percentage of circuit bandwidth to consume. Protocol Flexibility: Supports multiple protocols and allows users to set specific port numbers. Port 7 (Echo): Used to generate bidirectional (symmetrical) traffic if the target is configured to respond. Port 9 (Discard): Used for one-way traffic generation where the target discards received data. Header Customization: Facilitates modification of Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) and Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) settings to test QoS and congestion handling. Real-Time Adjustments: Allows for interactive testing where administrators can pause, stop, or adjust the load on the fly. 4. Limitations and Considerations While powerful, users must account for physical and systemic constraints: Bandwidth Caps: The tool cannot exceed the physical capacity of the network interface card (NIC) on the machine where it is installed. Target Processing: Even if the generator is set to a higher bandwidth than the target supports, the target will only process requests at its max rated capacity and drop the remainder. Platform Dependency: WAN Killer is primarily a Windows-based utility included in the paid Engineer's Toolset . 5. Comparative Alternatives 10 sites Network Traffic Generator & Stress Test - WAN Killer Run realistic usage tests with WAN Killer network traffic generator. Deploying the WAN Killer tool in SolarWinds® Engineer's Tools... SolarWinds Best Network Traffic Generator and Simulator Stress Test Tools Jun 17, 2025 — The goal is not to be malicious, but