What does the network test look for?

[Twerp]

Hi again,

I'm working with the network test right now (networking has never been a strong suit). I've searched on these forums for Ethernet loopback and you guys seem to reiterate these two things:

1. The internal loopback doesn't test much of the hardware
2. The best way to test Ethernet is by pinging a router you've connected on the network.

On number 1, is that due to the internal loopback not going through all of the layers (physical, link, network, etc.)?

Here's what I've done so far:
-Installed wireshark
-Ping'd Google to grab it's IP
-Placed that IP in the destination of the network settings (all available ethernet ports)
-Captured the packets when it's running.

It seems that the network test is just pinging the destination address like crazy (I had my duty cycle up to 99%) and waits for the reply. In this case, a loopback cable wouldn't work properly, would it? The loopback would send the ping, but it couldn't send the reply? If that's the case, could software be written to reply?

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Also, I've tried using the Microsoft Loopback adapter and capturing the packets, but it doesn't actually show anything. Is this due to #1 up above?

[Tim (PassMark)]

The internal loopback test is merely a quick check that the network card is installed and functioning, no data is actually sent across the network.

The network tests are described in much detail in the BurnInTest help, in the "Test Descriptions" sections. As you have seen, the standard network test sends ICMP_ECHO packets (ping) and checks for the replies and verifies the checksum on the data.

No, a loopback cable will not work for the network test as a server is required to receive the original packet, verify the checksum and send the expected reply. Even if you have two network cards in the same system connected to each other the test (or ping) will not work as it is treated as a local IP and no data is actually transmitted.