diff --git a/src/test/perf/perf-pcap.cc b/src/test/perf/perf-pcap.cc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aaef727a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/perf/perf-pcap.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/*
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ */
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <fstream>
+
+#include "ns3/simulator-module.h"
+#include "ns3/node-module.h"
+#include "ns3/core-module.h"
+#include "ns3/helper-module.h"
+
+using namespace ns3;
+
+NS_LOG_COMPONENT_DEFINE ("PerfPcap");
+
+bool g_addheader = false;
+RadiotapHeader g_header;
+Time g_t(0.);
+
+static void
+WritePacket (Ptr<PcapFileObject> file, Ptr<const Packet>   packet)
+{
+  if (g_addheader)
+    {
+      Ptr<Packet> p = packet->Copy ();
+      p->AddHeader (g_header);
+      file->Write (g_t, p);
+    }
+  else
+    {
+      file->Write (g_t, packet);
+    }
+}
+
+int 
+main (int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+  CommandLine cmd;
+  cmd.AddValue ("addheader", "Add a header to the traces to trigger a deep copy", g_addheader);
+  cmd.Parse (argc, argv);
+
+  PcapHelper pcapHelper;
+  Ptr<PcapFileObject> file = pcapHelper.CreateFile ("perf-pcap.pcap", "w", 9999);
+
+  Ptr<Packet> p = Create<Packet> (1024);
+
+  NS_LOG_UNCOND ("timing pcap file write of 1K packet");
+  NS_LOG_UNCOND ("g_addheader = " << g_addheader);
+
+  SystemWallClockMs ms;
+  ms.Start ();
+
+  for (uint32_t i = 0; i < 100000; ++i)
+    {
+      WritePacket (file, p);
+    }
+
+  uint64_t et = ms.End ();
+
+  NS_LOG_UNCOND ("elapsed time = " << et);
+}
diff --git a/src/test/perf/waf b/src/test/perf/waf
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..4283ec141
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/perf/waf
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+exec "`dirname "$0"`"/../../../waf "$@"
diff --git a/src/test/perf/wscript b/src/test/perf/wscript
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..91fef671b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/perf/wscript
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+## -*- Mode: python; py-indent-offset: 4; indent-tabs-mode: nil; coding: utf-8; -*-
+
+def configure(conf):
+    pass
+
+def build(bld):
+    obj = bld.create_ns3_module('perf')
+    headers = bld.new_task_gen('ns3header')
+    headers.module = 'perf'
+
+    obj = bld.create_ns3_program('perf-pcap', ['core', 'simulator', 'internet-stack'])
+    obj.source = 'perf-pcap.cc'
+
+
diff --git a/src/test/wscript b/src/test/wscript
index 494c1df3c..0052dd464 100644
--- a/src/test/wscript
+++ b/src/test/wscript
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 ## -*- Mode: python; py-indent-offset: 4; indent-tabs-mode: nil; coding: utf-8; -*-
 
+def configure(conf):
+    conf.sub_config('perf')
+
 def build(bld):
     test = bld.create_ns3_module('test', ['core'])
     test.source = [
diff --git a/src/wscript b/src/wscript
index 7b2b298ad..252867421 100644
--- a/src/wscript
+++ b/src/wscript
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ all_modules = (
     'applications/ping6',
     'applications/radvd',
     'test',
+    'test/perf',
     'test/ns3tcp',
     'test/ns3wifi',
     'contrib/flow-monitor',
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ def configure(conf):
     conf.sub_config('contrib')
     conf.sub_config('internet-stack')
     conf.sub_config('helper')
+    conf.sub_config('test')
 
     blddir = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(conf.blddir, conf.env.variant()))
     conf.env.append_value('NS3_MODULE_PATH', blddir)