How can I measure end-to-end application performance across real or live networks?

Testing real-world network performance requires more than just ping and traceroute. You need to emulate actual user behavior, like voice calls, video streaming, file downloads, and web browsing, and measure how the network responds. Tools like IxChariot simulate these applications across distributed endpoints to capture end-to-end throughput, latency, jitter, and QoE metrics. Because it operates using software agents rather than dedicated test equipment, you can deploy it across live wired, wireless, or cloud networks without disrupting users or services. IxChariot enhances this by providing a rich library of pre-built application scripts that mirror real-world traffic flows. Endpoint agents can be installed on laptops, servers, or virtual machines, giving you complete visibility across branch offices, data centers, and cloud environments. This flexible, software-based approach makes it possible to run live performance testing from virtually any location, ensuring you can benchmark true user experience across diverse and distributed networks.

What’s the best way to validate performance across Wi-Fi 6/7, 5G, or SD-WAN environments?

Emerging wireless and edge technologies like Wi-Fi 6E/7, 5G, and SD-WAN introduce dynamic routing, changing bandwidth, and complex access conditions. Traditional testing tools can't always reach these environments or simulate user traffic with enough realism. Lightweight endpoint agents let you emulate application traffic from laptops, smartphones, edge devices, or VMs, making it easy to test real user experience in real time. With distributed test coverage and built-in scalability, you can benchmark network behavior under various access technologies and topologies to ensure consistent performance across the enterprise. With IxChariot, you can benchmark wireless and edge networks under real-world load by running simultaneous tests across many endpoint devices. The software measures performance factors such as throughput, latency, and jitter under dynamic conditions, validating how well networks deliver quality of experience for next-generation applications. This enables IT teams to verify readiness for Wi-Fi 6/7 rollouts, assess SD-WAN routing efficiency, and ensure reliable mobile connectivity in both preproduction and live environments.

How do I test application performance in hybrid cloud and remote branch networks?

Cloud and remote deployments make it harder to monitor or test performance from a centralized lab. You need a flexible test approach that works inside distributed networks, at the branch, the edge, or in the cloud. With software-based agents, you can deploy IxChariot at any point in the network path to emulate user sessions and test under actual deployment conditions. Whether you're validating a new cloud service rollout or troubleshooting slow file transfer at a branch office, endpoint-based testing gives you visibility where traditional tools can’t reach. IxChariot is purpose-built for this kind of distributed testing. Its agents run on common operating systems and virtual platforms, so you can place them directly in branch offices, cloud workloads, or remote devices. From there, IxChariot measures the same application KPIs (throughput, latency, jitter, and loss) that end users experience. This makes it possible to validate hybrid cloud services, identify bottlenecks in remote access, and confirm performance SLAs across a globally distributed enterprise network.

What’s the benefit of combining endpoint-based testing with tools?

IxChariot gives you visibility from the user’s perspective, capturing how real traffic behaves across production or remote environments. When used alongside IxNetwork (for protocol validation) or IxLoad (for load and stress testing), it enables a multi-layer test strategy. You can first validate protocol conformance and scale in the lab, then verify end-user experience in the field or under active network conditions. This layered approach gives infrastructure, QA, and operations teams a unified view of performance, from packet to application. By integrating IxChariot with Keysight’s broader portfolio, you create a complementary, full-stack validation workflow. IxNetwork ensures routing and switching work correctly, IxLoad applies stress at scale, and IxChariot verifies the ultimate outcome: the end-user experience. This combination allows teams to bridge the gap between lab and production, ensuring that both network infrastructure and live applications meet performance expectations under real-world conditions.

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Realistic traffic emulation for network user experience testing

Keysight IxChariot is a lightweight, software-based solution for validating application performance across wired, wireless, and cloud networks. IxChariot is installed on endpoints. It emulates applications at scale to measure throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss, and quality of experience for voice, video, and data applications. With a rich library of pre-built application scripts, IxChariot helps assess the readiness and reliability of networks and client-server systems in lab or production environments. Deploy it across distributed endpoints to test from virtually any location and scale performance assessments across multiple sites and user groups. Select the configuration that aligns with your deployment environment and testing scope. Request a quote for one of our popular configurations today. Need help selecting? Check out the resources below.

Application traffic emulation

Simulates real application flows, such as HTTP, VoIP, video, and file transfer, using a comprehensive library of pre-built test scripts.

Distributed endpoint agents

Deploy endpoint agents across laptops, mobile devices, servers, and virtual machines to test performance anywhere in the network, without specialized hardware.