Currently we are looking for a magic tool with which it is possible to
generate specific (realistic) traffic patterns between client and server
to analyze (monitor) traffic characteristics (jitter, delay, inter
arrival times, etc.).
It would be good if that wanted tool is not only able to generate
different traffic patterns but also is able to collect different traffic
metrics over time. So that it is possible to create catchy plots.
Cisco has an IOS version called Pagent which allows you to craft whatever
traffic types you want (you can even push MPLS labels on the packets if you
want). I've used this in the past for generating client/server traffic
flows and measuring stats on the flows.
You can easily make one-way traffic patterns using nmap. You could use ping -A to do adaptive ping, or ping -f to flood, both of which would help you find out some simple metrics (dropped packets, intervals, pps, etc.).
or
You could use Expect to script some common functions, then just run them to generate traffic patterns (e.g. FTP/SFTP/Telnet/SplunkCLI). You could easily script some WGETs or the like as well for HTTP/HTTPS/FTP. Some of the resulting metrics would depend on the servers (how fast they are, how much load they have, etc.).
or
You could packet sniff some real traffic, then replay them with tcpreplay. This would work for a nework with one piece you were testing (one switch/router/firewall/etc.).
