openload, which is called openwebload at sourceforge, is a simple URL load tester. Just the right sized tool for checking if your spiffy new web page is efficient enough to be tolerated.
There is a Debian package.
$ openload localhost 10
URL: http://localhost:80/
Clients: 10
MaTps 355.11, Tps 355.11, Resp Time 0.015, Err 0%, Count 511
MaTps 339.50, Tps 199.00, Resp Time 0.051, Err 0%, Count 711
MaTps 343.72, Tps 381.68, Resp Time 0.032, Err 0%, Count 1111
MaTps 382.04, Tps 727.00, Resp Time 0.020, Err 0%, Count 1838
MaTps 398.54, Tps 547.00, Resp Time 0.018, Err 0%, Count 2385
MaTps 425.78, Tps 670.90, Resp Time 0.014, Err 0%, Count 3072
<You press enter to stop the run>
Total TPS: 452.90
Avg. Response time: 0.021 sec.
Max Response time: 0.769 sec
Update: I couldn't leave it alone. The attached patch will add bits/second reports. It is also worth noting that you can add "-l number" to sample for a certain number of seconds, and a "-o csv" to put out a CSV line of the data at the end for easier scripting. Perhaps it needs a man page too.
Update: If you are an especially trusting sort of person you could install the Debian package attached and not have to build it yourself.
Update: Best wait on this. There is something odd going on with openload that is giving unstable results for bytes transfered. More diagnosis required.