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Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices
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Abstract
This document discusses and defines a number of tests that may be
used to describe the performance characteristics of a network
interconnecting device. In addition to defining the tests this
document also describes specific formats for reporting the results
of the tests. Appendix A lists the tests and conditions that we
believe should be included for specific cases and gives additional
information about testing practices. Appendix B is a reference
listing of maximum frame rates to be used with specific frame sizes
on various media and Appendix C gives some examples of frame formats
to be used in testing.
1. Introduction
Vendors often engage in "specsmanship" in an attempt to give their
products a better position in the marketplace. This often involves
"smoke & mirrors" to confuse the potential users of the products.
This document and follow up memos attempt to define a specific set
of tests that vendors can use to measure and report the performance
characteristics of network devices. The results of these tests will
provide the user comparable data from different vendors with which
to evaluate these devices.
A previous document, "Benchmarking Terminology for Network
Interconnect Devices" (RFC 1242), defined many of the terms that are
used in this document. The terminology document should be consulted
before attempting to make use of this document.
2. Real world
In producing this document the authors attempted to keep in mind the
requirement that apparatus to perform the described tests must
actually be built. We do not know of "off the shelf" equipment
available to implement all of the tests but it is our opinion that
such equipment can be constructed.
3. Tests to be run
There are a number of tests described in this document. Not all of
the tests apply to all types of devices. It is expected that a
vendor will perform all of the tests that apply to a specific type
of product. The authors understand that it will take a considerable
period of time to perform all of the recommended tests under all of
the recommended conditions. We believe that the results are worth
the effort. Appendix A lists the tests and conditions that we
believe should be included for specific cases.
4. Evaluating the results
Performing all of the recommended tests will result in a great deal
of data. Much of this data will not apply to the evaluation of the
devices under each circumstance. For example, the rate at which a
router forwards IPX frames will be of little use in selecting a
router for an environment that does not (and will not) support that
protocol. Evaluating even that data which is relevant to a
particular network installation will require experience which may
not be readily available.
5. Requirements
In this document, the words that are used to define the significance
of each particular requirement are capitalized. These words are:
* "MUST"
This word or the adjective "REQUIRED" means that the item is
an absolute requirement of the specification.
* "SHOULD"
This word or the adjective "RECOMMENDED" means that there may
exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore this
item, but the full implications should be understood and the
case carefully weighed before choosing a different course.
* "MAY"
This word or the adjective "OPTIONAL" means that this item is
truly optional. One vendor may choose to include the item
because a particular marketplace requires it or because it
enhances the product, for example; another vendor may omit the
same item.
An implementation is not compliant if it fails to satisfy one or
more of the MUST requirements for the protocols it implements. An
implementation that satisfies all the MUST and all the SHOULD
requirements for its protocols is said to be "unconditionally
compliant"; one that satisfies all the MUST requirements but not all
the SHOULD requirements for its protocols is said to be
"conditionally compliant".
6. Device set up
Before starting to perform the tests, the device to be tested MUST
be configured following the instructions provided to the user.
Specifically, it is expected that all of the supported protocols
will be configured and enabled during this set up (See Appendix A).
It is expected that all of the tests will be run without changing
the configuration or setup of the device in any way other than that
required to do the specific test. For example, it is not acceptable
to change the size of frame handling buffers between tests of frame
handling rates or to disable all but one transport protocol when
testing the throughput of that protocol. It is necessary to modify
the configuration when starting a test to determine the effect of
filters on throughput, but the only change MUST be to enable the
specific filter. The device set up SHOULD include the normally
recommended routing update intervals and keep alive frequency. The
specific version of the software and the exact device configuration,
including what device functions are disabled, used during the tests
SHOULD be included as part of the report of the results.
7. Frame formats
The formats of the test frames to use for TCP/IP over Ethernet are
shown in Appendix C: Test Frame Formats. It is expected that these
exact frame formats will be used in the tests described in this
document for this protocol/media combination and that these frames
will be used as a template for testing other protocol/media
combinations. The specific formats that are used to define the test
frames for a particular test series MUST be included in the report
of the results.
8. Frame sizes
All of the described tests SHOULD be performed at a number of frame
sizes. Specifically, the sizes SHOULD include the maximum and
minimum legitimate sizes for the protocol under test on the media
under test and enough sizes in between to be able to get a full
characterization of the device performance.
Except where noted, it is expected that at least five frame sizes
will be tested for each test condition.
Theoretically the minimum size UDP Echo request frame would consist
of an IP header (minimum length 20 octets), a UDP header (8 octets)
and whatever MAC level header is required by the media in use. The
theoretical maximum frame size is determined by the size of the
length field in the IP header. In almost all cases the actual
maximum and minimum sizes are determined by the limitations of the
media.
In theory it would be ideal to distribute the frame sizes in a way
that would evenly distribute the theoretical frame rates. These
recommendations incorporate this theory but specify frame sizes
which are easy to understand and remember. In addition, many of the
same frame sizes are specified on each of the media types to allow
for easy performance comparisons.
The inclusion of an unrealistically small frame size on some of the
media types (i.e. with little or no space for data) is to help
characterize the per-frame processing overhead of the network
connection device.
8.1 Frame sizes to be used on Ethernet
64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 1280, 1518
These sizes include the maximum and minimum frame sizes permitted by
the Ethernet standard and a selection of sizes between these
extremes with a finer granularity for the smaller frame sizes and
higher frame rates.
8.2 Frame sizes to be used on 4Mb and 16Mb token ring
54, 64, 128, 256, 1024, 1518, 2048, 4472
The frame size recommendations for token ring assume that there is
no RIF field in the frames of routed protocols. A RIF field would
be present in any direct source route bridge performance test. The
minimum size frame for UDP on token ring is 54 octets. The maximum
size of 4472 octets is recommended for 16Mb token ring instead of
the theoretical size of 17.9Kb because of the size limitations
imposed by many token ring interfaces. The reminder of the sizes
are selected to permit direct comparisons with other types of media.
An IP (i.e. not UDP) frame may be used in addition if a higher data
rate is desired, in which case the minimum frame size is 46 octets.
8.3 Frame sizes to be used on FDDI
54, 64, 128, 256, 1024, 1518, 2048, 4472
The minimum size frame for UDP on FDDI is 53 octets, the minimum
size of 54 is recommended to allow direct comparison to token ring
performance. The maximum size of 4472 is recommended instead of the
theoretical maximum size of 4500 octets to permit the same type of
comparison. An IP (i.e. not UDP) frame may be used in addition if a
higher data rate is desired, in which case the minimum frame size is
45 octets.
8.4 Frame sizes in the presence of disparate MTUs
When the interconnect device supports connecting links with
disparate MTUs, the frame sizes for the link with the *larger* MTU
SHOULD be used, up to the limit of the protocol being tested. If the
interconnect device does not support the fragmenting of frames in
the presence of MTU mismatch, the forwarding rate for that frame
size shall be reported as zero (0).
For example, the test of IP forwarding with a bridge or router that
joins FDDI and Ethernet should use the frame sizes of FDDI when
going from the FDDI to the Ethernet link. If the bridge does not
support IP fragmentation, the forwarding rate for those frames too
large for Ethernet should be reported as zero.
9. Verifying received frames
The test equipment SHOULD discard any frames received during a test
run that are not actual forwarded test frames. For example, keep-
alive and routing update frames SHOULD NOT be included in the count
of received frames. In any case, the test equipment SHOULD verify
the length of the received frames and check that they match the
expected length.
Preferably, the test equipment SHOULD include sequence numbers in
the transmitted frames and check for these numbers on the received
frames. If this is done, the reported results SHOULD include in
addition to the number of frames dropped, the number of frames that
were received out of order, the number of duplicate frames received
and the number of gaps in the received frame numbering sequence.
This functionality is required for some of the described tests.
10. Modifiers
It might be useful to know the device performance under a number of
conditions; some of these conditions are noted below. It is
expected that the reported results will include as many of these
conditions as the test equipment is able to generate. The suite of
tests SHOULD be first run without any modifying conditions and then
repeated under each of the conditions separately. To preserve the
ability to compare the results of these tests any frames that are
required to generate the modifying conditions (management queries
for example) will be included in the same data stream as the normal
test frames in place of one of the test frames and not be supplied
to the device on a separate network port.
10.1 Broadcast frames
In most router designs special processing is required when frames
addressed to the hardware broadcast address are received. In
bridges (or in bridge mode on routers) these broadcast frames must
be flooded to a number of ports. The stream of test frames SHOULD
be augmented with 1% frames addressed to the hardware broadcast
address. The specific frames that should be used are included in
the test frame format document. The broadcast frames SHOULD be
evenly distributed throughout the data stream, for example, every
100th frame.
It is understood that a level of broadcast frames of 1% is much
higher than many networks experience but, as in drug toxicity
evaluations, the higher level is required to be able to gage the
effect which would otherwise often fall within the normal
variability of the system performance. Due to design factors some
test equipment will not be able to generate a level of alternate
frames this low. In these cases it is expected that the percentage
would be as small as the equipment can provide and that the actual
level be described in the report of the test results.
10.2 Management frames
Most data networks now make use of management protocols such as
SNMP. In many environments there can be a number of management
stations sending queries to the same device at the same time.
The stream of test frames SHOULD be augmented with one management
query as the first frame sent each second during the duration of the
trial. The result of the query must fit into one response frame.
The response frame SHOULD be verified by the test equipment. One
example of the specific query frame that should be used is shown in
Appendix C.
10.3 Routing update frames
The processing of dynamic routing protocol updates could have a
significant impact on the ability of a router to forward data
frames. The stream of test frames SHOULD be augmented with one
routing update frame transmitted as the first frame transmitted
during the trial. Routing update frames SHOULD be sent at the rate
specified in Appendix C for the specific routing protocol being used
in the test. Two routing update frames are defined in Appendix C for
the TCP/IP over Ethernet example. The routing frames are designed
to change the routing to a number of networks that are not involved
in the forwarding of the test data. The first frame sets the
routing table state to "A", the second one changes the state to "B".
The frames MUST be alternated during the trial.
The test SHOULD verify that the routing update was processed by the
device under test.
10.4 Filters
Filters are added to routers and bridges to selectively inhibit the
forwarding of frames that would normally be forwarded. This is
usually done to implement security controls on the data that is
accepted between one area and another. Different products have
different capabilities to implement filters.
The device SHOULD be first configured to add one filter condition
and the tests performed. This filter SHOULD permit the forwarding
of the test data stream. In routers this filter SHOULD be of the
form:
forward input_protocol_address to output_protocol_address
In bridges the filter SHOULD be of the form:
forward destination_hardware_address
The device SHOULD be then reconfigured to implement a total of 25
filters. The first 24 of these filters SHOULD be of the form:
block input_protocol_address to output_protocol_address
The 24 input and output protocol addresses SHOULD not be any that
are represented in the test data stream. The last filter SHOULD
permit the forwarding of the test data stream. By "first" and
"last" we mean to ensure that in the second case, 25 conditions must
be checked before the data frames will match the conditions that
permit the forwarding of the frame.
The exact filters configuration command lines used SHOULD be
included with the report of the results.
10.4.1 Filter Addresses
Two sets of filter addresses are required, one for the single filter
case and one for the 25 filter case.
The single filter case should permit traffic from IP address
198.18.1.2 to IP address 198.19.65.2 and deny all other traffic.
The 25 filter case should follow the following sequence.
allow aa.ba.1.1 to aa.ba.100.1
allow aa.ba.2.2 to aa.ba.101.2
allow aa.ba.3.3 to aa.ba.103.3
...
allow aa.ba.12.12 to aa.ba.112.12
allow aa.bc.1.2 to aa.bc.65.1
allow aa.ba.13.13 to aa.ba.113.13
allow aa.ba.14.14 to aa.ba.114.14
...
allow aa.ba.24.24 to aa.ba.124.24
deny all else
All previous filter conditions should be cleared from the router
before this sequence is entered. The sequence is selected to test
to see if the router sorts the filter conditions or accepts them in
the order that they were entered. Both of these procedures will
result in a greater reduction in performance than will some form of
hash coding.
11. Protocol addresses
It is easier to implement these tests using a single logical stream
of data, with one source protocol address and one destination
protocol address, and for some conditions like the filters described
above, a practical requirement. Networks in the real world are not
limited to single streams of data. The test suite SHOULD be first
run with a single protocol (or hardware for bridge tests) source and
destination address pair. The tests SHOULD then be repeated with
using a random destination address. While testing routers the
addresses SHOULD be random over a range of 256 networks and random
over the full MAC range for bridges. The specific address ranges to
use for IP are shown in Appendix C.
12. Route Set Up
It is not expected that all of the routing information necessary to
forward the test stream, especially in the multiple address case,
will be manually set up. At the start of each trial a routing
update MUST be sent to the device. This routing update MUST include
all of the network addresses that will be required for the trial.
All of the addresses SHOULD resolve to the same "next-hop" and it is
expected that this will be the address of the receiving side of the
test equipment. This routing update will have to be repeated at the
interval required by the routing protocol being used. An example of
the format and repetition interval of the update frames is given in
Appendix C.
13. Bidirectional traffic
Normal network activity is not all in a single direction. To test
the bidirectional performance of a device, the test series SHOULD be
run with the same data rate being offered from each direction. The
sum of the data rates should not exceed the theoretical limit for
the media.
14. Single stream path
The full suite of tests SHOULD be run along with whatever modifier
conditions that are relevant using a single input and output network
port on the device. If the internal design of the device has
multiple distinct pathways, for example, multiple interface cards
each with multiple network ports, then all possible types of
pathways SHOULD be tested separately.
15. Multi-port
Many current router and bridge products provide many network ports
in the same device. In performing these tests first half of the
ports are designated as "input ports" and half are designated as
"output ports". These ports SHOULD be evenly distributed across the
device architecture. For example if a device has two interface cards
each of which has four ports, two ports on each interface card are
designated as input and two are designated as output.
The specified tests are run using the same data rate being offered
to each of the input ports. The addresses in the input data streams
SHOULD be set so that a frame will be directed to each of the output
ports in sequence. The stream offered to input one SHOULD consist
of a series of frames (one destined to each of the output ports), as
SHOULD the frame stream offered to input two. The same configuration
MAY be used to perform a bidirectional multi-stream test. In this
case all of the ports are considered both input and output ports and
each data stream MUST consist of frames addressed to all of the
other ports.
16. Multiple protocols
This document does not address the issue of testing the effects of a
mixed protocol environment other than to suggest that if such tests
are wanted then frames SHOULD be distributed between all of the test
protocols. The distribution MAY approximate the conditions on the
network in which the device would be used.
17. Multiple frame sizes
This document does not address the issue of testing the effects of a
mixed frame size environment other than to suggest that if such
tests are wanted then frames SHOULD be distributed between all of
the listed sizes for the protocol under test. The distribution MAY
approximate the conditions on the network in which the device would
be used.
18. Testing performance beyond a single device.
In the performance testing of a single device, the paradigm can be
described as applying some input to a device under test and
monitoring the output. The results of which can be used to form a
basis of characterization of that device under those test
conditions.
This model is useful when the test input and output are homogenous
(e.g., 64-byte IP, 802.3 frames into the device under test; 64 IP,
802.3 frames out), or the method of test can distinguish between
dissimilar input/output. (E.g., 1518 byte, IP, 802.3 frames in; 576
byte, fragmented IP, X.25 frames out.)
By extending the single device test model, reasonable benchmarks
regarding multiple devices or heterogeneous environments may be
collected. In this extension, the single device under test is
replaced by a system of interconnected network devices. This test
methodology would support the benchmarking of a variety of
device/media/service/protocol combinations. For example, a
configuration for a LAN-to-WAN-to-LAN test might be:
(1) 802.3-> device 1 -> X.25 @ 64kbps -> device 2 -> 802.3
Or a mixed LAN configuration might be:
(2) 802.3 -> device 1 -> FDDI -> device 2 -> FDDI -> device 3 ->
802.3
In both examples 1 and 2, end-to-end benchmarks of each system could
be empirically ascertained. Other behavior may be characterized
through the use of intermediate devices. In example 2, the
configuration may be used to give an indication of the FDDI to FDDI
capability exhibited by device 2.
Because multiple devices are treated as a single system, there are
limitations to this methodology. For instance, this methodology may
yield an aggregate benchmark for a tested system. That benchmark
alone, however, may not necessarily reflect asymmetries in behavior
between the devices, latencies introduce by other apparatus (e.g.,
CSUs/DSUs, switches), etc.
Further, care must be used when comparing benchmarks of different
systems by ensuring that the devices' features/configuration of the
tested systems have the appropriate common denominators to allow
comparison.
The maximum frame rate that should be used when testing WAN
connections SHOULD be greater than the listed theoretical maximum
rate for the frame size on that speed connection. The higher rate
for WAN tests is to compensate for the fact that some vendors employ
various forms of header compression. See Appendix A.
19. Maximum frame rate
The maximum frame rate that should be used when testing LAN
connections SHOULD be the listed theoretical maximum rate for the
frame size on the media. A list of maximum frame rates for LAN
connections is included in Appendix B.
20. Bursty traffic
It is convenient to measure the device performance under steady
state load but this is an unrealistic way to gage the functioning of
a device since actual network traffic normally consists of bursts of
frames. Some of the tests described below SHOULD be performed with
both steady state traffic and with traffic consisting of repeated
bursts of frames. The frames within a burst are transmitted with
the minimum legitimate inter-frame gap.
The objective of the test is to determine the minimum interval
between bursts which the device under test can process with no frame
loss. During each test the number of frames in each burst is held
constant and the inter-burst interval varied. Tests SHOULD be run
with burst sizes of 16, 64, 256 and 1024 frames.
21. Frames per token
Although it is possible to configure some token ring and FDDI
interfaces to transmit more than one frame each time that the token
is received, most of the network devices currently available
transmit only one frame per token. These tests SHOULD first be
performed while transmitting only one frame per token.
Some current high-performance workstation servers do transmit more
than one frame per token on FDDI to maximize throughput. Since this
may be a common feature in future workstations and servers,
interconnect devices with FDDI interfaces SHOULD be tested with 1,
4, 8, and 16 frames per token. The reported frame rate SHOULD be
the average rate of frame transmission over the total trial period.
22. Trial description
A particular test consists of multiple trials. Each trial returns
one piece of information, for example the loss rate at a particular
input frame rate. Each trial consists of a number of phases:
a) If the test device is a router, send the routing update to
the "input" port and pause two seconds to be sure that the
routing has settled.
b) Send the "learning frames" to the "output" port and wait 2
seconds to be sure that the learning has settled. Bridge
learning frames are frames with source addresses that are the
same as the destination addresses used by the test frames.
Learning frames for other protocols are used to prime the
address resolution tables in the device. The formats of the
learning frame that should be used are shown in the Test Frame
Formats document.
c) Run the test trial.
d) Wait for two sec for any residual frames to be received.
e) Wait for at least five seconds for the device to
restabilize.
23. Trial duration
The aim of these tests is to determine the rate continuously
supportable by the device. The actual duration of the test trials
must be a compromise between this aim and the duration of the
benchmarking test suite. The duration of the test portion of each
trial SHOULD be at least 60 seconds. The tests that involve some
form of "binary search", for example the throughput test, to
determine the exact result MAY use a shorter trial duration to
minimize the length of the search procedure, but it is expected that
the final determination will be made with full length trials.
24 Address resolution
The test device SHOULD be able to respond to address resolution
requests sent by the device under test wherever the protocol
requires such a process.
25 Benchmarking tests:
Note: The notation "type of data stream" refers to the above
modifications to a frame stream with a constant inter-frame gap, for
example, the addition of traffic filters to the configuration of the
device under test.
25.1 Throughput
Objective:
To determine the device throughput as defined in RFC 1242.
Procedure:
Send a specific number of frames at a specific rate through the
device and then count the frames that are transmitted by the device.
If the count of offered frames is equal to the count of received
frames, the rate of the offered stream is raised and the test rerun.
If fewer frames are received than were transmitted, the rate of the
offered stream is reduced and the test is rerun.
The throughput is the fastest rate at which the count of test frames
transmitted by the DUT is equal to the number of test frames sent to
it by the test equipment.
Reporting format:
The results of the throughput test SHOULD be reported in the form of
a graph. If it is, the x coordinate SHOULD be the frame size, the y
coordinate SHOULD be the frame rate. There SHOULD be at least two
lines on the graph. There SHOULD be one line showing the
theoretical frame rate for the media at the various frame sizes.
The second line SHOULD be the plot of the test results. Additional
lines MAY be used on the graph to report the results for each type
of data stream tested. Text accompanying the graph SHOULD indicate
the protocol, data stream format, and type of media used in the
tests.
We assume that if a single value is desired for advertising purposes
the vendor will select the rate for the minimum frame size for the
media. If this is done then the figure MUST be expressed in frames
per second. The rate MAY also be expressed in bits (or bytes) per
second if the vendor so desires. The statement of performance MUST
include a/ the measured maximum frame rate, b/ the size of the frame
used, c/ the theoretical limit of the media for that frame size, and
d/ the type of protocol used in the test. Even if a single value is
used as part of the advertising copy, the full table of results
SHOULD be included in the product data sheet.
25.2 Latency
Objective:
To determine the latency as defined in RFC 1242.
Procedure:
First determine the throughput for device at each of the listed
frame
sizes.
Send a stream of frames at a particular frame size through the
device at the determined throughput rate to a specific destination.
The stream SHOULD be at least 120 seconds in duration. An
identifying tag SHOULD be included in one frame after 60 seconds
with the type of tag being implementation dependent. The time at
which this frame is fully transmitted is recorded, i.e. the last bit
has been transmitted (timestamp A). The receiver logic in the test
equipment MUST be able to recognize the tag information in the frame
stream and record the time at which the entire tagged frame was
received (timestamp B).
The latency is timestamp B minus timestamp A minus the transit time
for a frame of the tested size on the tested media. This
calculation may result in a negative value for those devices that
begin to transmit the output frame before the entire input frame has
been received.
The test MUST be repeated at least 20 times with the reported value
being the average of the recorded values.
This test SHOULD be performed with the test frame addressed to the
same destination as the rest of the data stream and also with each
of the test frames addressed to a new destination network.
Reporting format:
The latency results SHOULD be reported in the format of a table with
a row for each of the tested frame sizes. There SHOULD be columns
for the frame size, the rate at which the latency test was run for
that frame size, for the media types tested, and for the resultant
latency values for each type of data stream tested.
25.3 Frame loss rate
Objective:
To determine the frame loss rate, as defined in RFC 1242, of a
device throughout the entire range of input data rates and frame
sizes.
Procedure:
Send a specific number of frames at a specific rate through the
device to be tested and count the frames that are transmitted by the
device. The frame loss rate at each point is calculated using the
following
equation:
( ( input_count - output_count ) * 100 ) / input_count
The first trial SHOULD be run for the frame rate that corresponds to
100% of the maximum rate for the frame size on the input media.
Repeat the procedure for the rate that corresponds to 90% of the
maximum rate used and then for 80% of this rate. This sequence
SHOULD be continued (at reducing 10% intervals) until there are two
successive trials in which no frames are lost. The maximum
granularity of the trials MUST be 10% of the maximum rate, a finer
granularity is encouraged.
Reporting format:
The results of the frame loss rate test SHOULD be plotted as a
graph. If this is done then the X axis MUST be the input frame rate
as a percent of the theoretical rate for the media at the specific
frame size. The Y axis MUST be the percent loss at the particular
input rate. The left end of the X axis and the bottom of the Y axis
MUST be 0 percent; the right end of the X axis and the top of the Y
axis MUST be 100 percent. Multiple lines on the graph MAY used to
report the frame loss rate for different frame sizes, protocols, and
types of data streams.
Note: See section 18 for the maximum frame rates that SHOULD be
used.
25.4 Back-to-back frames
Objective:
To characterize the ability of a device to process back-to-back
frames as defined in RFC 1242.
Procedure:
Send a burst of frames with minimum inter-frame gaps to the device
and count the number of frames forwarded by the device. If the
count of transmitted frames is equal to the number of frames
forwarded the length of the burst is increased and the test is
rerun. If the number of forwarded frames is less than the number
transmitted, the length of the burst is reduced and the test is
rerun.
The back-to-back value is the number of frames in the longest burst
that the device will handle without the loss of any frames.
The trial length MUST be at least 2 seconds and SHOULD be repeated
at least 50 times with the average of the recorded values being
reported.
Reporting format:
The back-to-back results SHOULD be reported in the format of a table
with a row for each of the tested frame sizes. There SHOULD be
columns for the frame size and for the resultant average frame count
for each type of data stream tested. The standard deviation for
each measurement MAY also be reported.
25.5 System recovery
Objective:
To characterize the speed at which a device recovers from an
overload condition.
Procedure:
First determine the throughput for a device at each of the listed
frame sizes.
Send a stream of frames at a rate 110% of the recorded throughput
rate or the maximum rate for the media, whichever is lower, for at
least 60 seconds. At Timestamp A reduce the frame rate to 50% of
the above rate and record the time of the last frame lost (Timestamp
B). The system recovery time is determined by subtracting Timestamp
A from Timestamp B. The test SHOULD be repeated a number of times
and the average of the recorded values being reported.
Reporting format:
The system recovery results SHOULD be reported in the format of a
table with a row for each of the tested frame sizes. There SHOULD
be columns for the frame size, the frame rate used as the throughput
rate for each type of data stream tested, and for the measured
recovery time for each type of data stream tested.
25.6 Reset
Objective:
To characterize the speed at which a device recovers from a device
or software reset.
Procedure:
First determine the throughput for the device for the minimum frame
size on the media used in the testing.
Send a continuous stream of frames at the determined throughput rate
for the minimum sized frames. Cause a reset in the device. Monitor
the output until frames begin to be forwarded and record the time
that the last frame (Timestamp A) of the initial stream and the
first frame of the new stream (Timestamp B) are received.
A power interruption reset test is performed as above except that
the power to the device should be interrupted for 10 seconds in
place of causing a reset.
This test SHOULD only be run using frames addressed to networks
directly connected to the device under test so that there is no
requirement to delay until a routing update is received.
The reset value is obtained by subtracting Timestamp A from
Timestamp B.
Hardware and software resets, as well as a power interruption SHOULD
be tested.
Reporting format:
The reset value SHOULD be reported in a simple set of statements,
one for each reset type.
26. Security Considerations
Security issues are not addressed in this document.
27. Editor's Address
Scott Bradner
Holyoke Center Phone +1 617 495-3864
Harvard University Fax +1 617 495-0914
Cambridge, MA 02138 Email: sob@harvard.edu
Jim McQuaid
Wandel & Goltermann Technologies, Inc Phone +1 919 941-4730
P. O. Box 13585 Fax: +1 919 941-5751
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Email: mcquaid@wg.com
Appendix A: Testing Considerations
A.1 Scope Of This Appendix
This appendix discusses certain issues in the benchmarking
methodology where experience or judgement may play a role in the
tests selected to be run or in the approach to constructing the test
with a particular device. As such, this appendix MUST not be read
as an amendment to the methodology described in the body of this
document but as a guide to testing practice.
1. Typical testing practice has been to enable all protocols to
be tested and conduct all testing with no further
configuration of protocols, even though a given set of trials
may exercise only one protocol at a time. This minimizes the
opportunities to "tune" a device under test for a single
protocol.
2. The least common denominator of the available filter functions
should be used to ensure that there is a basis for comparison
between vendors. Because of product differences, those
conducting and evaluating tests must make a judgement about
this issue.
3. Architectural considerations may need to be considered. For
example, first perform the tests with the stream going between
ports on the same interface card and the repeat the tests with
the stream going into a port on one interface card and out of
a port on a second interface card. There will almost always be
a best case and worst case configuration for a given device
under test architecture.
4. Testing done using traffic streams consisting of mixed
protocols has not shown much difference between testing with
individual protocols. That is, if protocol A testing and
protocol B testing give two different performance results,
mixed protocol testing appears to give a result which is the
average of the two.
5. Wide Area Network (WAN) performance may be tested by setting
up two identical devices connected by the appropriate short-
haul versions of the WAN modems. Performance is then measured
between a LAN interface on one device to a LAN interface on
the other device.
The maximum frame rate to be used for LAN-WAN-LAN
configurations is a judgement that can be based on known
characteristics of the overall system including compression
effects, fragmentation, and gross link speeds. Practice
suggests that the rate should be at least 110% of the slowest
link speed. Substantive issues of testing compression itself
are beyond the scope of this document.
Appendix B: Maximum frame rates reference
(Provided by Roger Beeman)
Ethernet Size Ethernet 16Mb Token Ring FDDI
(bytes) (pps) (pps) (pps)
64 14880 24691 152439
128 8445 13793 85616
256 4528 7326 45620
512 2349 3780 23585
768 1586 2547 15903
1024 1197 1921 11996
1280 961 1542 9630
1518 812 1302 8138
Ethernet size
Preamble 64 bits
Frame 8 x N bits
Gap 96 bits
16Mb Token Ring size
SD 8 bits
AC 8 bits
FC 8 bits
DA 48 bits
SA 48 bits
RI 48 bits ( 06 30 00 12 00 30 )
SNAP
DSAP 8 bits
SSAP 8 bits
Control 8 bits
Vendor 24 bits
Type 16 bits
Data 8 x ( N - 18) bits
FCS 32 bits
ED 8 bits
FS 8 bits
No accounting for token or idles between packets (theoretical
minimums hard to pin down)
FDDI size
Preamble 64 bits
SD 8 bits
FC 8 bits
DA 48 bits
SA 48 bits
SNAP
DSAP 8 bits
SSAP 8 bits
Control 8 bits
Vendor 24 bits
Type 16 bits
Data 8 x ( N - 18) bits
FCS 32 bits
ED 4 bits
FS 12 bits
No accounting for token or idles between packets (theoretical
minimums hard to pin down)
Appendix C: Test Frame Formats
This appendix defines the frame formats that may be used with these
tests. It also includes protocol specific parameters for TCP/IP
over Ethernet to be used with the tests as an example.
C.1. Introduction
The general logic used in the selection of the parameters and the
design of the frame formats is explained for each case within the
TCP/IP section. The same logic has been used in the other sections.
Comments are used in these sections only if there is a protocol
specific feature to be explained. Parameters and frame formats for
additional protocols can be defined by the reader by using the same
logic.
C.2. TCP/IP Information
The following section deals with the TCP/IP protocol suite.
C.2.1 Frame Type.
An application level datagram echo request is used for the test data
frame in the protocols that support such a function. A datagram
protocol is used to minimize the chance that a router might expect a
specific session initialization sequence, as might be the case for a
reliable stream protocol. A specific defined protocol is used
because some routers verify the protocol field and refuse to forward
unknown protocols.
For TCP/IP a UDP Echo Request is used.
C.2.2 Protocol Addresses
Two sets of addresses must be defined: first the addresses assigned
to the router ports, and second the address that are to be used in
the frames themselves and in the routing updates.
The following specific network addresses are have been assigned to
the BMWG by the NIC for this purpose. This assignment was made to
minimize the chance of conflict in case a testing device were to be
accidentally connected to part of the Internet.
C.2.2.1 Router port protocol addresses
Half of the ports on a multi-port router are referred to as "input"
ports and the other half as "output" ports even though some of the
tests use all ports both as input and output. A contiguous series
of IP Class C network addresses from 198.18.1.0 to 198.18.64.0 have
been assigned for use on the "input" ports. A second series from
198.19.1.0 to 198.19.64.0 have been assigned for use on the "output"
ports. In all cases the router port is node 1 on the appropriate
network. For example, a two port device would have an IP address of
198.18.1.1 on one port and 198.19.1.1 on the other port.
Some of the tests described in the methodology memo make use of an
SNMP management connection to the device under test. The management
access address for the device is assumed to be the first of the
"input" ports (198.18.1.1).
C.2.2.2 Frame addresses
Some of the described tests assume adjacent network routing (the
reboot time test for example). The IP address used in the test
frame is that of node 2 on the appropriate Class C network.
(198.19.1.2 for example)
If the test involves non-adjacent network routing the phantom
routers are located at node 10 of each of the appropriate Class C
networks. A series of Class C network addresses from 198.18.65.0 to
198.18.254.0 has been assigned for use as the networks accessible
through the phantom routers on the "input" side of device under
test. The series of Class C networks from 198.19.65.0 to
198.19.254.0 have been assigned to be used as the networks visible
through the phantom routers on the "output" side of the device under
test.
C.2.3 Routing Update Frequency
The update interval for each routing protocol is may have to be
determined by the specifications of the individual protocol. For IP
RIP, Cisco IGRP and for OSPF a routing update frame or frames should
precede each stream of test frames by 5 seconds. This frequency is
sufficient for trial durations of up to 60 seconds. Routing updates
must be mixed with the stream of test frames if longer trial periods
are selected. The frequency of updates should be taken from the
following table.
IP-RIP 30 sec
IGRP 90 sec
OSPF 90 sec
C.2.4 Frame Formats - detailed discussion
C.2.4.1 Learning Frame
In most protocols a procedure is used to determine the mapping
between the protocol node address and the MAC address. The Address
Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to perform this function in
TCP/IP. No such procedure is required in XNS or IPX because the MAC
address is used as the protocol node address.
In the ideal case the tester would be able to respond to ARP
requests from the device under test. In cases where this is not
possible an ARP request should be sent to the router's "output"
port. This request should be seen as coming from the immediate
destination of the test frame stream. (i.e. the phantom router or
the end node if adjacent network routing is being used.) It is
assumed that the router will cache the MAC address of the requesting
device. The ARP request should be sent 5 seconds before the test
frame stream starts in each trial. Trial lengths of longer than 50
seconds may require that the router be configured for an extended
ARP timeout.
C.2.4.2 Routing Update Frame
If the test does not involve adjacent net routing the tester must
supply proper routing information using a routing update. A single
routing update is used before each trial on each "destination" port
(see section C.24). This update includes the network addresses that
are reachable through a phantom router on the network attached to
the port. For a full mesh test, one destination network address is
present in the routing update for each of the "input" ports. The
test stream on each "input" port consists of a repeating sequence of
frames, one to each of the "output" ports.
C.2.4.3 Management Query Frame
The management overhead test uses SNMP to query a set of variables
that should be present in all devices that support SNMP. The
variables are read by an NMS at the appropriate intervals. The list
of variables to retrieve follow:
sysUpTime
ifInOctets
ifOutOctets
ifInUcastPkts
ifOutUcastPkts
C.2.4.4 Test Frames
The test frame is an UDP Echo Request with enough data to fill out
the required frame size. The data should not be all bits off or all
bits on since these patters can cause a "bit stuffing" process to be
used to maintain clock synchronization on WAN links. This process
will result in a longer frame than was intended.
C.2.4.5 Frame Formats - TCP/IP on Ethernet
Each of the frames below are described for the 1st pair of device
ports, i.e. "input" port #1 and "output" port #1. Addresses must be
changed if the frame is to be used for other ports.
C.2.6.1 Learning Frame
ARP Request on Ethernet
-- DATAGRAM HEADER
offset data (hex) description
00 FF FF FF FF FF FF dest MAC address
send to broadcast address
06 xx xx xx xx xx xx set to source MAC address
12 08 06 ARP type
14 00 01 hardware type
Ethernet = 1
16 08 00 protocol type
IP = 800
18 06 hardware address length
48 bits on Ethernet
19 04 protocol address length
4 octets for IP
20 00 01 opcode
request = 1
22 xx xx xx xx xx xx source MAC address
28 xx xx xx xx source IP address
32 FF FF FF FF FF FF requesting DUT's MAC address
38 xx xx xx xx DUT's IP address
C.2.6.2 Routing Update Frame
-- DATAGRAM HEADER
offset date description
00 FF FF FF FF FF FF dest MAC address is broadcast
06 xx xx xx xx xx xx source hardware address
12 08 00 type
-- IP HEADER
14 45 IP version - 4,
header length
(4 byte units) - 5
15 00 service field
16 00 EE total length
18 00 00 ID
20 40 00 flags (3 bits)
4 (do not fragment),fragment
offset-0
22 0A TTL
23 11 protocol - 17 (UDP)
24 C4 8D header checksum
26 xx xx xx xx source IP address
30 xx xx xx destination IP address
33 FF host part = FF for broadcast
-- UDP HEADER
34 02 08 source port
208 = RIP
36 02 08 destination port
208 = RIP
38 00 DA UDP message length
40 00 00 UDP checksum
-- RIP packet
42 02 command = response
43 01 version = 1
44 00 00 0
-- net 1
46 00 02 family = IP
48 00 00 0
50 xx xx xx net 1 IP address
53 00 net not node
54 00 00 00 00 0
58 00 00 00 00 0
62 00 00 00 07 metric 7
-- net 2
66 00 02 family = IP
68 00 00 0
70 xx xx xx net 2 IP address
73 00 net not node
74 00 00 00 00 0
78 00 00 00 00 0
82 00 00 00 07 metric 7
-- net 3
86 00 02 family = IP
88 00 00 0
90 xx xx xx net 3 IP address
93 00 net not node
94 00 00 00 00 0
98 00 00 00 00 0
102 00 00 00 07 metric 7
-- net 4
106 00 02 family = IP
108 00 00 0
110 xx xx xx net 4 IP address
113 00 net not node
114 00 00 00 00 0
118 00 00 00 00 0
122 00 00 00 07 metric 7
-- net 5
126 00 02 family = IP
128 00 00 0
130 00 net 5 IP address
133 00 net not node
134 00 00 00 00 0
138 00 00 00 00 0
142 00 00 00 07 metric 7
-- net 6
146 00 02 family = IP
148 00 00 0
150 xx xx xx net 6 IP address
153 00 net not node
154 00 00 00 00 0
158 00 00 00 00 0
162 00 00 00 07 metric 7
C.2.4.6 Management Query Frame
To be defined.
C.2.6.4 Test Frames
UDP echo request on Ethernet
-- DATAGRAM HEADER
offset data description
00 xx xx xx xx xx xx set to dest MAC address
06 xx xx xx xx xx xx set to source MAC address
12 08 00 type
-- IP HEADER
14 45 IP version - 4
header length 5 4 byte units
15 00 TOS
16 00 2E total length*
18 00 00 ID
20 00 00 flags (3 bits) - 0
fragment offset-0
22 0A TTL
23 11 protocol - 17 (UDP)
24 C4 8D header checksum*
26 xx xx xx xx set to source IP address**
30 xx xx xx xx set to destination IP address**
-- UDP HEADER
34 C0 20 source port
36 00 07 destination port
07 = Echo
38 00 1A UDP message length*
40 00 00 UDP checksum
-- UDP DATA
42 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 some data***
50 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
* - change for different length frames
** - change for different logical streams
*** - fill remainder of frame with incrementing octets, repeated if
required by frame length
Values to be used in Total Length and UDP message length fields:
frame size total length UDP message length
64 00 2E 00 1A
128 00 6E 00 5A
256 00 EE 00 9A
512 01 EE 01 9A
768 02 EE 02 9A
1024 03 EE 03 9A
1280 04 EE 04 9A
1518 05 DC 05 C8
Internet Draft Benchmarking Methodology for Network Interconnect Devices February 1995
S. Bradner, J. McQuaid [Page 21]
Benchmarking Methodology Working Group Scott Bradner
Internet Draft - February 1995 Harvard University
Jim McQuaid
Wandel & Goltermann Technologies, Inc
S. Bradner, J. McQuaid [Page 1]
