What command would you use to perform simple ICMP packet throughput tests?

The command used to perform simple ICMP packet throughput tests is ping. This utility sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request packets to a specified destination and measures the time it takes for the Echo Reply packets to return. This functionality allows users to assess basic network connectivity and latency between the source and the destination.

Ping is a fundamental tool for network diagnostics, providing immediate insight into the availability of a networked device and the round-trip time for packets. It sends continuous intervals of packets to measure how many were successfully returned, along with the time taken for each round-trip packet, which leads to a measure of throughput and network performance.

The other options serve different purposes: traceroute is used to determine the path packets take to a destination, iperf is designed for detailed network performance measurement rather than basic connectivity checks, and iftop is a tool for monitoring bandwidth usage on an interface, rather than testing packet throughput directly. Hence, for simple ICMP packet tests, ping is the most appropriate choice.