---
title: "Tools and Testing"
slug: "testing"
updated: 2026-07-25T01:26:10Z
published: 2026-07-25T01:26:10Z
canonical: "docs.swxtch.io/testing"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.swxtch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tools and Testing

> [!NOTE]
> **WHAT TO EXPECT**
> 
> **In this article**, users will learn about the various tools that are available to test their cloudSwXtch multicast network.

## cloudSwXtch Testing Tools

Included within the xNIC installation are four utilities that can be used to verify both the functionality and performance of their cloudSwXtch network.

- [**swx-perf**](/v2/docs/swx-perf): Is capable of producing and consuming unicast and multicast traffic in a producer/consumer schema.
- [**swx-top**](/v2/docs/swx-top): Is the text-based UI. It displays in the console detailed system statistics of any participant element in the network. This includes data regarding xNICs, swXtchBridges, streams, clusters, adaptors, etc.
- [**swx-tcpdump**](/v2/docs/swx-tcp-dump): This tool is our customized version of tcpdump. It helps you capture multicast packets sent to and from the cloudSwXtch with logic to decode our own header and display the original payload.
- [**swx-where**](/v2/docs/swxtch-where): Allows users to call for hardware information regarding their cloudSwXtch-aware VM and the cloud.
- swx-cli: Is a tool created to manage the cloudSwXtch ecosystem. It is able to get information from the cloudSwXtch, swXtchBridge, xNIC agents, work with the HA configuration, etc.

The first three of the list are bundled in a convenient swx-tool installer that users can run even on non-cloudSwXtch element machines (like a standard VM or bare-metal machine in the case of on-prem environments).

The following table shows where the tools are installed by default by the standard procedures:

| Tool\Component | cloudSwXtch | swXtchBridge | xNIC VM |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| swx-perf | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| swx-top | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| swx-tcpdump | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| swx-where | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

Detailed information and help for each tool can be found by using the `--help` command-line argument when running the command.

> [!WARNING]
> wXcked Eye for Monitoring
> 
> In addition to viewing cloudSwXtch statistics in `swx-top`, users can also use wXcked Eye from a web browser that has access to the cloudSwXtch network. For more information, see [Using wXcked Eye for cloudSwXtch](/v2/docs/using-wxcked-eye-for-cloudswxtch).

## Universal Third-Party Test Tools

There are a number of universal third-party tools available to test the cloudSwXtch network. For more information on these alternative tools, see our [Universal Third-Party Test Tools](/v2/docs/universal-third-party-testing-tools) article.

A software service that creates a fully virtualized Network Interface Controller within the Virtual Machine's (VM) operating system. This provides users with wXcked fast network connectivity and allows for the sending and receiving of IP multicast by applications running on the VM.