Testnek

Testnek is a term used in software testing and network simulation to describe a modular framework for constructing and operating test networks for distributed applications. It enables simulating real-world conditions in a controlled environment separate from production, allowing developers to study behavior under various configurations and stressors.

Core capabilities include configurable topologies (mesh, star, ring), and network parameters such as latency, jitter, bandwidth, and packet loss. Testnek tools often provide programmable traffic profiles, trace replay, and fault injection (node or link failures), along with observability through metrics, logs, and traces.

Usage typically involves defining a topology and scenarios in a declarative file, launching the test environment (containers or orchestrators), running experiments, and recording results for analysis and regression testing.

Origins and scope: the term is not tied to a single standard and appears across various projects and discussions. While meanings vary, the central idea is a reproducible platform for testing distributed systems under realistic network conditions.

See also: testnet, network simulation, chaos engineering, traffic shaping, fault injection.