Network Working Group                                      Aamer Akhter
Internet Draft                                              Rajiv Asati
Intended status: Informational                            Cisco Systems
Expires: March 2009

                                                     September 15, 2008



                  MPLS Forwarding Benchmarking Methodology
                draft-ietf-bmwg-mpls-forwarding-meth-00.txt


Status of this Memo

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on March 15, 2009.

Abstract

   The purpose of this draft is to describe a methodology specific to
   the benchmarking of MPLS forwarding devices. The scope of this
   benchmarking will be limited to various types of packet-forwarding
   and delay measurements. It builds upon the tenets set forth in
   RFC2544 [RFC2544], RFC1242 [RFC1242] and other IETF Benchmarking
   Methodology Working Group (BMWG) efforts.  This document seeks to
   extend these efforts to the MPLS paradigm.



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Table of Contents


   1. Introduction...................................................2
   2. Document Scope.................................................3
   3. Key Words to Reflect Requirements..............................3
   4. Test Methodology...............................................3
   4.1. Test Considerations..........................................4
   4.1.1. IGP Support................................................4
   4.1.2. Label Distribution Support.................................5
   4.1.3. Frame Sizes................................................5
   4.1.4. TTL or Hop Count...........................................5
   4.1.5. Trial Duration.............................................6
   4.1.6. Address Resolution and Dynamic Protocol State..............6
   4.1.7. Abbreviations Used.........................................7
   5. Reporting Format...............................................7
   6. MPLS Forwarding Benchmarking tests.............................8
   6.1. Throughput...................................................9
   6.1.1. Throughput for MPLS Label Imposition.......................9
   6.1.2. Throughout for MPLS Label Swap............................10
   6.1.3. Throughout for MPLS Label Disposition.....................11
   6.1.4. Throughput for MPLS Label Disposition (Aggregate).........12
   6.2. Latency Measurement.........................................13
   6.3. Frame Loss Rate Measurement (FLR)...........................15
   6.4. System Recovery.............................................16
   6.5. Reset.......................................................17
   7. Security Considerations.......................................18
   8. IANA Considerations...........................................18
   9. References....................................................19
   9.1. Normative References........................................19
   9.2. Informative References......................................19
   Author's Addresses...............................................20
   Intellectual Property Statement..................................20
   Disclaimer of Validity...........................................21
   Copyright Statement..............................................21
   Acknowledgment...................................................21



1. Introduction

   Over the past several years MPLS networks have gained greater
   popularity. However, there is no standard method to compare and


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   contrast the varying implementations and their strong and weak
   points. This document proposes a methodology using common criteria
   for the comparison of various implementations of basic MPLS
   forwarding devices.

   The terms used in this document remain consistent with those defined
   in "Benchmarking Terminology for Network Interconnect Devices"
   RFC1242 [RFC1242]. This terminology SHOULD be consulted before using
   or applying the recommendations of this document.



2. Document Scope

   MPLS [RFC3031] is a foundation enabling technology for other more
   advanced technologies such as Layer 3 MPLS-VPNs, Layer 2 MPLS-VPNs,
   and MPLS Traffic Engineering. This document focuses on MPLS
   forwarding characterization.



3. Key Words to Reflect Requirements

   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 BCP 14, RFC 2119
   [RFC2119].  RFC 2119 defines the use of these key words to help make
   the intent of standards track documents as clear as possible.  While
   this document uses these keywords, this document is not a standards
   track document.



4. Test Methodology

   The set of methodologies described in this document will use the
   topologies described in this section. An effort has been made to
   exclude superfluous equipment needs such that each test can be
   carried out with the minimum number of requirements.

   Figure 1 illustrates the sample topology in which the DUT is
   connected to the test ports on the test tool.







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                    +-----------------+
    +---------+     |                 |     +---------+
    | Test    |     |                 |     | Test    |
    | Port A1 +-----+ DA1         DB1 -----+ Port B1 |
    +---------+     |                 |     +---------+
    +---------+     |       DUT       |     +---------+
    | Test    |     |                 |     | Test    |
    | Port A2 +-----+ DA2         DB2 +-----+ Port B2 |
    +---------+     |                 |     +---------+
         ...        |                 |        ...
    +---------+     |                 |     +---------+
    | Test    |     +-----------------+     | Test    |
    | Port Ap |                             | Port Bp |
    +---------+                             +---------+


           Figure 1 Topology #1 for MPLS Forwarding Benchmarking



   Where number of ports (p) is determined by the maximum
   unidirectional forwarding throughput of the DUT and the load
   capacity of the media between the Test Ports and DUT. For example,
   if the DUT's forwarding throughput is 100 frames per second (fps),
   and the media capacity is 50 fps, then p = 2.



4.1. Test Considerations

   This methodology assumes a full-duplex uniform medium topology. The
   medium used MUST be reported in each test result. Issues regarding
   mixed transmission media, speed mismatches, media header differences
   etc, are not under consideration. Traffic-affecting features such as
   Flow control, QoS, Graceful Restart etc. MUST be disabled, unless
   explicitly requested by the test case. Additionally, any non-
   essential traffic MUST also be avoided.

4.1.1. IGP Support

   It is highly RECOMMENDED that all of the interfaces (A1, DA1, DB1,
   A2..) on DUT and test tool support an IGP such as IS-IS, OSPF,
   EIGRP, RIP etc. Furthermore, there are testing considerations in
   this document that the device is able to provide a stable control-
   plane during heavy forwarding workloads. The route distribution
   method used (OSPF, IS-IS, EIGRP, RIP etc.) MUST be reported.



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4.1.2. Label Distribution Support

   The DUT and test tool must support at least one protocol for
   exchanging MPLS labels. The DUT and test tool MUST be capable of
   learning and advertising MPLS label bindings via the chosen
   protocol(s), and use them during packet forwarding all the time
   (includes when the label bindings change). The most commonly used
   protocol is Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) [RFC5036], RSVP-TE
   [RFC5151] and MP-BGP [RFC4364].

   All of the interfaces connected to the DUT such as A1, DA1, DB1, A2
   etc., SHOULD support Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), RSVP-TE, and
   MP-BGP for IPv4 or IPv6 FECs.

   This draft discourages the use of static label to establish the MPLS
   label switched paths, since it is not commonly used in the
   production networks.



4.1.3. Frame Sizes

   Each test SHOULD be run with different frame sizes in different
   trials. For better reference, the recommended sizes are 64, 128,
   256, 512, 1024, 1280 and 1518 for IPv4. Recommended sizes for other
   media can be found in RFC 2544 and IPv6 Benchmarking [RFC5180].
   Frame sizes MUST be based on the pre-MPLS shim version of the frame.

   In addition to the individual frame size trials, an IMIX traffic run
   MAY also be included.

   When running trials between different frame sizes, the DUT
   configuration MUST remain the same.



4.1.4. TTL or Hop Count

   The MPLS TTL or IPv4 TTL or IPv6 Hop Count (depending on which
   portion of the packet the DUT is basing the forwarding behavior)
   MUST be large enough to traverse the DUT.






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4.1.5. Trial Duration

   Unless otherwise specified, the test portion of each trial SHOULD be
   no less than 30 seconds when static routing is in place and no less
   than 200 seconds when a dynamic routing protocol and LDP (default
   holddown timer is 180 seconds) are being used.

   The longer trial time for when dynamic routing protocols are being
   used is for verifying that the DUT is able to maintain a stable
   control plane when the data-forwarding plane is under stress.



4.1.5.1. Traffic Verification

   In all cases the sent traffic MUST be accounted for, whether it was
   received on the wrong port, correct port or not received at all.
   Specifically, traffic loss (also referred to as frame loss) is
   defined as the traffic (i.e. one or more frames) not received where
   expected (i.e. received on incorrect port, or received with
   incorrect layer2 or above header information etc.). In addition, the
   MPLS header presence or non-presence of the packet MUST be verified,
   as well as checksum, frame sequencing and correct MPLS TTL
   decrementing.

   The MPLS header presence will be determined by the test. Some tests
   will require the MPLS header to be imposed while others will require
   a swap or disposition. In general, many test tools will by default
   only verify that they have received the embedded signature on the
   receive side, but will not validate MPLS stack depth. An even
   greater level of verification would be to check if the correct label
   was imposed, but that is considered out of scope for these tests.

   "In all cases the sent traffic MUST be accounted for, whether it was
   received on the wrong port, correct port or not received at all. In
   addition, the MPLS header...."



4.1.6. Address Resolution and Dynamic Protocol State

   If the test or media is making use of a dynamic protocol (eg ARP,
   OSPF, LDP), all state for the protocols should be pre-established
   before the start of the trial.





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4.1.7. Abbreviations Used

   Please refer to Figure 1, "Port based Remote Network" for a topology
   view of the network. The following abbreviations are used in this
   document -

   M  := Module Side (could be A or B)

   P  := port number

   RN := Remote Network (can also be thought of as a network that is
   reachable via) Mp.

   Y  := number of network. (ie the first network reachable via B1
   would be called B1RN1 and the 5th network would be called B1RN5)



5. Reporting Format

   For each test case, it is recommended that the following variables
   be reported in addition to the specific parameters requested by the
   test case:



        Parameter                       Unit

        Internet Protocol               IPv4, IPv6, Dual-Stack

        Label Distribution Protocol     LDP, RSVP-TE, BGP (or
                                        combinations)

        MPLS Forwarding Operation       Imposition, Swap,
                                        Disposition

        IGP                             ISIS, OSPF, EIGRP, RIP,
                                        static, etc.

        Throughput                      Frames per second

        Interface Type                  GigE, POS, ATM etc

        Interface Speed                 1 gbps, 100 Mbps, etc

        Interface Encapsulation         VLAN, PPP, HDLC



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        Packet Size                     Bytes

        Number of A and B               1A, 2B
        interfaces (see Figure 1)



   The individual test cases may have additional reporting requirements
   that may refer to other RFCs.



6. MPLS Forwarding Benchmarking tests

   MPLS is altogether a different forwarding paradigm from IP. Unlike
   IP packet and IP forwarding, MPLS packet is likely to contain more
   than one MPLS headers and may go through one of three forwarding
   operations - imposition, swap and disposition. Such characteristics
   desire further granularity in MPLS forwarding benchmarking than
   those of described in RFC2544. Thus the benchmarking includes, but
   not limited to:

     1. Throughput

     2. Latency

     3. Frame Loss rate

     4. System Recovery

     5. Reset

     6. MPLS EXP field Operations (including explicit-null cases)

     7. Negative Scenarios (TTL expiry, etc)

     8. Multicast



   This document focuses on the first five categories. All the
   benchmarking test cases described in this document are expected to
   at a minimum follow the below 'Test Setup' and 'Test Procedure.'



   Test Setup


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     It is recommended that a single A and B interface SHOULD be used.
     However, if the forwarding throughput of the DUT is more than that
     of the media rate of a single interface, then additional A and B
     interfaces MUST be enabled so as to exceed the DUT's forwarding
     throughput. In such case, the tool traffic should use BpRN1 and
     BpAN as the IP destinations in a weighted round robin fashion. The
     weighting ratio between  BpRN1 and BpAN is a constant test
     parameter. A suggested ratio is 1:100 with BpAN:BpRN1. The traffic
     streams offered MUST conform to section 16 of RFC 2544.



   Test Procedure

     Send traffic from port Ap towards DUT at a constant load towards
     IP prefixes (BpRN1 addresses) advertised by the tool on the
     receive ports, for a fixed duration of time.

     If any frame loss is detected, a new iteration is needed where the
     offered load is decreased and the sender will transmit again. An
     iterative search algorithm MUST be used to determine the maximum
     offered frame rate with a zero frame loss.

     Each iteration will involve varying the offered load of the
     regular traffic, while keeping the other parameters (test
     duration, number of interfaces, number of addresses, frame size
     etc) constant, until the maximum rate at which none of the offered
     frames are dropped is determined.



6.1. Throughput

   This section contains the description of the tests that are related
   to the characterization of DUT's MPLS frame forwarding.



6.1.1. Throughput for MPLS Label Imposition

   Objective

     To obtain the maximum forwarding rate during label imposition
     (i.e. IP to MPLS) for a regular (IPv4 or IPv6) packet by the DUT.

   Test Setup



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     In addition to setup described in section 6, the test tool should
     advertise the IP prefix(es) i.e. RNx(using a routing protocol as
     per section 1.1) and associated MPLS label (using a label
     distribution protocol as per section 1.2) on its receive ports Bp
     to DUT. The test tool may learn these IP prefixes on it's transmit
     ports Ap from DUT.

   Discussion

     The DUT's MPLS forwarding table must contain non-reserved MPLS
     label value as the outgoing label for the learned prefix,
     resulting in IP-to-MPLS forwarding operation. The testool must
     receive MPLS packets on receive ports Bp (from DUT) with the same
     label values that are advertised.

   Procedure

     Please see Test Procedure in section 6. Additionally, the test
     tool must send unlabeled IP packets on transmit ports Ap (with IP
     destination belonging to above IP prefix(es)), and expect to
     receive MPLS packets on receive ports Bp.

   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.

     Results for each test SHOULD be in the form of a table with a row
     for each of the tested frame sizes. Additional columns SHOULD
     include: offered load and measured throughput.



6.1.2. Throughout for MPLS Label Swap

   Objective

     To obtain the maximum label swap rate for a labeled packet (i.e.
     MPLS to MPLS) by the DUT.

   Test Setup

     In addition to setup described in section 6, the test tool must be
     set up to advertise IP prefix (using a routing protocol as per
     section 1.1) and associated MPLS label (using a label distribution
     protocol as per section 1.2) on the receive ports Bp, and learn
     the IP prefix(es) with the appropriate MPLS labels on the transmit
     ports Ap. The test tool then must use the learned MPLS label


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     values and learned IP prefix values in MPLS packets transmitted on
     ports Ap.

   Discussion

     The DUT's MPLS forwarding table must contain non-reserved MPLS
     label values as the outgoing and incoming labels for the learned
     prefix, resulting in MPLS-to-MPLS forwarding operation. The
     testool must receive MPLS packets on receive ports Bp (from DUT).
     The received MPLS packets must contain the same number of MPLS
     headers as those of transmitted MPLS Packets.

   Procedure

     Please see Test Procedure in section 6. Additionally, the test
     tool must send MPLS packets on its transmit ports Ap (with IP
     destination belonging to advertised IP prefix(es)), and expect to
     receive MPLS packets on its receive ports Bp.

   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.

     Results for each test SHOULD be in the form of a table with a row
     for each of the tested frame sizes. Additional columns SHOULD
     include: offered load and measured throughput.



6.1.3. Throughout for MPLS Label Disposition

   Objective

     To obtain the maximum label disposition rate for MPLS packet (i.e.
     MPLS to IP) by the DUT, when DUT installs ''Untagged'' outgoing
     label.

   Test Setup

     In addition to setup described in section 6, the test tool must be
     set up to advertise the IP prefix(es) (using a routing protocol as
     per section 1.1) without any MPLS label on the receive ports Bp,
     and learn the IP prefix(es) with the appropriate MPLS labels on
     the transmit ports Ap. The test tool then must use the learned
     MPLS label values and learned IP prefix values in MPLS packets
     transmitted on ports Ap.



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   Discussion

     The DUT's MPLS forwarding table must contain an untagged outgoing
     label for the learned prefix, resulting in MPLS-to-IP forwarding
     operation. The testool must receive IP packets on receive ports Bp
     (from DUT).

   Procedure

     Please see Test Procedure in section 6. Additionally, the test
     tool must send MPLS packets on its transmit ports Ap (with IP
     destination belonging to advertised IP prefix(es)), and expect to
     receive IP packets on its receive ports Bp.



   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.

     Results for each test SHOULD be in the form of a table with a row
     for each of the tested frame sizes. Additional columns SHOULD
     include: offered load and measured throughput.



6.1.4. Throughput for MPLS Label Disposition (Aggregate)



   Objective

     To obtain the maximum label disposition rate for MPLS packet (i.e.
     MPLS to IP) by the DUT, when DUT installs ''Aggregate'' outgoing
     label.



   Test Setup

     In addition to setup described in section 6, the DUT should be
     provisioned such that it allocates an aggregate outgoing label to
     a prefix (where the prefix may be a 'BGP aggregated prefix' , 'BGP
     VPN connected prefix' or an IGP aggregation that results in an
     aggregate label, etc. and must include the addresses belonging to
     the DUT receive ports Bp).



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     The DUT must advertise the IP prefix(es) along with the MPLS
     label(s) via a label distribution protocol to the testool on tool
     transmit ports Ap.

     The test tool then must use the learned MPLS label values and
     learned IP prefix values in MPLS packets transmitted on ports Ap.



   Discussion

     The DUT's MPLS forwarding table must contain an aggregate outgoing
     label and IP forwarding table must contain a valid entry for the
     learned prefix, resulting in MPLS-to-IP forwarding operation (i.e.
     MPLS header removal followed by IP lookup). The testool must
     receive IP packets on receive ports Bp (from DUT).



   Procedure

     Please see Test Procedure in section 6. Additionally, the test
     tool must send MPLS packets on its transmit ports Ap (with IP
     destination belonging to advertised IP prefix(es)), and expect to
     receive IP packets on its receive ports Bp.



   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.

     Results for each test SHOULD be in the form of a table with a row
     for each of the tested frame sizes. Additional columns SHOULD
     include: offered load and measured throughput.





6.2. Latency Measurement

   This measures the time taken by the DUT to forward the MPLS packet
   during various MPLS switching paths such as IP-to-MPLS or MPLS-to-
   MPLS or MPLS-to-IP involving one or more MPLS headers.




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   The forwarding delay measurement requires the accurate propagation
   delay measurement as a prerequisite.

   One of the propagation delay measurement mechanisms is to connect
   test transmit port such as A1 and test receive port such as B1 with
   the wire length=X (bypass DA1 and DB1) and measure the time (t1)
   taken by the packet to reach from A1 to B1.

   Once the time t1 has been recorded, then the DUT should be inserted
   such that the test port A1 connects to DA1 and B1 connects to DB1,
   and the sum of A1-DA1 wire length and B1-DB1 wire length equals X.

   The packet should be sent from A1 to B1 such that the packet is
   received by DA1, which after consulting with its forwarding table,
   forwards the packet to B1 via DB1. The time (t2) taken by the packet
   to reach B1 (from A1) is recorded.

   The difference of time t2-t1 would provide the ballpark measurement
   of DUT's forwarding delay.

   The measurement for t2 should be performed under each of three
   forwarding operations (IP-to-MPLS, MPLS-to-MPLS, MPLS-to-IP) and
   measured accordingly.



   Objective

     To obtain the maximum latency induced by the DUT during MPLS
     packet forwarding for each of three forwarding operations.

   Test Setup

     Follow the test setup guidelines established for each of three
     MPLS forwarding operations in section 6.1.1 (for IP-to-MPLS),
     6.1.2 (for MPLS-to-MPLS) and 6.1.3 (for MPLS-to-IP) one by one.

   Procedure

     Please refer to RFC2544. Additionally, follow the associated
     procedure for each MPLS forwarding operation -


     IP-to-MPLS forwarding         (Imposition)   Section 6.1.1

     MPLS-to-MPLS forwarding       (Swap)         Section 6.1.2



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     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Disposition)  Section 6.1.3

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Aggregate)    Section 6.1.4









   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.



6.3.  Frame Loss Rate Measurement (FLR)

   This measures the percentage of MPLS frames that were not forwarded
   during various switching paths such as IP-to-MPLS (imposition) or
   MPLS-to-IP (swap) or MPLS-IP (disposition) by the DUT under
   overloaded state.

   Please refer to RFC2544 section 26.3 for more details.



   Objective

     To obtain the frame loss rate, as defined in RFC1242, for each of
     three MPLS forwarding operations of a DUT, throughout the range of
     input data rates and frame sizes.

   Test Setup

     Follow the test setup guidelines established for each of three
     MPLS forwarding operations in section 6.1.1 (for IP-to-MPLS),
     6.1.2 (for MPLS-to-MPLS) and 6.1.3 (for MPLS-to-IP) and procedure
     one by one.

   Procedure

     Please refer to RFC2544.




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     Additionally, follow the associated procedure (and test Setup) for
     each MPLS forwarding operation one-by-one -



     IP-to-MPLS forwarding         (Imposition)   Section 6.1.1

     MPLS-to-MPLS forwarding       (Swap)         Section 6.1.2

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Disposition)  Section 6.1.3

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Aggregate)    Section 6.1.4





   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.





6.4. System Recovery

   Objective

     To characterize the speed at which a DUT recovers from an overload
     condition.

   Test Setup

     Follow the test setup guidelines established for each of three
     MPLS forwarding operations in section 6.1.1 (for IP-to-MPLS),
     6.1.2 (for MPLS-to-MPLS) and 6.1.3 (for MPLS-to-IP) and procedure
     one by one.

   Procedure

     Please refer to RFC2544 section 26.5.

     Additionally, follow the associated procedure (and test Setup) for
     each MPLS forwarding operation one-by-one -




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     IP-to-MPLS forwarding         (Imposition)   Section 6.1.1

     MPLS-to-MPLS forwarding       (Swap)         Section 6.1.2

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Disposition)  Section 6.1.3

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Aggregate)    Section 6.1.4





   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4.



6.5. Reset

   Objective

     To characterize the speed at which a DUT recovers from a device or
     software reset.

   Test Setup

     Follow the test setup guidelines established for each of three
     MPLS forwarding operations in section 6.1.1 (for IP-to-MPLS),
     6.1.2 (for MPLS-to-MPLS) and 6.1.3 (for MPLS-to-IP) and procedure
     one by one.

     For this test, all graceful-restart features MUST be disabled.



   Procedure

     Please refer to RFC2544 section 26.5. Examples of hardware and
     software resets are:

      hardware reset - forwarding module resetting (e.g. OIR).

      software reset - reset initiated through a CLI (e.g. reload).

     Additionally, follow the associated procedure (and test Setup) for
     each MPLS forwarding operation one-by-one -


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     IP-to-MPLS forwarding         (Imposition)   Section 6.1.1

     MPLS-to-MPLS forwarding       (Swap)         Section 6.1.2

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Disposition)  Section 6.1.3

     MPLS-to-IP forwarding         (Aggregate)    Section 6.1.4





   Reporting Format

     Same as RFC2544, in addition to parameters in Section 4, and the
     specific kind of reset performed.





7. Security Considerations

   During the course of test, the test topology must be disconnected
   from devices that may forward the test traffic into a production
   environment.

   There are no specific security considerations within the scope of
   this document.

8. IANA Considerations

   There are no considerations for IANA at this time.














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9.  References

9.1. Normative References

   [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
             Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC3031] Rosen et al., ''Multiprotocol Label Switching
             Architecture'', Rosen et al., RFC 3031, August 1999.

   [RFC4364] Rosen, E. and Rekhter, Y., ''BGP/MPLS IP Virtual Private
             Networks (VPNs)'', RFC 4364, February 2006.

   [RFC5036] Andersson, L., Doolan, P., Feldman, N., Fredette, A. and
             B. Thomas, "LDP Specification", RFC 5036, January 2001.

9.2. Informative References

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

   [RFC1242] Bradner, S., Editor, "Benchmarking Terminology for Network
             Interconnection Devices", RFC 1242, July 1991.

   [RFC5180] Popoviciu, C., et al, "IPv6 Benchmarking Methodology for
             Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 5180, May 2008.

   [RFC5151] Farrel, et al, "Inter-Domain MPLS and GMPLS Traffic
             Engineering --Resource Reservation Protocol-Traffic
             Engineering (RSVP-TE) Extensions", RFC 5151, Feb 2008.



















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Author's Addresses

   Aamer Akhter
   Cisco Systems
   7025 Kit Creek Road
   RTP, NC 27709
   USA

   Phone: 919 392 2564
   Email: aakhter@cisco.com


   Rajiv Asati
   Cisco Systems
   7025 Kit Creek Road
   RTP, NC 27709
   USA

   Phone: 919 392 8558
   Email: rajiva@cisco.com




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Acknowledgment

   Special thanks to Scott Bradner for his very insightful comments
   delivered on very short notice.

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is provided by the IETF
   Administrative Support Activity (IASA).



















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