diff --git a/tests/integrated/encoding-benchmark.cpp b/tests/integrated/encoding-benchmark.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd24f77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integrated/encoding-benchmark.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Regents of the University of California.
+ *
+ * This file is part of ndn-cxx library (NDN C++ library with eXperimental eXtensions).
+ *
+ * ndn-cxx library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software
+ * Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * ndn-cxx library 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 Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License and GNU Lesser
+ * General Public License along with ndn-cxx, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see
+ * <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of ndn-cxx authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#define BOOST_TEST_MAIN 1
+#define BOOST_TEST_DYN_LINK 1
+#define BOOST_TEST_MODULE ndn-cxx Encoding Benchmark
+
+#include "encoding/tlv.hpp"
+
+#include "boost-test.hpp"
+#include "timed-execute.hpp"
+#include <boost/mpl/vector.hpp>
+#include <boost/mpl/vector_c.hpp>
+
+namespace ndn {
+namespace tlv {
+namespace tests {
+
+using namespace ndn::tests;
+
+template<size_t WIRE_SIZE>
+struct ReadVarNumberTest;
+
+template<>
+struct ReadVarNumberTest<1>
+{
+  static const uint8_t WIRE[];
+  static const uint64_t VALUE = 252;
+};
+const uint8_t ReadVarNumberTest<1>::WIRE[] = {0xfc};
+
+template<>
+struct ReadVarNumberTest<3>
+{
+  static const uint8_t WIRE[];
+  static const uint64_t VALUE = 253;
+};
+const uint8_t ReadVarNumberTest<3>::WIRE[] = {0xfd, 0x00, 0xfd};
+
+template<>
+struct ReadVarNumberTest<5>
+{
+  static const uint8_t WIRE[];
+  static const uint64_t VALUE = 65536;
+};
+const uint8_t ReadVarNumberTest<5>::WIRE[] = {0xfe, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00};
+
+template<>
+struct ReadVarNumberTest<9>
+{
+  static const uint8_t WIRE[];
+  static const uint64_t VALUE = 4294967296;
+};
+const uint8_t ReadVarNumberTest<9>::WIRE[] = {0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00};
+
+template<size_t WIRE_SIZE, size_t ALIGNMENT_OFFSET>
+struct ReadVarNumberAlignTest : public ReadVarNumberTest<WIRE_SIZE>
+{
+  using AlignmentOffset = std::integral_constant<size_t, ALIGNMENT_OFFSET>;
+
+  static_assert(sizeof(ReadVarNumberTest<WIRE_SIZE>::WIRE) == WIRE_SIZE, "");
+};
+
+using ReadVarNumberTests = boost::mpl::vector<
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<1, 0>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<3, 0>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<3, 1>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<5, 0>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<5, 1>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<5, 2>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<5, 3>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 0>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 1>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 2>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 3>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 4>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 5>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 6>,
+  ReadVarNumberAlignTest<9, 7>
+>;
+
+// Benchmark of ndn::tlv::readVarNumber with different number lengths and alignments.
+// Run this benchmark with:
+//    ./encoding-benchmark -t 'ReadVarNumber*'
+// For accurate results, it is required to compile ndn-cxx in release mode.
+// It is recommended to run the benchmark multiple times and take the average.
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE_TEMPLATE(ReadVarNumber, Test, ReadVarNumberTests)
+{
+  const int N_ITERATIONS = 100000000;
+
+  alignas(8) uint8_t buffer[16];
+  static_assert(Test::AlignmentOffset::value + sizeof(Test::WIRE) <= sizeof(buffer), "");
+  uint8_t* const begin = buffer + Test::AlignmentOffset::value;
+  std::memcpy(begin, Test::WIRE, sizeof(Test::WIRE));
+  const uint8_t* const end = begin + sizeof(Test::WIRE);
+
+  int nOks = 0;
+  int nCorrects = 0;
+  auto d = timedExecute([&] {
+    uint64_t number = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < N_ITERATIONS; ++i) {
+      const uint8_t* begin2 = begin; // make a copy because readVarNumber increments the pointer
+      nOks += readVarNumber(begin2, end, number);
+      nCorrects += number == Test::VALUE;
+      // use the number and the return value, so compiler won't optimize out their computation
+    }
+  });
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(nOks, N_ITERATIONS);
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(nCorrects, N_ITERATIONS);
+  std::cout << "size=" << sizeof(Test::WIRE)
+            << " offset=" << Test::AlignmentOffset::value
+            << " " << d << std::endl;
+}
+
+} // namespace tests
+} // namespace tlv
+} // namespace ndn
diff --git a/tests/integrated/scheduler-benchmark.cpp b/tests/integrated/scheduler-benchmark.cpp
index 16a6bdc..3074d22 100644
--- a/tests/integrated/scheduler-benchmark.cpp
+++ b/tests/integrated/scheduler-benchmark.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
-/**
- * Copyright (c) 2013-2016 Regents of the University of California.
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Regents of the University of California.
  *
  * This file is part of ndn-cxx library (NDN C++ library with eXperimental eXtensions).
  *
@@ -26,12 +26,15 @@
 #include "util/scheduler.hpp"
 
 #include "boost-test.hpp"
+#include "timed-execute.hpp"
 
 namespace ndn {
 namespace util {
 namespace scheduler {
 namespace tests {
 
+using namespace ndn::tests;
+
 BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(ScheduleCancel)
 {
   boost::asio::io_service io;
@@ -40,18 +43,20 @@
   const int nEvents = 1000000;
   std::vector<EventId> eventIds(nEvents);
 
-  time::steady_clock::TimePoint t1 = time::steady_clock::now();
-  for (int i = 0; i < nEvents; ++i) {
-    eventIds[i] = sched.scheduleEvent(time::seconds(1), []{});
-  }
-  time::steady_clock::TimePoint t2 = time::steady_clock::now();
-  for (int i = 0; i < nEvents; ++i) {
-    sched.cancelEvent(eventIds[i]);
-  }
-  time::steady_clock::TimePoint t3 = time::steady_clock::now();
+  auto d1 = timedExecute([&] {
+    for (int i = 0; i < nEvents; ++i) {
+      eventIds[i] = sched.scheduleEvent(time::seconds(1), []{});
+    }
+  });
 
-  BOOST_TEST_MESSAGE("schedule " << nEvents << " events: " << (t2 - t1));
-  BOOST_TEST_MESSAGE("cancel " << nEvents << " events: " << (t3 - t2));
+  auto d2 = timedExecute([&] {
+    for (int i = 0; i < nEvents; ++i) {
+      sched.cancelEvent(eventIds[i]);
+    }
+  });
+
+  std::cout << "schedule " << nEvents << " events: " << d1 << std::endl;
+  std::cout << "cancel " << nEvents << " events: " << d2 << std::endl;
 }
 
 BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(Execute)
@@ -79,7 +84,7 @@
   io.run();
 
   BOOST_REQUIRE_EQUAL(nExpired, nEvents);
-  BOOST_TEST_MESSAGE("execute " << nEvents << " events: " << (t2 - t1));
+  std::cout << "execute " << nEvents << " events: " << (t2 - t1) << std::endl;
 }
 
 } // namespace tests
diff --git a/tests/integrated/timed-execute.hpp b/tests/integrated/timed-execute.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f71e72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integrated/timed-execute.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Regents of the University of California.
+ *
+ * This file is part of ndn-cxx library (NDN C++ library with eXperimental eXtensions).
+ *
+ * ndn-cxx library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+ * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software
+ * Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * ndn-cxx library 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 Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received copies of the GNU General Public License and GNU Lesser
+ * General Public License along with ndn-cxx, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see
+ * <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of ndn-cxx authors and contributors.
+ */
+
+#ifndef NDN_TESTS_INTEGRATED_TIMED_EXECUTE_HPP
+#define NDN_TESTS_INTEGRATED_TIMED_EXECUTE_HPP
+
+#include "util/time.hpp"
+
+namespace ndn {
+namespace tests {
+
+template<typename F>
+time::nanoseconds
+timedExecute(const F& f)
+{
+  auto before = time::steady_clock::now();
+  f();
+  auto after = time::steady_clock::now();
+  return after - before;
+}
+
+} // namespace tests
+} // namespace ndn
+
+#endif // NDN_TESTS_INTEGRATED_TIMED_EXECUTE_HPP