diff --git a/src/iperf.h b/src/iperf.h
index 61ba696..0fb0846 100644
--- a/src/iperf.h
+++ b/src/iperf.h
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ struct iperf_settings
     int       domain;               /* AF_INET or AF_INET6 */
     int       socket_bufsize;       /* window size for TCP */
     int       blksize;              /* size of read/writes (-l) */
-    uint64_t  rate;                 /* target data rate, UDP only */
+    uint64_t  rate;                 /* target data rate */
+    int       burst;                /* packets per burst */
     int       mss;                  /* for TCP MSS */
     int       ttl;                  /* IP TTL option */
     int       tos;                  /* type of service bit */
@@ -234,6 +235,7 @@ struct iperf_test
 #define MIN_INTERVAL 0.1
 #define MAX_INTERVAL 60.0
 #define MAX_TIME 3600
+#define MAX_BURST 1000
 #define MAX_MSS (9 * 1024)
 #define MAX_STREAMS 128
 
diff --git a/src/iperf3.1 b/src/iperf3.1
index 8ac0e8a..e867cf5 100644
--- a/src/iperf3.1
+++ b/src/iperf3.1
@@ -73,6 +73,10 @@ use UDP rather than TCP
 set target bandwidth to \fIn\fR bits/sec (default 1 Mbit/sec for UDP, unlimited for TCP).
 If there are multiple streams (-P flag), the bandwidth limit is applied
 separately to each stream.
+You can also add a '/' and a number to the bandwidth specifier.
+This is called "burst mode".
+It will send the given number of packets without pausing, even if that
+temporarily exceeds the specified bandwidth limit.
 .TP
 .BR -t ", " --time " \fIn\fR"
 time in seconds to transmit for (default 10 secs)
diff --git a/src/iperf_api.c b/src/iperf_api.c
index dab066c..5d4c3c7 100644
--- a/src/iperf_api.c
+++ b/src/iperf_api.c
@@ -115,6 +115,12 @@ iperf_get_test_rate(struct iperf_test *ipt)
     return ipt->settings->rate;
 }
 
+int
+iperf_get_test_burst(struct iperf_test *ipt)
+{
+    return ipt->settings->burst;
+}
+
 char
 iperf_get_test_role(struct iperf_test *ipt)
 {
@@ -249,6 +255,12 @@ iperf_set_test_rate(struct iperf_test *ipt, uint64_t rate)
     ipt->settings->rate = rate;
 }
 
+void
+iperf_set_test_burst(struct iperf_test *ipt, int burst)
+{
+    ipt->settings->burst = burst;
+}
+
 void
 iperf_set_test_server_port(struct iperf_test *ipt, int server_port)
 {
@@ -529,6 +541,7 @@ iperf_parse_arguments(struct iperf_test *test, int argc, char **argv)
     int blksize;
     int server_flag, client_flag, rate_flag;
     char* comma;
+    char* slash;
 
     blksize = 0;
     server_flag = client_flag = rate_flag = 0;
@@ -583,6 +596,17 @@ iperf_parse_arguments(struct iperf_test *test, int argc, char **argv)
 		client_flag = 1;
                 break;
             case 'b':
+		slash = strchr(optarg, '/');
+		if (slash) {
+		    *slash = '\0';
+		    ++slash;
+		    test->settings->burst = atoi(slash);
+		    if (test->settings->burst <= 0 ||
+		        test->settings->burst > MAX_BURST) {
+			i_errno = IEBURST;
+			return -1;
+		    }
+		}
                 test->settings->rate = unit_atof(optarg);
 		rate_flag = 1;
 		client_flag = 1;
@@ -795,13 +819,15 @@ iperf_send(struct iperf_test *test, fd_set *write_setP)
     struct timeval now;
 
     /* Can we do multisend mode? */
-    if (test->settings->rate != 0)
-        multisend = 1;	/* nope */
-    else
+    if (test->settings->burst != 0)
+        multisend = test->settings->burst;
+    else if (test->settings->rate == 0)
         multisend = test->multisend;
+    else
+        multisend = 1;	/* nope */
 
     for (; multisend > 0; --multisend) {
-	if (test->settings->rate != 0)
+	if (test->settings->rate != 0 && test->settings->burst == 0)
 	    gettimeofday(&now, NULL);
 	SLIST_FOREACH(sp, &test->streams, streams) {
 	    if (sp->green_light &&
@@ -813,13 +839,18 @@ iperf_send(struct iperf_test *test, fd_set *write_setP)
 		    return r;
 		}
 		test->bytes_sent += r;
-		if (test->settings->rate != 0)
+		if (test->settings->rate != 0 && test->settings->burst == 0)
 		    iperf_check_throttle(sp, &now);
 		if (multisend > 1 && test->settings->bytes != 0 && test->bytes_sent >= test->settings->bytes)
 		    break;
 	    }
 	}
     }
+    if (test->settings->burst != 0) {
+	gettimeofday(&now, NULL);
+	SLIST_FOREACH(sp, &test->streams, streams)
+	    iperf_check_throttle(sp, &now);
+    }
     if (write_setP != NULL)
 	SLIST_FOREACH(sp, &test->streams, streams)
 	    if (FD_ISSET(sp->socket, write_setP))
@@ -1021,6 +1052,8 @@ send_parameters(struct iperf_test *test)
 	    cJSON_AddIntToObject(j, "len", test->settings->blksize);
 	if (test->settings->rate)
 	    cJSON_AddIntToObject(j, "bandwidth", test->settings->rate);
+	if (test->settings->burst)
+	    cJSON_AddIntToObject(j, "burst", test->settings->burst);
 	if (test->settings->tos)
 	    cJSON_AddIntToObject(j, "TOS", test->settings->tos);
 	if (test->settings->flowlabel)
@@ -1078,6 +1111,8 @@ get_parameters(struct iperf_test *test)
 	    test->settings->blksize = j_p->valueint;
 	if ((j_p = cJSON_GetObjectItem(j, "bandwidth")) != NULL)
 	    test->settings->rate = j_p->valueint;
+	if ((j_p = cJSON_GetObjectItem(j, "burst")) != NULL)
+	    test->settings->burst = j_p->valueint;
 	if ((j_p = cJSON_GetObjectItem(j, "TOS")) != NULL)
 	    test->settings->tos = j_p->valueint;
 	if ((j_p = cJSON_GetObjectItem(j, "flowlabel")) != NULL)
@@ -1409,6 +1444,7 @@ iperf_defaults(struct iperf_test *testp)
     testp->settings->socket_bufsize = 0;    /* use autotuning */
     testp->settings->blksize = DEFAULT_TCP_BLKSIZE;
     testp->settings->rate = 0;
+    testp->settings->burst = 0;
     testp->settings->mss = 0;
     testp->settings->bytes = 0;
     memset(testp->cookie, 0, COOKIE_SIZE);
@@ -1566,6 +1602,7 @@ iperf_reset_test(struct iperf_test *test)
     test->settings->socket_bufsize = 0;
     test->settings->blksize = DEFAULT_TCP_BLKSIZE;
     test->settings->rate = 0;
+    test->settings->burst = 0;
     test->settings->mss = 0;
     memset(test->cookie, 0, COOKIE_SIZE);
     test->multisend = 10;	/* arbitrary */
diff --git a/src/iperf_api.h b/src/iperf_api.h
index 033d1bb..59b73ef 100644
--- a/src/iperf_api.h
+++ b/src/iperf_api.h
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ char	iperf_get_test_role( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 int	iperf_get_test_reverse( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 int	iperf_get_test_blksize( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 uint64_t iperf_get_test_rate( struct iperf_test* ipt );
+int     iperf_get_test_burst( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 int	iperf_get_test_socket_bufsize( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 double	iperf_get_test_reporter_interval( struct iperf_test* ipt );
 double	iperf_get_test_stats_interval( struct iperf_test* ipt );
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ void	iperf_set_test_stats_interval( struct iperf_test* ipt, double stats_interva
 void	iperf_set_test_state( struct iperf_test* ipt, signed char state );
 void	iperf_set_test_blksize( struct iperf_test* ipt, int blksize );
 void	iperf_set_test_rate( struct iperf_test* ipt, uint64_t rate );
+void	iperf_set_test_burst( struct iperf_test* ipt, int burst );
 void	iperf_set_test_server_port( struct iperf_test* ipt, int server_port );
 void	iperf_set_test_socket_bufsize( struct iperf_test* ipt, int socket_bufsize );
 void	iperf_set_test_num_streams( struct iperf_test* ipt, int num_streams );
@@ -239,6 +241,7 @@ enum {
     IEOMIT = 12,            // Bogus value for --omit
     IEUNIMP = 13,           // Not implemented yet
     IEFILE = 14,            // -F file couldn't be opened
+    IEBURST = 15,           // Invalid burst count. Maximum value = %dMAX_BURST
     /* Test errors */
     IENEWTEST = 100,        // Unable to create a new test (check perror)
     IEINITTEST = 101,       // Test initialization failed (check perror)
diff --git a/src/iperf_error.c b/src/iperf_error.c
index 0066257..df903ec 100644
--- a/src/iperf_error.c
+++ b/src/iperf_error.c
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ iperf_strerror(int i_errno)
             snprintf(errstr, len, "unable to open -F file");
             perr = 1;
             break;
+        case IEBURST:
+            snprintf(errstr, len, "invalid burst count (maximum = %d)", MAX_BURST);
+            break;
         case IENEWTEST:
             snprintf(errstr, len, "unable to create a new test");
             perr = 1;