Linux tool to send raw data to a TCP server

Question

I am aware that this is not a direct 'development' question but I need this info to test a development project, so I think someone could've hit similar problem.

I will test a software that runs a TCP server and according to sent commands replies some answers. I will test the software and do not want to write code if it doesn't work well. So I want to send those commands and test drive the server software.

How can I achieve this with a Linux box?

Answer 1

From bash with dd:

dd if=/dev/zero bs=9000 count=1000 > /dev/tcp/$target_host/$port 

or even with cat:

cat < /dev/urandom > /dev/tcp/$target_host/$port 

Answer 2

netcat or telnet, i have used both in the past to test simple text based protocols. netcat is more flexible.