Methods and apparatus for placement of test packets onto a data communication network

A program product comprising a computer-readable medium carrying computer-readable signals comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to execute a method for dispatching a burst of test packets onto a network, the method comprising:

• generating a plurality of test packets;
• forwarding to an I/O completion port a request that the test packets be dispatched;
• and,
• dispatching the test packets onto the network using the I/O completion port.

Apparatus for dispatching bursts of packets onto a computer network, the apparatus comprising:

• a computer processor;
• a network interface;
• a program memory accessible to the processor, the program memory comprising test packet sequencer software comprising a series of instructions executable by the processor under control of an operating system, the instructions, if executed by the processor, causing the processor to:
• establish a first I/O completion port;
• generate a plurality of test packets;
• forward to the first I/O completion port a request that the test packets be dispatched;
• and,
• dispatch the test packets onto the network by way of the network interface under control of the first I/O completion port.