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Benchmarking Methodology for SDN Controller Performance
draft-bhuvan-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-meth-00

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Authors Bhuvaneswaran Vengainathan , Anton Basil , Mark Tassinari , Vishwas Manral , Sarah Banks
Last updated 2015-03-23
Replaced by draft-ietf-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-meth, draft-ietf-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-meth
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draft-bhuvan-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-meth-00
Internet-Draft                                Bhuvaneswaran Vengainathan
Network Working Group                                        Anton Basil
Intended Status: Informational                        Veryx Technologies
Expires: August 22, 2015                                  Mark Tassinari
                                                         Hewlett-Packard
                                                          Vishwas Manral
                                                              Ionos Corp
                                                             Sarah Banks
                                                          VSS Monitoring
                                                          March 23, 2015

     Benchmarking Methodology for SDN Controller Performance
        draft-bhuvan-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-meth-00

Abstract
   
   This document defines the methodologies for benchmarking performance
   of SDN controllers. Terminology related to benchmarking SDN 
   controller is described in the companion terminology document. 
   SDN controllers have been implemented with many varying designs in 
   order to achieve their intended network functionality. Hence, the 
   authors have taken the approach of considering an SDN controller as 
   a black box, defining the methodology in a manner that is agnostic 
   to protocols and network services supported by controllers. The 
   intent of this document is to provide a standard mechanism to 
   measure the performance of all controller implementations.

Status of this Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the 
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. 

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering 
   Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute 
   working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six 
   months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other 
   documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts 
   as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in 
   progress.

   This Internet-Draft will expire on August 22, 2015.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the 
   document authors. All rights reserved.
   

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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal 
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents 
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of 
   publication of this document. Please review these documents 
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with 
   respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this 
   document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in 
   Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without 
   warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.
   
Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Scope   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   3.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3  
   3.1  Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Network  . .  . .  4
   3.2  Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Network  . . . . . .  4
   3.3  Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Network with TP .  5
   3.4  Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Network with TP  . .  5
   3.5  Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Node with TP  . .  6
   3.6  Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Node with TP   . . .  7
   4.  Test Considerations   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   4.1  Network Topology   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7  
   4.2  Test Traffic   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
   4.3  Connection Setup   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8  
   4.4  Measurement Point Specification and Recommendation . . . . .  8
   4.5 Connectivity Recommendation   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   5.  Test Reporting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   6.  Benchmarking Tests  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9  
   6.1  Performance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9  
   6.1.1  Network Topology Discovery Time  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9  
   6.1.2  Asynchronous Message Processing Time   . . . . . . . . . . 11  
   6.1.3  Asynchronous Message Processing Rate   . . . . . . . . . . 12  
   6.1.4  Path Provisioning Time   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14  
   6.1.5  Path Provisioning Rate   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16  
   6.1.6  Network Topology Change Detection Time   . . . . . . . . . 17  
   6.2  Scalability  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18  
   6.2.1  Control Sessions Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18  
   6.2.2  Network Discovery Size   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19  
   6.2.3  Forwarding Table Capacity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20  
   6.3  Security   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21  
   6.3.1  Exception Handling   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21  
   6.3.2  Denial of Service Handling   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 
   6.4  Reliability  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23  
   6.4.1  Controller Failover Time   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23  
   6.4.2  Network Re-Provisioning Time   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24  

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   7.  References    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
   7.1  Normative References   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26  
   7.2  Informative References   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26  
   8.   IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26  
   9.   Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27  
   10.  Appendix A - Benchmarking Methodology using OF Controllers . 27  
   11.  Acknowledgements   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43  
   12.  Authors' Addresses   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43  

1. Introduction

   This document provides generic methodologies for benchmarking SDN 
   controller performance. An SDN controller may support many 
   northbound and southbound protocols, implement a wide range of 
   applications, and work solely, or as a group to achieve the desired 
   functionality. This document considers an SDN controller as a black 
   box, regardless of design and implementation. The tests defined in 
   the document can be used to benchmark SDN controller for 
   performance, scalability, reliability and security independent of 
   northbound and southbound protocols. These tests can be performed 
   on an SDN controller running as a virtual machine (VM) instance or 
   on a bare metal server.  This document is intended for those who 
   want to measure the SDN controller performance as well as compare 
   various SDN controllers performance.

   Conventions used in this document

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.  

2. Scope
  
   This document defines methodology to measure the networking 
   metrics of SDN controllers. The tests defined in this document 
   enable benchmarking of both as a standalone and as a cluster of
   homogeneous controllers. These tests are recommended for execution in
   lab environments rather than in real time deployments. Performance 
   benchmarking of federation of controllers is beyond the scope of 
   this document.

3. Test Setup
   
   The tests defined in this document enable measurement of SDN
   controller's performance in Standalone mode and Cluster mode. This
   section defines common reference topologies that are later referred
   to in individual tests.  

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3.1  Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Network

                           --------------------
                          |  SDN Applications  |
                           --------------------
                                     |
                                     | (Northbound interface)
                          -----------------------
                         |     SDN Controller    |
                         |          (DUT)        |
                          -----------------------
                                     | (Southbound interface) 
                                     |        
                   ------------------------------------- 
                  |                  |                  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
             |   SDN    |  l1  |   SDN    |  ln-1  |   SDN    |
             |  Node 1  |------|  Node 2  |--..----|  Node n  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
    
                                  Figure 1
    
3.2 Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Network

                           --------------------
                          |  SDN Applications  |
                           --------------------
                                     |
                                     | (Northbound interface)
         ---------------------------------------------------------
        |  ------------------             ------------------      |
        | | SDN Controller 1 | <--E/W--> | SDN Controller n |     |
        |  ------------------             ------------------      |
         ---------------------------------------------------------
                                     | (Southbound interface) 
                                     |        
                   ------------------------------------- 
                  |                  |                  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
             |   SDN    |  l1  |   SDN    |  ln-1  |   SDN    |
             |  Node 1  |------|  Node 2  |--..----|  Node n  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
    
    
                                  Figure 2

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3.3 Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Network with Traffic 
    Endpoints (TP)

                          --------------------
                         |  SDN Applications  |
                          --------------------
                                   |
                                   | (Northbound interface)
                         -----------------------
                        |  SDN Controller (DUT) |
                         -----------------------
                                     | (Southbound interface) 
                                     |        
                   ------------------------------------- 
                  |                  |                  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
             |   SDN    |  l1  |   SDN    |  ln-1  |   SDN    |
             |  Node 1  |------|  Node 2  |--..----|  Node n  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
                  |                                     |
                  | l0                                  | ln
                  |                                     |
            --------------                        --------------
           |   Traffic    |                      |   Traffic    |
           | Endpoint TP1 |                      | Endpoint TP2 |
            --------------                        --------------
    
                                  Figure 3
        
3.4 Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Network with Traffic 
    Endpoints (TP)

                          --------------------
                         |  SDN Applications  |
                          --------------------
                                     |
                                     | (Northbound interface)
        ---------------------------------------------------------
       |  ------------------             ------------------      |
       | | SDN Controller 1 | <--E/W--> | SDN Controller n |     |
       |  ------------------             ------------------      |
        ---------------------------------------------------------
                                     |

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                                     | (Southbound interface) 
                                     |        
                   ------------------------------------- 
                  |                  |                  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
             |   SDN    |  l1  |   SDN    |  ln-1  |   SDN    |
             |  Node 1  |------|  Node 2  |--..----|  Node n  |
              ----------        ----------          ----------
                  |                                     |
                  | l0                                  | ln
                  |                                     |
            --------------                        --------------
           |   Traffic    |                      |   Traffic    |
           | Endpoint TP1 |                      | Endpoint TP2 |
            --------------                        --------------
    
                                  Figure 4
    
    
3.5 Controller in Standalone Mode - Manage SDN Node with Traffic
    Endpoints (TP)
                          --------------------
                         |  SDN Applications  |
                          --------------------
                                   |
                                   | (Northbound interface)
                         -----------------------
                        |     SDN Controller    |
                        |          (DUT)        |
                         -----------------------
                                   | (Southbound interface) 
                                   |        
                         l0    ----------   l1
                       -------|   SDN    |---------
                      |       |  Node 1  |         |
                      |        ----------          |
                  ----------                  ----------
                 | Traffic  |                | Traffic  |
                 | Endpoint |                | Endpoint |
                 |   TP1    |                |   TP2    |
                  ----------                  ----------
    
                                  Figure 5

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3.6 Controller in Cluster Mode - Manage SDN Node with Traffic 
    Endpoints (TP)

                          --------------------
                         |  SDN Applications  |
                          --------------------
                                   |
                                   | (Northbound interface)
        ---------------------------------------------------------
       |  ------------------             ------------------      |
       | | SDN Controller 1 | <--E/W--> | SDN Controller n |     |
       |  ------------------             ------------------      |
        ---------------------------------------------------------
                                   | (Southbound interface) 
                                   |        
                          l0   ----------     l1
                       -------|   SDN    |---------
                      |       |  Node 1  |         |
                      |        ----------          |
                  ----------                  ----------
                 | Traffic  |                | Traffic  |
                 | Endpoint |                | Endpoint |
                 |   TP1    |                |   TP2    |
                  ----------                  ----------
    
                                  Figure 6
    
4. Test Considerations

4.1 Network Topology

   The network SHOULD be deployed with SDN nodes interconnected in 
   an either fully meshed, tree or linear topology. Care should be  
   taken to make sure that a loop prevention mechanism is enabled 
   either in the SDN controller, or in the network. To achieve a 
   complete performance characterization of the SDN controller, it 
   is recommended that the controller be benchmarked for many network
   topologies. These network topologies can be deployed using real 
   hardware or emulated in hardware platforms.  

4.2 Test Traffic

   Test traffic can be used to notify the controller about the arrival 
   of new flows or generate notifications/events towards controller. 
   In either case, it is recommended to use multiple frame sizes as
   recommended in RFC 2544 for benchmarking. 

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4.3 Connection Setup

   There may be controller implementations that support
   unencrypted and encrypted network connections with SDN nodes.
   Further, the controller may have backward compatibility with SDN
   nodes running older versions of southbound protocols. It is
   recommended that the controller performance be measured with one 
   or more applicable connection setup methods defined below.  
   
   1. Unencrypted connection with SDN nodes, running same protocol
      version.
   2. Unencrypted connection with SDN nodes, running 
      different protocol versions.
      Example: 
         1. Controller running current protocol version and switch
            running older protocol version
         2. Controller running older protocol version and switch
            running current protocol version
   3. Encrypted connection with SDN nodes, running same protocol version
   4. Encrypted connection with SDN nodes, running 
      different protocol versions.
      Example: 
         1. Controller running current protocol version and switch
            running older protocol version
         2. Controller running older protocol version and switch
            running current protocol version

4.4 Measurement Point Specification and Recommendation
   
   The measurement accuracy depends on several factors including the
   point of observation where the indications are captured. For example,
   the notification can be observed at the ingress or egress point of 
   the SDN node. If it is observed at the egress point of the SDN node, 
   the measurement includes the latency within the SDN node also. It is 
   recommended to make observation at the ingress point of the SDN node 
   unless it is explicitly mentioned otherwise in the individual test.

4.5 Connectivity Recommendation

   SDN controller in the test setup may be connected with the deployed
   SDN nodes over shared link with aggregation points. In this case 
   it is recommended to ensure that the intermediate devices does not 
   introduce any delays or fail during benchmarking tests.

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5. Test Reporting

   Each test has a reporting format which is specific to individual
   tests. In addition, the following configuration parameters MUST be
   reflected in the test report.  
   1. Controller name and version
   2. Northbound protocols and versions
   3. Southbound protocols and versions
   4. Controller redundancy mode (Standalone or Cluster Mode)
   5. Connection setup (Unencrypted or Encrypted)
   6. Network Topology (Mesh or Tree or Linear)
   7. SDN Node Type (Physical or Virtual or Emulated)
   8. Number of Nodes 
   9. Number of Links
   10. Test Traffic Type 
   11. Controller System Configuration (e.g., CPU, Memory, Operating 
       System, Interface Speed etc.,)
   12. Reference Test Setup (e.g., Section 3.1 etc.,)

6. Benchmarking Tests 

6.1 Performance

6.1.1 Network Topology Discovery Time
  
   Objective: 
      To measure the time taken to discover the network topology - nodes
      and links by a controller, expressed in milliseconds.

   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1
      and section 3.2 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1.  The controller MUST support network discovery.
      2.  Tester should be able to retrieve the discovered topology 
          information either through controller's management interface
          or northbound interface to determine if the discovery was 
          successful and complete.
      3.  Ensure that the controller's topology re-discovery timeout
          has been set to the maximum value to avoid initiation of 
          re-discovery process in the middle of the test.
      4.  SDN nodes in the network MUST have zero backoff interval.

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   Procedure: 
      1.  Initialize the controller - network applications, northbound
          and southbound interfaces.  
      2.  Deploy the network with the given number of nodes using mesh
          or linear topology.  
      3.  Initialize the network connections between controller and 
          network nodes.  
      4.  Record the time for the first discovery message sent by the
          controller to the SDN nodes (Tm1).
      5.  Query the controller for every 3 seconds to obtain the 
          discovered network topology information through northbound 
          interface or management interface and compare it with the 
          deployed network topology information.
      6.  Stop the test when the discovered topology information is
          matching with the deployed network topology or the discovered 
          topology information for 3 consecutive queries return the same
      7.  Record the time last discovery message sent by the
          controller to the SDN nodes (Tmn) when the test completed
          successfully. (e.g., the topology matches).

   Note: 
      1.  While recording the Tmn value, it is recommended that the 
          messages that are used for aliveness checks or session 
          management be ignored.
   
   Measurement:
      Topology Discovery Time Tr1 = Tmn-Tm1.
   
                                        Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3 .. Trn 
      Average Topology Discovery Time = -----------------------
                                        Total Test Iterations
   
   Note: 
      1.  The measurement inherently includes the network latency
          introduced by the SDN nodes and the link connecting them. To
          minimize the impact of network latency on this test, it is 
          recommended to consider the following 
          a. Perform the test without any network traffic other than the 
             test traffic.
          b. Minimize the number of network components connecting SDN 
             nodes and the controller.
      2. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  
      3. To get the full characterization of a controller's topology
         discovery functionality
         a. Perform the test with varying number of nodes using same
            topology 
         b. Perform the test with same number of nodes using different
            topologies.
   
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   Reporting Format: 
      The Topology Discovery Time results MUST be reported in the 
      format of a table, with a row for each successful iteration. The
      last row of the table indicates the average Topology Discovery 
      Time. 
   
      If this test is repeated with varying number of nodes over the 
      same topology, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a 
      graph. The X coordinate SHOULD be the Number of nodes (N), the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Topology Discovery Time.
   
      If this test is repeated with same number of nodes over different
      topologies, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph.
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Topology Type, the Y coordinate 
      SHOULD be the average Topology Discovery Time.

6.1.2 Asynchronous Message Processing Time 

   Objective: 
      To measure the time taken by the controller to process a 
      asynchronous message, expressed in milliseconds.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1 
      and section 3.2 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST have completed the network topology
         discovery for the connected nodes.  

   Procedure: 
      1. Generate asynchronous messages from every connected nodes one
         at a time for the test duration.
      2. Record every request transmit (T1) timestamp and the 
         corresponding response (R1) received timestamp for every 
         successful message exchange.

   Measurement:
                                              (R1-T1) + (R2-T2)..(Rn-Tn)
      Asynchronous Message Processing Time Tr1 = -----------------------
                                                           Nrx

      Where Nrx is the total number of successful messages exchanged
   
                                                   Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3..Trn
      Average Asynchronous Message Processing Time= --------------------
                                                  Total Test Iterations

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   Note: 
      1. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  
      2. To get the full characterization of a controller's asynchronous
         message processing time 
         a. Perform the test with varying number of nodes using same
            topology 
         b. Perform the test with same number of nodes using different
            topologies.
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Asynchronous Message Processing Time results MUST be 
      reported in the format of a table with a row for each iteration. 
      The last row of the table indicates the average Asynchronous 
      Message Processing Time.
   
      The report should capture the following information in addition 
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.  
      - Successful messages exchanged (Nrx)
   
      If this test is repeated with varying number of nodes with same
      topology, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph. 
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Number of nodes (N), the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Asynchronous Message Processing
      Time.
   
      If this test is repeated with same number of nodes using 
      different topologies, the results SHOULD be reported in the form 
      of a graph. The X coordinate SHOULD be the Topology Type, the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Asynchronous Message Processing
      Time.
   
6.1.3 Asynchronous Message Processing Rate 
   
   Objective:
      To measure the maximum number of asynchronous messages (session
      aliveness check message, new flow arrival notification 
      message etc.) a controller can process within the test duration, 
      expressed in messages processed per second.

   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1 
      and section 3.2 of this document.
   

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   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST have completed the network topology
         discovery for the connected nodes.  
      2. Ensure that the intermediate devices are provisioned such that
         it does not drop the messages sent to the controller.

   Procedure: 
      1. Generate asynchronous messages continuously from all the 
         connected nodes for the Test Duration (Td).
      2. Record total number of responses received from the 
         controller (Nrx) as well as the number of messages sent(Ntx) to
         the controller from all SDN nodes within the test duration(Td).

   Measurement: 
                                                 Nrx 
      Asynchronous Message Processing Rate Tr1 = -----
                                                 Td
                                                   Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3..Trn
      Average Asynchronous Message Processing Rate= --------------------
                                                  Total Test Iterations

      Loss Ratio = (Ntx-Nrx)/100.

   Note: 
      1. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  
      2. To get the full characterization of a controller's asynchronous
         message processing rate
         a. Perform the test with varying number of nodes using same
            topology. 
         b. Perform the test with same number of nodes using different
            topologies.

   Reporting Format: 
      The Asynchronous Message Processing Rate results MUST be 
      reported in the format of a table with a row for each iteration.
      The last row of the table indicates the average Asynchronous 
      Message Processing Rate.
   
      The report should capture the following information in addition 
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.  
      - Offered rate (Ntx)
      - Loss Ratio
   

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      If this test is repeated with varying number of nodes over same
      topology, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph. 
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Number of nodes (N), the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Asynchronous Message Processing
      Rate.
   
      If this test is repeated with same number of nodes over different
      topologies, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph.
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Topology Type, the Y coordinate 
      SHOULD be the average Asynchronous Message Processing Rate.
   
6.1.4 Path Provisioning Time

   Objective: 
      To measure the time taken by the controller to setup a path 
      between source and destination node, expressed in milliseconds.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setups described in section 3.3 
      and section 3.4 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST contain the network topology information
         for the deployed network topology. 
      2. The network topology information can be learnt through dynamic
         Topology Discovery Mechanism or static configuration.
      3. The controller should have the knowledge about the location of 
         destination endpoint for which the path has to be provisioned.
         This can be achieved through dynamic learning or 
         static provisioning.
      4. Ensure that the default action for flow miss in SDN node is 
         'send to controller'.

   Procedure: 
   Reactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Send traffic with source as source endpoint address and 
         destination as destination endpoint address from TP1.
      2. Wait for the arrival of first frame from the destination node
         or the expiry of test duration (Td).
      3. Record the time of the first flow provisioning request message
         sent to the controller(Tsf1).
      4. Record the time of the last flow provisioning response message 
         received from the controller(Tdf1).

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   Proactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Send traffic with source as source endpoint address and 
         destination as destination endpoint address from TP1.  
      2. Install the flow entries to reach from source endpoint to the
         destination endpoint through controller's northbound or 
         management interface.
      3. Wait for the arrival of first frame from the destination node 
         or the expiry of test duration (Td).  
      4. Record the time when proactive flow is provisioned in the
         Controller (Tsf1). 
      5. Record the time of the last flow provisioning message 
         received from the controller(Tdf1).  
   
   Measurement: 
      Flow Provisioning Time Tr1 = Tdf1-Tsf1.
   
                                        Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3 .. Trn 
      Average Path Provisioning Time = ------------------------
                                        Total Test Iterations

   Note: 
      1. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  
      2. To get the full characterization of a controller's path 
         provisioning time 
         a. Perform the test with varying number of nodes using same 
            topology
         b. Perform the test with same number of nodes using different
            topologies.
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Path Provisioning Time results MUST be reported in the 
      format of a table with a row for each iteration. The last row
      of the table indicates the average Path Provisioning Time.
   
      The report should capture the following information in addition 
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.  
      - Number of data path nodes
   
      If this test is repeated with varying number of nodes with same
      topology, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph.
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Number of nodes (N), the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Path Provisioning Time.
   
      If this test is repeated with same number of nodes using 
      different topologies, the results SHOULD be reported in the form 
      of a graph. The X coordinate SHOULD be the Topology Type, the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Path Provisioning Time.
   

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6.1.5 Path Provisioning Rate
   
   Objective: 
      To measure the maximum number of independent paths a controller 
      can concurrently establish between source and destination nodes
      within the test duration, expressed in paths per second.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.3 
      and section 3.4 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST contain the network topology information
         for the deployed network topology. 
      2. The network topology information can be learnt through dynamic
         Topology Discovery Mechanism or static configuration.
      3. The controller should have the knowledge about the location of 
         destination endpoints for which the paths have to be
         provisioned. This can be achieved through dynamic learning or 
         static provisioning.  
      4. Ensure that the default action for flow miss in SDN node is 
         'send to controller'.

   Procedure: 
   Reactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Send traffic at the individual node's asynchronous message 
         processing rate with unique source and destination 
         addresses from test port TP1.  
      2. Record total number of unique frames received from the 
         destination node (Ndf) within the test duration (Td).

   Proactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Send traffic continuously with unique source and destination 
         addresses from test port TP1.
      2. Install corresponding flow entries to reach from source 
         endpoints to the destination endpoint through controller's 
         northbound or management interface.
      3. Record total number of unique frames received from the 
         destination node (Ndf) within the test duration (Td).
   
   Measurement: 
                                     Ndf 
      Path Provisioning Rate Tr1 = ------ 
                                     Td
   
                                        Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3 .. Trn
      Average Path Provisioning Rate = -------------------------
                                        Total Test Iterations

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   Note: 
      1. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  
      2. To get the full characterization of a controller's path 
         provisioning rate 
         a. Perform the test with varying number of nodes using same
            topology 
         b. Perform the test with same number of nodes using different
            topologies.  

   Reporting Format: 
      The Path Provisioning Rate results MUST be reported in the 
      format of a table with a row for each iteration. The last row of
      the table indicates the average Path Provisioning Rate.
   
      The report should capture the following information in addition 
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.  
      - Number of Nodes in the path 
      - Provisioning Type (Proactive/Reactive) 
      - Offered rate
   
      If this test is repeated with varying number of nodes with same
      topology, the results SHOULD be reported in the form of a graph.
      The X coordinate SHOULD be the Number of nodes (N), the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Path Provisioning Rate.
   
      If this test is repeated with same number of nodes using 
      different topologies, the results SHOULD be reported in the form
      of a graph. The X coordinate SHOULD be the Topology Type, the 
      Y coordinate SHOULD be the average Path Provisioning Rate.
   
   
6.1.6 Network Topology Change Detection Time

   Objective: 
      To measure the time taken by the controller to detect any changes
      in the network topology, expressed in milliseconds.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1 
      and section 3.2 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST have discovered the network topology 
         information for the deployed network topology.  
      2. The periodic network discovery operation should be configured 
         to twice the Test duration (Td) value.

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   Procedure: 
      1. Trigger a topology change event through one of the operation
         (e.g., Add a new node or bring down an existing node or a 
         link).  
      2. Record the time when the first topology change notification
         is sent to the controller (Tcn).  
      3. Stop the test when the controller sends the first topology 
         re-discovery message to the SDN node or the expiry of test 
         interval (To).  
      4. Record the time when the first topology re-discovery message
         is received from the controller (Tcd).

   Measurement:
      Network Topology Change Detection Time Tr1 = Tcd-Tcn.

                                        Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3 .. Trn
      Average Network Topology Change 
                      Detection Time = --------------------------- 
                                        Total Test Iterations
   
   Note: 
      1. To increase the confidence in measured result, it is 
         recommended that this test be performed several times with 
         same number of nodes using same topology.  

   Reporting Format: 
      The Network Topology Change Detection Time results MUST be 
      reported in the format of a table with a row for each iteration. 
      The last row of the table indicates the average Network Topology 
      Change Time.  
  

6.2 Scalability 

6.2.1 Control Session Capacity 
   
   Objective:
      To measure the maximum number of control sessions the controller 
      can maintain.

   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1 
      and section 3.2 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. Ensure SDN nodes have no inter-node links.

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   Procedure: 
      1.  Initialize control connection with controller from every SDN
          node in the network
      2.  Stop the test when the controller starts dropping the control
          connection.
      3.  Record the number of successful connections established with
          the controller (CCn).

   Measurement: 

      Control Sessions Capacity = CCn.
   
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Control Session Capacity results MUST be reported in addition
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.

6.2.2 Network Discovery Size

   Objective: 
      To measure the network size (number of nodes, links and hosts)
      that a controller can discover.
  
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.1 
      and section 3.2 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller MUST support automatic network discovery.  
      2. Tester should be able to retrieve the discovered topology 
         information either through controller's management interface
         or northbound interface.
      3. Controller should be operational.  
      4. Network with the given number of nodes and intended topology 
         (Mesh or Linear or Tree) should be deployed.  

   Procedure: 
      1.  Initialize the network connections between controller and 
          network nodes.  
      2.  Query the controller for the discovered network topology
          information and compare it with the deployed network topology
          information.
      3a. Increase the number of nodes by 1 when the comparison is 
          successful and repeat the test.  
      3b. Decrease the number of nodes by 1 when the comparison fails 
          and repeat the test.
      4.  Continue the test until the comparison of step 3b is 
          successful.
      5.  Record the number of nodes for the last iteration (Ns) where 
          the topology comparison was successful. 

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   Measurement: 

      Network Discovery Size = Ns.
   
   Note: 
      This test may be performed with different topologies to obtain
      the controller's scalability factor for various network
      topologies.
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Network Discovery Size results MUST be reported in addition
      to the configuration parameters captured in section 5.
   
6.2.3 Forwarding Table Capacity

   Objective: 
      To measure the maximum number of flow entries a controller can 
      manage in its Forwarding table.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setups described in section 3.5 
      and section 3.6 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. The controller Forwarding table should be empty.  
      2. Flow Idle time MUST be set to higher or infinite value.
      3. The controller MUST have completed network topology 
         discovery.  
      4. Tester should be able to retrieve the forwarding table 
         information either through controller's management interface
         or northbound interface.  

   Procedure: 
   Reactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Send bi-directional traffic continuously with unique source 
         and/or destination addresses from test ports TP1 and TP2 at 
         the asynchronous message processing rate of controller. 
      2. Query the controller at a regular interval (e.g., 5 seconds)
         for the number of flow entries from its northbound interface.
      3. Stop the test when the retrieved value is constant for three
         consecutive iterations and record the value received from the
         last query (Nrp).  

   Proactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 
      1. Install unique flows continuously through controller's 
         northbound or management interface until a failure response
         is received from the controller.  
      2. Record the total number of successful responses (Nrp).  

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   Note: 
      Some controller designs for proactive flow provisioning mode may 
      require the switch to send flow setup requests in order to 
      generate flow setup responses. In such cases, it is recommended 
      to generate bi-directional traffic for the provisioned flows.  

   Measurement: 
   Proactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 

      Max Flow Entries = Total number of flows provisioned (Nrp)
   
   Reactive Flow Provisioning Mode: 

      Max Flow Entries = Total number of learnt flow entries (Nrp)
   
      Forwarding Table Capacity = Max Flow Entries.
   
   Reporting Format:
      The Forwarding Table Capacity results MUST be tabulated with the
      following information in addition to the configuration parameters
      captured in section 5.  
      - Provisioning Type (Proactive/Reactive)
   
6.3 Security 

6.3.1 Exception Handling 

   Objective: 
      To determine the effect of handling error packets and 
      notifications on performance tests. The impact MUST be measured
      for the following performance tests 
      a. Path Provisioning Rate 
      b. Path Provisioning Time 
      c. Network Topology Change Detection Time 

   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setups described in section 3.5 
      and section 3.6 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. This test MUST be performed after obtaining the baseline 
          measurement results for the above performance tests.  
      2. Ensure that the invalid messages are not dropped by the 
         intermediate devices connecting the controller and SDN nodes.

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   Procedure: 
      1. Perform the above listed performance tests and send 1% of 
         messages from the Asynchronous Message Processing Rate as 
         invalid messages from the connected nodes.  
      2. Perform the above listed performance tests and send 2% of
         messages from the Asynchronous Message Processing Rate as 
         invalid messages from the connected nodes.

   Note: 
      1. Invalid messages can be frames with incorrect protocol fields
         or any form of failure notifications sent towards controller.

   Measurement: 
      Measurement MUST be done as per the equation defined in the 
      corresponding performance test measurement section.
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Exception Handling results MUST be reported in the format
      of table with a column for each of the below parameters and row
      for each of the listed performance tests.  
      - Without Exceptions
      - With 1% Exceptions 
      - With 2% Exceptions
   
6.3.2 Denial of Service Handling 

   Objective: 
      To determine the effect of handling DoS attacks on performance 
      and scalability tests The impact MUST be measured for the 
      following tests 
      a. Path Provisioning Rate 
      b. Path Provisioning Time 
      c. Network Topology Change Detection Time
      d. Network Discovery Size 

   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use one of the test setups described in section 3.5 
      and section 3.6 of this document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      This test MUST be performed after obtaining the baseline 
      measurement results for the above tests.

   Procedure: 
      1. Perform the listed tests and launch DoS attack towards
         controller while the test is running.  

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   Note: 
      DoS attacks can be launched on one of the following interfaces.  
      a. Northbound (e.g., Sending a huge number of requests on 
         northbound interface) 
      b. Management (e.g., Ping requests to controller's management 
         interface)
      c. Southbound (e.g., TCP SYNC messages on southbound interface)

   Measurement: 
      Measurement MUST be done as per the equation defined in the 
      corresponding test's measurement section.
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The DoS Attacks Handling results MUST be reported in the format
      of table with a column for each of the below parameters and row 
      for each of the listed tests.  
      - Without any attacks 
      - With attacks
  
      The report should also specify the nature of attack and the 
      interface.
   
6.4 Reliability 

6.4.1 Controller Failover Time 

   Objective: 
      The time taken to switch from an active controller to the backup
      controller, when the controllers work in redundancy mode and the
      active controller fails.
   
   Reference Test Setup:
      The test can use the test setup described in section 3.4 of this
      document.  

   Prerequisite: 
      1. Master controller election MUST be completed.  
      2. Nodes are connected to the controller cluster as per the 
         Redundancy Mode (RM).
      3. The controller cluster should have completed the network 
         topology discovery.  
      4. The SDN Node MUST send all new flows to the controller when 
         it receives.
      5. Controller should have learnt the location of destination
         (D1) at Test Port TP2.

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   Procedure: 
      1. Send uni-directional traffic continuously with incremental
         sequence number and source addresses from test ports TP1 at
         the rate that the controller processes without any drops.  
      2. Bring down the active controller.  
      3. Stop the test when a first frame received on TP2 after 
         failover operation.  
      4. Record the time at which the last valid frame received (T1)
         at test port TP2 before sequence error and the first valid
         frame received (T2)after the sequence error at test port TP2. 

   Measurement: 
   
      Controller Failover Time = (T2 - T1)
      Packet Loss = Number of missing packet sequences.

   Note:
      1.  Ensure that there are no packet drops observed at the test 
          port TP2 before bringing down the controller.
 
   Reporting Format: 
      The Controller Failover Time results MUST be tabulated with the
      following information.  
      - Number of cluster nodes
      - Redundancy mode 
      - Controller Failover 
      - Time Packet Loss
      - Cluster keep-alive interval
   
6.4.2 Network Re-Provisioning Time 

   Objective: 
      To compute the time taken to re-route the traffic by the 
      controller when there is a failure in existing traffic paths.
   
   Reference Test Setup: 
      The test can use one of the test setup described in section 3.3 
      and section 3.4 of this document.  
   
   Prerequisite: 
      1. Network with the given number of nodes and intended
         topology (Mesh or Tree) with redundant paths MUST be 
         deployed.
      2. Ensure that the controller MUST have knowledge about the 
         location of traffic endpoints TP1 and TP2.

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   Procedure: 
      1. Send bi-directional traffic continuously with unique sequence
         number from TP1 and TP2.
      2. Bring down a link or switch in the traffic path.  
      3. Stop the test after receiving first frame after network 
         re-convergence (timeline).
      4. Record the time of last received frame prior to the frame loss
         at TP2 (TP2-Tlfr) and the time of first frame received after 
         the frame loss at TP2 (TP2-Tffr).  
      5. Record the time of last received frame prior to the frame loss 
         at TP1 (TP1-Tlfr) and the time of first frame received after 
         the frame loss at TP1 (TP1-Tffr).  

   Note:
      1. Ensure that the controller does not pre-provision the alternate 
         path in the SDN nodes.
         Duplicate traffic check??

   Measurement:
   
      Forward Direction Path Re-Provisioning Time (FDRT) 
                                                = (TP2-Tffr - TP2-Tlfr) 

      Reverse Direction Path Re-Provisioning Time (RDRT) 
                                                =  (TP1-Tffr - TP1-Tlfr)
   
      Network Re-Provisioning Time = (FDRT+RDRT)/2
   
      Forward Direction Packet Loss = Number of missing sequence frames
      at TP1 

      Reverse Direction Packet Loss = Number of missing sequence frames
      at TP2
   
   Reporting Format: 
      The Network Re-Provisioning Time results MUST be tabulated with
      the following information.  
      - Number of nodes in the primary path 
      - Number of nodes in the alternate path 
      - Network Re-Provisioning Time 
      - Forward Direction Packet Loss 
      - Reverse Direction Packet Loss 

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7. References
   
7.1 Normative References 
   
   [RFC2544]  S. Bradner, J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for 
              Network Interconnect Devices",RFC 2544, March 1999.  

   [RFC2330]  V. Paxson, G. Almes, J. Mahdavi, M. Mathis, 
              "Framework for IP Performance Metrics",RFC 2330, 
              May 1998.  

   [RFC6241]  R. Enns, M. Bjorklund, J. Schoenwaelder, A. Bierman, 
              "Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF)",RFC 6241, 
              June 2011.  

   [RFC6020]  M. Bjorklund, "YANG - A Data Modeling Language for 
              the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF)", RFC 6020,
              October 2010 

   [RFC5440]  JP. Vasseur, JL. Le Roux, "Path Computation Element (PCE)
              Communication Protocol (PCEP)", RFC 5440, March 2009.  

   [OpenFlow Switch Specification]  ONF,"OpenFlow Switch Specification"
              Version 1.4.0 (Wire Protocol 0x05), October 14, 2013.

   [I-D.sdn-controller-benchmark-term]  Bhuvaneswaran.V, Anton Basil, 
              Mark.T, Vishwas Manral, Sarah Banks "Terminology for 
              Benchmarking SDN Controller Performance", 
              draft-bhuvan-bmwg-sdn-controller-benchmark-term-00
             (Work in progress), March 23, 2015

   [I-D.i2rs-architecture]  A. Atlas, J. Halpern, S. Hares, D. Ward, 
              T. Nadeau, "An Architecture for the Interface to the 
              Routing System", draft-ietf-i2rs-architecture-09
             (Work in progress), March 6, 2015

7.2 Informative References

   [OpenContrail]  Ankur Singla, Bruno Rijsman, "OpenContrail 
                   Architecture Documentation",
   http://opencontrail.org/opencontrail-architecture-documentation

   [OpenDaylight]  OpenDaylight Controller:Architectural Framework,
   https://wiki.opendaylight.org/view/OpenDaylight_Controller

8. IANA Considerations

    This document does not have any IANA requests.

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9. Security Considerations

    Benchmarking tests described in this document are limited to the
    performance characterization of controller in lab environment with 
    isolated network and dedicated address space.

10. Appendix A - Benchmarking Methodology using OpenFlow(OF) Controllers

   This section gives an overview of OpenFlow protocol and provides
   test methodology to benchmark SDN controllers supporting OpenFlow
   southbound protocol.
 
10.1. Protocol Overview

   OpenFlow is an open standard protocol defined by Open Networking 
   Foundation (ONF), used for programming the forwarding plane of 
   network switches or routers via a centralized controller.

10.2. Messages Overview

   OpenFlow protocol supports three messages types namely controller-
   to-switch, asynchronous and symmetric.
    
   Controller-to-switch messages are initiated by the controller and 
   used to directly manage or inspect the state of the switch. These 
   messages allow controllers to query/configure the switch (Features, 
   Configuration messages), collect information from switch (Read-
   State message), send packets on specified port of switch (Packet-
   out message), and modify switch forwarding plane and state (Modify-
   State, Role-Request messages etc.).
    
   Asynchronous messages are generated by the switch without a 
   controller soliciting them. These messages allow switches to update 
   controllers to denote an arrival of new flow (Packet-in), switch 
   state change (Flow-Removed, Port-status) and error (Error).
    
   Symmetric messages are generated in either direction without 
   solicitation. These messages allow switches and controllers to set 
   up connection (Hello), verify for liveness (Echo) and offer 
   additional functionalities (Experimenter).

10.3. Connection Overview

   OpenFlow channel is used to exchange OpenFlow message between an 
   OpenFlow switch and an OpenFlow controller. The OpenFlow channel 
   connection can be setup using plain TCP or TLS. By default, a 
   switch establishes single connection with SDN controller. A switch 
   may establish multiple parallel connections to single controller 
   (auxiliary connection) or multiple controllers to handle controller 
   failures and load balancing.

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10.4 Performance Benchmarking Tests

10.4.1 Network Topology Discovery Time

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                    OpenFlow                     Tester
      Switches                   Controller 
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |     <Initialize controller|
         |                            | app.,NB and SB interfaces>|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |     <Deploy network with  |
         |                            |  given no. of OF switches>|
         |                            |                           |
         |    OFPT_HELLO Exchange     |                           |
         |<-------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |    PACKET_OUT with LLDP    |                           |
         |      to all switches       |                           |
    (Tm1)|<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-1|                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-2|                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-n|                           |
    (Tmn)|--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |      <Wait for the expiry |
         |                            |     of Test Duration (Td)>|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |   Query the controller for|
         |                            |   discovered n/w topo.(Di)|
         |                            |<--------------------------|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |   <Compare the discovered |
         |                            |    & offered n/w topology>|
         |                            |                           |

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   Legend:
      NB: Northbound
      SB: Southbound
      OF: OpenFlow
      Tm1: Time of reception of first LLDP message from controller
      Tmn: Time of last LLDP message sent to controller

   Discussion:
      The Network Topology Discovery Time can be obtained by calculating
      the time difference between the first PACKET_OUT with LLDP message
      received from the controller (Tm1) and the last PACKET_IN with
      LLDP message sent to the controller (Tmn) when the comparison is
      successful.

10.4.2 Asynchronous Message Processing Time

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                    OpenFlow                     Tester
      Switches                   Controller 
         |                            |                           |
         |PACKET_IN with single       |                           |
         |OFP match header            |                           |
     (T0)|--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         | PACKET_OUT with single OFP |                           |
         |              action header |                           |
     (R0)|<---------------------------|                           |
         |          .                 |                           |
         |          .                 |                           |
         |          .                 |                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |PACKET_IN with single OFP   |                           |
         |match header                |                           |
     (Tn)|--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         | PACKET_OUT with single OFP |                           |
         |               action header|                           |
     (Rn)|<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |    <Wait for the expiry of|
         |                            |           Test Duration>  |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |     <Record the number of |
         |                            |    PACKET_INs/PACKET_OUTs |
         |                            |           Exchanged (Nrx)>|
         |                            |                           |

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   Legend:
      T0,T1, ..Tn are PACKET_IN messages transmit timestamps.
      R0,R1, ..Rn are PACKET_OUT messages receive timestamps.
      Nrx : Number of successful PACKET_IN/PACKET_OUT message exchanges

   Discussion:
      The Asynchronous Message Processing Time will be obtained by 
      sum of ((R0-T0),(R1-T1)..(Rn - Tn))/ Nrx.

10.4.3 Asynchronous Message Processing Rate

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                    OpenFlow                     Tester
      Switches                   Controller 
         |                            |                           |
         |PACKET_IN with multiple OFP |                           |
         |match headers               |                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         | PACKET_OUT with multiple   |                           |
         |          OFP action headers|                           |
         |<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |PACKET_IN with multiple OFP |                           |
         |match headers               |                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         | PACKET_OUT with multiple   |                           |
         |          OFP action headers|                           |
         |<---------------------------|                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |PACKET_IN with multiple OFP |                           |
         |match headers               |                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         | PACKET_OUT with multiple   |                           |
         |          OFP action headers|                           |
         |<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |    <Wait for the expiry of|
         |                            |           Test Duration>  |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |  <Record the number of OFP|
         |                            |       action headers rcvd>|(Nrx)
         |                            |                           |

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   Discussion:
      The Asynchronous Message Processing Rate will be obtained by 
      calculating the number of OFP action headers received in all 
      PACKET_OUT messages during the test duration. 

10.4.4 Path Provisioning Time

   Procedure:

       Test           Test               OpenFlow             OpenFlow
       Port 1        Port 2             Switches            Controller
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |G-ARP (D1)            |                   |
         |             |--------------------->|                   |
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |                      |PACKET_IN(D1)      |
         |             |                      |------------------>|
         |             |                      |                   |
         |Traffic (S1,D1)                     |                   |
   (Tsf1)|----------------------------------->|                   |
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |                      |PACKET_IN(S1,D1)   |
         |             |                      |------------------>|
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |                      |  FLOW_MOD(D1)     |
         |             |                      |<------------------|
         |             |                      |                   |
         |             |Traffic (S1,D1)       |                   |
         |       (Tdf1)|<---------------------|                   |
         |             |                      |                   |

   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP message.
      Tsf1: Time of first frame sent from TP1 
      Tdf1: Time of first frame received from TP2

   Discussion:
      The procedure defined above provides test steps to obtain Path
      Provisioning Time in reactive flow setup mode. The Path 
      Provisioning Time can be obtained by finding the time difference
      between the transmit and receive time of the traffic (Tsf1-Tdf1). 

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10.4.5 Path Provisioning Rate

   Procedure:

       Test           Test               OpenFlow             OpenFlow
       Port 1        Port 2             Switches            Controller
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |G-ARP (D1..Dn)      |                     |
         |             |--------------------|                     |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |PACKET_IN(D1)        |
         |             |                    |-------------------->|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |Traffic (S1..Sn,D1..Dn)           |                     |
         |--------------------------------->|                     |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |PACKET_IN(S1..Sn,D1) |
         |             |                    |-------------------->|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(S1) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(D1) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(S2) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(D2) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |             .       |
         |             |                    |             .       |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(Sn) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |        FLOW_MOD(Dn) |
         |             |                    |<--------------------|
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             | Traffic (S1..Sn,   |                     |
         |             |             D1..Dn)|                     |
         |             |<-------------------|                     |
         |             |                    |                     |
         |             |                    |                     |

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   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP
      D1..Dn: Destination Endpoint 1, Destination Endpoint 2 .... 
              Destination Endpoint n
      S1..Sn: Source Endpoint 1, Source Endpoint 2 .., Source Endpoint n 

   Discussion:
      The procedure defined above provides test steps to obtain Path
      Provisioning Rate in reactive flow setup mode. The Path 
      Provisioning Rate can be obtained by finding the total number of
      frames received at TP2 after the test duration. 

10.4.6 Network Topology Change Detection Time

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                    OpenFlow                     Tester
      Switches                   Controller 
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |     <Bring down a link in |
         |                            |                 switch S1>|
         |                            |                           |
      T0 |PORT_STATUS with link down  |                           |
         | from S1                    |                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |First PACKET_OUT with LLDP  |                           |
         |to OF Switch                |                           |
      T1 |<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |       <Record time of 1st |
         |                            |   PACKET_OUT with LLDP T1>|

   Discussion:
      The Network Topology Change Detection Time can be obtained by 
      finding the difference between the time the OpenFlow switch S1 
      sends the PORT_STATUS message (T0) and the time that the OpenFlow
      controller sends the first topology re-discovery message (T1) to 
      OpenFlow switches.

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10.5 Scalability 

10.5.1 Control Sessions Capacity

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                                OpenFlow
      Switches                               Controller 
         |                                       |
         |    OFPT_HELLO Exchange for Switch 1   |
         |<------------------------------------->|
         |                                       |
         |    OFPT_HELLO Exchange for Switch 2   |
         |<------------------------------------->|
         |                  .                    |
         |                  .                    |
         |                  .                    |
         |    OFPT_HELLO Exchange for Switch n   |
         |X<----------------------------------->X|
         |                                       |

   Discussion:
      The value of Switch n-1 will provide Control Sessions Capacity. 

10.5.2 Network Discovery Size

   Procedure:

      OpenFlow                    OpenFlow                     Tester
      Switches                   Controller 
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |     <Deploy network with  |
         |                            |given no. of OF switches N>|
         |                            |                           |
         |    OFPT_HELLO Exchange     |                           |
         |<-------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |    PACKET_OUT with LLDP    |                           |
         |      to all switches       |                           |
         |<---------------------------|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-1|                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |

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         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-2|                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |            .               |                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |         PACKET_IN with LLDP|                           |
         |          rcvd from switch-n|                           |
         |--------------------------->|                           |
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |      <Wait for the expiry |
         |                            |     of Test Duration (Td)>|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |   Query the controller for|
         |                            |   discovered n/w topo.(N1)|
         |                            |<--------------------------|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |   <If N1==N repeat Step 1 |
         |                            |with N+1 nodes until N1<N >|
         |                            |                           |
         |                            |   <If N1<N repeat Step 1  |
         |                            | with N=N1 nodes once and  |
         |                            | exit>                     |
         |                            |                           |

   Legend:
      n/w topo: Network Topology
      OF: OpenFlow

   Discussion:
      The value of N1 provides the Network Discovery Size value. The 
      test duration can be set to the stipulated time within which the
      user expects the controller to complete the discovery process.

10.5.3 Forwarding Table Capacity

   Procedure:

       Test             OpenFlow             OpenFlow          Tester
       Port 1           Switches            Controller
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |G-ARP (H1..Hn)    |                   |                 |
  Step 1 |----------------->|                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |PACKET_IN(D1..Dn)  |                 |
         |                  |------------------>|                 |
         |                  |                   |                 |

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  Step 2 |                  |                   |<Wait for 5 secs>|
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |  <Query for FWD |
         |                  |                   |          entry> |(F1)
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |<Wait for 5 secs>|
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |  <Query for FWD |
         |                  |                   |          entry> |(F2)
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |<Wait for 5 secs>|
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   |  <Query for FWD |
         |                  |                   |          entry> |(F3)
         |                  |                   |                 |
         |                  |                   | <Repeat Step 2  |
         |                  |                   |until F1==F2==F3>|
         |                  |                   |                 |

   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP
      H1..Hn: Host 1 .. Host n
      FWD: Forwarding Table

   Discussion:
      Query the controller forwarding table entries for multiple times 
      until the three consecutive queries return the same value. The 
      last value retrieved from the controller will provide the 
      Forwarding Table Capacity value. The query interval is user 
      configurable. The 5 seconds shown in this example is for 
      representational purpose. 

10.6 Security 

10.6.1 Exception Handling

   Procedure:

     Test        Test         OpenFlow          OpenFlow          Tester
     Port 1     Port 2       Switches          Controller
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |G-ARP (D1..Dn)     |                 |            |
       |          |------------------>|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |PACKET_IN(D1..Dn)|            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
 Step 1|Traffic (S1..Sn,D1..Dn)       |                 |            |
       |----------------------------->|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |

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       |          |                   |PACKET_IN(S1..Sa,|            |
       |          |                   |          D1..Da)|            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |PACKET_IN(Sa+1.. |            |
       |          |                   |.Sn,Da+1..Dn)    |            |
       |          |                   |(1% incorrect OFP|            |
       |          |                   |    Match header)|            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   | FLOW_MOD(D1..Dn)|            |
       |          |                   |<----------------|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   | FLOW_MOD(S1..Sa)|            |
       |          |                   |      OFP headers|            |
       |          |                   |<----------------|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |Traffic (S1..Sa,   |                 |            |
       |          |            D1..Da)|                 |            |
       |          |<------------------|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |  <Wait for |
       |          |                   |                 |      Test  |
       |          |                   |                 |   Duration>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |  <Record Rx|
       |          |                   |                 |   frames at|
       |          |                   |                 |  TP2 (Rn1)>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |    <Repeat |
       |          |                   |                 | Step1 with |
       |          |                   |                 |2% incorrect|
       |          |                   |                 | PACKET_INs>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |  <Record Rx|
       |          |                   |                 |   frames at|
       |          |                   |                 |  TP2 (Rn2)>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |

   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP
      PACKET_IN(Sa+1..Sn,Da+1..Dn): OpenFlow PACKET_IN with wrong 
            version number
      Rn1: Total number of frames received at Test Port 2 with 
           1% incorrect frames
      Rn2: Total number of frames received at Test Port 2 with 
           2% incorrect frames

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   Discussion:
      The traffic rate sent towards OpenFlow switch from Test Port 1 
      should be 1% higher than the Path Programming Rate. Rn1 will 
      provide the Path Provisioning Rate of controller at 1% of 
      incorrect frames handling and Rn2 will provide the Path 
      Provisioning Rate of controller at 2% of incorrect frames 
      handling.

      The procedure defined above provides test steps to determine the
      effect of handling error packets on Path Programming Rate. Same 
      procedure can be adopted to determine the effects on other 
      performance tests listed in this benchmarking tests.

10.6.2 Denial of Service Handling

   Procedure:

     Test          Test         OpenFlow          OpenFlow       Tester
     Port 1        Port 2       Switches          Controller
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |G-ARP (D1..Dn)     |                 |            |
       |          |------------------>|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |PACKET_IN(D1..Dn)|            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |Traffic (S1..Sn,D1..Dn)       |                 |            |
       |----------------------------->|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |PACKET_IN(S1..Sn,|            |
       |          |                   |          D1..Dn)|            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |TCP SYN Attack   |            |
       |          |                   |from a switch    |            |
       |          |                   |---------------->|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |FLOW_MOD(D1..Dn) |            |
       |          |                   |<----------------|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   | FLOW_MOD(S1..Sn)|            |
       |          |                   |      OFP headers|            |
       |          |                   |<----------------|            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |

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       |          |Traffic (S1..Sn,   |                 |            |
       |          |            D1..Dn)|                 |            |
       |          |<------------------|                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |  <Wait for |
       |          |                   |                 |      Test  |
       |          |                   |                 |   Duration>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |
       |          |                   |                 |  <Record Rx|
       |          |                   |                 |   frames at|
       |          |                   |                 |  TP2 (Rn1)>|
       |          |                   |                 |            |

   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP

   Discussion:
      TCP SYN attack should be launched from one of the 
      emulated/simulated OpenFlow Switch. Rn1 provides the Path 
      Programming Rate of controller uponhandling denial of service 
      attack.

      The procedure defined above provides test steps to determine the
      effect of handling denial of service on Path Programming Rate. 
      Same procedure can be adopted to determine the effects on other 
      performance tests listed in this benchmarking tests.

10.7 Reliability 

10.7.1 Controller Failover Time

   Procedure:

     Test          Test         OpenFlow          OpenFlow       Tester
     Port 1        Port 2       Switches          Controller
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |G-ARP (D1)   |                 |               |
       |             |------------>|                 |               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |PACKET_IN(D1)    |               |
       |             |             |---------------->|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
 Step 1|Traffic (S1..Sn,D1)        |                 |               |
       |-------------------------->|                 |               |
       |             |             |                 |               |

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       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |PACKET_IN(S1,D1) |               |
       |             |             |---------------->|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |FLOW_MOD(D1)     |               |
       |             |             |<----------------|               |
       |             |             |FLOW_MOD(S1)     |               |
       |             |             |<----------------|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1)|               |               |
       |             |<------------|                 |               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |PACKET_IN(S2,D1) |               |
       |             |             |---------------->|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |FLOW_MOD(S2)     |               |
       |             |             |<----------------|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |PACKET_IN(Sn-1,D1)|              |
       |             |             |---------------->|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |PACKET_IN(Sn,D1) |               |
       |             |             |---------------->|               |
       |             |             |       .         |               |
       |             |             |       .         |<Bring down the|
       |             |             |       .         |active control-|
       |             |             |                 |       ler>    |
       |             |             |  FLOW_MOD(Sn-1) |               |
       |             |             |    <-X----------|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |FLOW_MOD(Sn)     |               |
       |             |             |<----------------|               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |Traffic (Sn,D1)|               |               |
       |             |<------------|                 |               |
       |             |             |                 |               |
       |             |             |                 |<Stop the test |
       |             |             |                 |after recv.    |
       |             |             |                 |traffic upon   |
       |             |             |                 | failure>      |

   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP.

   Discussion:
      The time difference between the last valid frame received before
      the traffic loss and the first frame received after the traffic 
      loss will provide the controller failover time.

      If there is no frame loss during controller failover time, the
      controller failover time can be deemed negligible.

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10.7.2 Network Re-Provisioning Time

   Procedure:

     Test          Test         OpenFlow          OpenFlow        Tester
     Port 1        Port 2       Switches          Controller
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |G-ARP (D1)     |                 |              |
       |             |-------------->|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |PACKET_IN(D1)    |              |
       |             |               |---------------->|              |
       |              G-ARP (S1)     |                 |              |
       |---------------------------->|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |PACKET_IN(S1)    |              |
       |             |               |---------------->|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |Traffic (S1,D1,Seq.no (1..n))|                 |              |
       |---------------------------->|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |PACKET_IN(S1,D1) |              |
       |             |               |---------------->|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (D1,S1,|                 |              |
       |             | Seq.no (1..n))|                 |              |
       |             |-------------->|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |PACKET_IN(D1,S1) |              |
       |             |               |---------------->|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |FLOW_MOD(D1)     |              |
       |             |               |<----------------|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |FLOW_MOD(S1)     |              |
       |             |               |<----------------|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1,|                 |              |
       |             |     Seq.no(1))|                 |              |
       |             |<--------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1,|                 |              |
       |             |     Seq.no(2))|                 |              |
       |             |<--------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |

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       |             |               |                 |              |
       |    Traffic (D1,S1,Seq.no(1))|                 |              |
       |<----------------------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |    Traffic (D1,S1,Seq.no(2))|                 |              |
       |<----------------------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |    Traffic (D1,S1,Seq.no(x))|                 |              |
       |<----------------------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1,|                 |              |
       |             |     Seq.no(x))|                 |              |
       |             |<--------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |  <Bring down |
       |             |               |                 | the switch in|
       |             |               |                 |active traffic|
       |             |               |                 |       path>  |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |PORT_STATUS(Sa)  |              |
       |             |               |---------------->|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1,|                 |              |
       |             |   Seq.no(n-1))|                 |              |
       |             |  X<-----------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |  Traffic (D1,S1,Seq.no(n-1))|                 |              |
       |    X------------------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |FLOW_MOD(D1)     |              |
       |             |               |<----------------|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |FLOW_MOD(S1)     |              |
       |             |               |<----------------|              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |    Traffic (D1,S1,Seq.no(n))|                 |              |
       |<----------------------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |Traffic (S1,D1,|                 |              |
       |             |     Seq.no(n))|                 |              |
       |             |<--------------|                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |              |
       |             |               |                 |<Stop the test|
       |             |               |                 |  after recv. |
       |             |               |                 |  traffic upon|
       |             |               |                 |   failover>  |

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   Legend:
      G-ARP: Gratuitous ARP message.
      Seq.no: Sequence number.
      Sa: Neighbour switch of the switch that was brought down.

   Discussion:
      The time difference between the last valid frame received before 
      the traffic loss (Packet number with sequence number x) and the 
      first frame received after the traffic loss (packet with sequence
      number n) will provide the network path re-provisioning time.

      Note that the test is valid only when the controller provisions 
      the alternate path upon network failure. 

11. Acknowledgements 

   The authors would like to acknowledge Sandeep Gangadharan (HP) for 
   the significant contributions to the current and earlier versions
   of this document. The authors would like to thank the following 
   individuals for providing their valuable comments to the earlier 
   versions of this document: Al Morton (AT&T), M. Georgescu (NAIST), 
   Andrew McGregor (Google), Scott Bradner (Harvard University),
   Jay Karthik (Cisco), Ramakrishnan (Brocade).
 
12. Authors' Addresses

   Bhuvaneswaran Vengainathan
   Veryx Technologies Inc.
   1 International Plaza, Suite 550
   Philadelphia
   PA 19113
   
   Email: bhuvaneswaran.vengainathan@veryxtech.com

   Anton Basil
   Veryx Technologies Inc.
   1 International Plaza, Suite 550
   Philadelphia
   PA 19113
   
   Email: anton.basil@veryxtech.com
    

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   Mark Tassinari
   Hewlett-Packard, 
   8000 Foothills Blvd, 
   Roseville, CA 95747
   
   Email: mark.tassinari@hp.com

   Vishwas Manral
   Ionos Corp,
   4100 Moorpark Ave, 
   San Jose, CA
  
   Email: vishwas@ionosnetworks.com

   Sarah Banks
   VSS Monitoring

   Email: sbanks@encrypted.net

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