Ostinato vs Tessabyte

Ostinato generates and customizes network traffic, or replays PCAP files, to help validate throughput, QoS, multicast, routing, switching, protocol behavior, and network performance. Users can edit supported protocol headers, set frame sizes, and create custom headers with hexdumps or scripts. PCAP replay can preserve or alter packet timing, loop traffic, or reorder packets. Native protocols include Ethernet, VLAN, QinQ, IPv4/IPv6, UDP, stateless TCP, ICMP, ARP/NDP, IGMP/MLD, and GRE; other methods can support headers such as MPLS and VXLAN. Reports show transmit and receive statistics, per-stream packet loss, and latency and jitter measured with software timestamps. A Python API supports stream and scenario creation, run control, counter collection, and CI/CD integration. Ostinato lists GNS3, EVE-NG, Cisco CML, and Containerlab as supported lab environments, and says it works on AWS and Azure cloud VMs. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted or API setups. Plans start at $12 a month billed annually; an active subscription is required.

Tessabyte measures performance on wired and wireless networks, including speed, packet loss, and jitter. Listed uses include Wi-Fi speed tests, network capacity tests, link quality analysis, stress tests, QoS assessment, and SLA verification. It tests across LAN and Wi-Fi using IPv4, IPv6, TCP, and UDP. Results can chart uplink and downlink speeds, packet loss, and jitter; users can customize payloads and generate reports. The software has client and server components, and multiple clients can connect to one server. The server component is free and can be installed on unlimited Windows, macOS, or Linux machines. Its evaluation version is fully functional for 30 days from first execution. Client licenses are one-time purchases: the 1-user license is $39 as a one-time purchase, and licenses are also listed for three, five, ten, and 25 users. Each Windows or macOS client user license allows installation on up to three personal machines, and one license is required per user. Purchases include technical support and software updates for one year; the license remains usable afterward, with upgrades available separately. Tessabyte is self-hosted, and its maker describes it as intended for professionals who have outgrown iPerf.