What is the primary use of the iperf tool?

The primary use of the iperf tool is to generate and test network load, making it an essential tool in network performance measurement. iperf allows users to create TCP and UDP data streams and measure the throughput of a network that carries them. This is particularly useful for understanding bandwidth capability and the performance of different types of network paths, enabling network engineers and developers to assess how well their network handles various data loads under different conditions.

By generating a controlled amount of traffic, iperf helps in identifying network bottlenecks, measuring latency, jitter, and other critical parameters that affect network performance. This makes it invaluable for tuning network configurations, planning capacity, or even validating new hardware or configurations.

In contrast, monitoring network traffic involves continuously observing the flow of data without necessarily generating traffic, while managing SNMP configurations refers to the handling of network management protocols, which doesn't pertain to performance testing. Optimizing data compression is more related to the efficiency of data transfer rather than measuring the performance characteristics of a network connection itself.