Benchmarking Methodology Working Group B. Balarajah
Internet-Draft
Intended status: Informational C. Rossenhoevel
Expires: August 26, 2021 EANTC AG
B. Monkman
NetSecOPEN
February 22, 2021
Benchmarking Methodology for Network Security Device Performance
draft-ietf-bmwg-ngfw-performance-06
Abstract
This document provides benchmarking terminology and methodology for
next-generation network security devices including next-generation
firewalls (NGFW), next-generation intrusion detection and prevention
systems (NGIDS/NGIPS) and unified threat management (UTM)
implementations. This document aims to strongly improve the
applicability, reproducibility, and transparency of benchmarks and to
align the test methodology with today's increasingly complex layer 7
security centric network application use cases. The main areas
covered in this document are test terminology, test configuration
parameters, and benchmarking methodology for NGFW and NGIDS/NGIPS to
start with.
Status of This Memo
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provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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This Internet-Draft will expire on August 26, 2021.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.1. Test Bed Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.2. DUT/SUT Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.2.1. Security Effectiveness Configuration . . . . . . . . 12
4.3. Test Equipment Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3.1. Client Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3.2. Backend Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.3.3. Traffic Flow Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.4. Traffic Load Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5. Test Bed Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6. Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.2. Detailed Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
6.3. Benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators . . . . . . . . 20
7. Benchmarking Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.1. Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix . . . 22
7.1.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.1.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.1.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7.1.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 24
7.2. TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.2.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.2.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.2.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
7.2.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 27
7.3. HTTP Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.3.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 30
7.4. HTTP Transaction Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.4.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.4.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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7.4.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.4.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 33
7.5. Concurrent TCP/HTTP Connection Capacity . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.5.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 36
7.6. TCP/HTTPS Connections per Second . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7.6.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7.6.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.6.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.6.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 39
7.7. HTTPS Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
7.7.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
7.7.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7.7.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7.7.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 43
7.8. HTTPS Transaction Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.8.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.8.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.8.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.8.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 46
7.9. Concurrent TCP/HTTPS Connection Capacity . . . . . . . . 47
7.9.1. Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.9.2. Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.9.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.9.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . 49
8. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
9. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
10. Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
11. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
12. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
12.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
12.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Appendix A. Test Methodology - Security Effectiveness Evaluation 52
A.1. Test Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.2. Test Bed Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.3. Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters . . . . . . . . . . 52
A.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters . . . . . . . 52
A.4. Test Results Validation Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
A.5. Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
A.6. Test Procedures and Expected Results . . . . . . . . . . 54
A.6.1. Step 1: Background Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
A.6.2. Step 2: CVE Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Appendix B. DUT/SUT Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
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1. Introduction
15 years have passed since IETF recommended test methodology and
terminology for firewalls initially ([RFC3511]). The requirements
for network security element performance and effectiveness have
increased tremendously since then. Security function implementations
have evolved to more advanced areas and have diversified into
intrusion detection and prevention, threat management, analysis of
encrypted traffic, etc. In an industry of growing importance, well-
defined, and reproducible key performance indicators (KPIs) are
increasingly needed as they enable fair and reasonable comparison of
network security functions. All these reasons have led to the
creation of a new next-generation network security device
benchmarking document and this document supersedes [RFC3511].
2. Requirements
The keywords "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP
14 [RFC2119], [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
capitals, as shown here.
3. Scope
This document provides testing terminology and testing methodology
for modern and next-generation network security devices. It covers
the validation of security effectiveness configurations of network
security devices, followed by performance benchmark testing. This
document focuses on advanced, realistic, and reproducible testing
methods. Additionally, it describes test bed environments, test tool
requirements, and test result formats.
4. Test Setup
Test setup defined in this document is applicable to all benchmarking
tests described in Section 7. The test setup MUST be contained
within an Isolated Test Environment (see Section 3 of [RFC6815]).
4.1. Test Bed Configuration
Test bed configuration MUST ensure that any performance implications
that are discovered during the benchmark testing aren't due to the
inherent physical network limitations such as the number of physical
links and forwarding performance capabilities (throughput and
latency) of the network devices in the test bed. For this reason,
this document recommends avoiding external devices such as switches
and routers in the test bed wherever possible.
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In some deployment scenarios, the network security devices (Device
Under Test/System Under Test) are connected to routers and switches
which will reduce the number of entries in MAC or ARP tables of the
Device Under Test/System Under Test (DUT/SUT). If MAC or ARP tables
have many entries, this may impact the actual DUT/SUT performance due
to MAC and ARP/ND (Neighbor Discovery) table lookup processes. This
document also recommends using test equipment with the capability of
emulating layer 3 routing functionality instead of adding external
routers in the test bed.
The test bed setup Option 1 (Figure 1) is the RECOMMENDED test bed
setup for the benchmarking test.
+-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
| +-------------------+ | +-----------+ | +-------------------+ |
| | Emulated Router(s)| | | | | | Emulated Router(s)| |
| | (Optional) | +----- DUT/SUT +-----+ (Optional) | |
| +-------------------+ | | | | +-------------------+ |
| +-------------------+ | +-----------+ | +-------------------+ |
| | Clients | | | | Servers | |
| +-------------------+ | | +-------------------+ |
| | | |
| Test Equipment | | Test Equipment |
+-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
Figure 1: Test Bed Setup - Option 1
If the test equipment used is not capable of emulating layer 3
routing functionality or if the numbers of used ports are mismatched
between test equipment and the DUT/SUT (need for a test equipment
ports aggregation), the test setup can be configured as shown in
Figure 2.
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+-------------------+ +-----------+ +--------------------+
|Aggregation Switch/| | | | Aggregation Switch/|
| Router +------+ DUT/SUT +------+ Router |
| | | | | |
+----------+--------+ +-----------+ +--------+-----------+
| |
| |
+-----------+-----------+ +-----------+-----------+
| | | |
| +-------------------+ | | +-------------------+ |
| | Emulated Router(s)| | | | Emulated Router(s)| |
| | (Optional) | | | | (Optional) | |
| +-------------------+ | | +-------------------+ |
| +-------------------+ | | +-------------------+ |
| | Clients | | | | Servers | |
| +-------------------+ | | +-------------------+ |
| | | |
| Test Equipment | | Test Equipment |
+-----------------------+ +-----------------------+
Figure 2: Test Bed Setup - Option 2
4.2. DUT/SUT Configuration
A unique DUT/SUT configuration MUST be used for all benchmarking
tests described in Section 7. Since each DUT/SUT will have their own
unique configuration, users SHOULD configure their device with the
same parameters and security features that would be used in the
actual deployment of the device or a typical deployment in order to
achieve maximum network security coverage.
Table 1 and Table 2 below describe the RECOMMENDED and OPTIONAL sets
of network security feature list for NGFW and NGIDS/NGIPS
respectively. The selected security features SHOULD be consistently
enabled on the DUT/SUT for all the benchmarking tests described in
Section 7.
To improve repeatability, a summary of the DUT/SUT configuration
including a description of all enabled DUT/SUT features MUST be
published with the benchmarking results.
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+------------------------+
| NGFW |
+--------------- +-------------+----------+
| | | |
|DUT/SUT Features| RECOMMENDED | OPTIONAL |
| | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|SSL Inspection | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|IDS/IPS | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Spyware | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Virus | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Botnet | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Web Filtering | | x |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Data Loss | | |
|Protection (DLP)| | x |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|DDoS | | x |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Certificate | | x |
|Validation | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Logging and | x | |
|Reporting | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Application | x | |
|Identification | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
Table 1: NGFW Security Features
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+------------------------+
| NGIDS/NGIPS |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
| | | |
|DUT/SUT Features| RECOMMENDED | OPTIONAL |
| | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|SSL Inspection | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Malware | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Spyware | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Botnet | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Logging and | x | |
|Reporting | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Application | x | |
|Identification | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Deep Packet | x | |
|Inspection | | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
|Anti-Evasion | x | |
+----------------+-------------+----------+
Table 2: NGIDS/NGIPS Security Features
The following table provides a brief description of the security
features.
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| DUT/SUT Features | Description |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| SSL Inspection | DUT/SUT intercepts and decrypts inbound HTTPS |
| | traffic between servers and clients. Once the |
| | content inspection has been completed, DUT/SUT |
| | encrypts the HTTPS traffic with ciphers |
| | and keys used by the clients and servers. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| IDS/IPS | DUT/SUT detects and blocks exploits |
| | targeting known and unknown vulnerabilities |
| | across the monitored network. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Anti-Malware | DUT/SUT detects and prevents the transmission |
| | of malicious executable code and any associated|
| | communications across the monitored network. |
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| | This includes data exfiltration as well as |
| | command and control channels. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Anti-Spyware | Anti-Spyware is a subcategory of Anti Malware. |
| | Spyware transmits information without the |
| | user's knowledge or permission. DUT/SUT detects|
| | and block initial infection or transmission of |
| | data. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Anti-Botnet | DUT/SUT detects traffic to or from botnets. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Anti-Evasion | DUT/SUT detects and mitigates attacks that have|
| | been obfuscated in some manner. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Web Filtering | DUT/SUT detects and blocks malicious website |
| | including defined classifications of website |
| | across the monitored network. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| DLP | DUT/SUT detects and blocks the transmission |
| | of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) |
| | and specific files across the monitored network|
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Certificate | DUT/SUT validates certificates used in |
| Validation | encrypted communications across the monitored |
| | network. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Logging and | DUT/SUT logs and reports all traffic at the |
| Reporting | flow level across the monitored. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| Application | DUT/SUT detects known applications as defined |
| Identification | within the traffic mix selected across |
| | the monitored network. |
+------------------+------------------------------------------------+
Table 3: Security Feature Description
In summary, a DUT/SUT SHOULD be configured as follows:
o All RECOMMENDED security inspection enabled
o Disposition of all flows of traffic are logged - Logging to an
external device is permissible
o Geographical location filtering and Application Identification and
Control configured to be triggered based on a site or application
from the defined traffic mix
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In addition, a realistic number of access control rules (ACL) SHOULD
be configured on the DUT/SUT where ACL's are configurable and also
reasonable based on the deployment scenario. This document
determines the number of access policy rules for four different
classes of DUT/SUT; namely Extra Small (XS), Small (S), Medium (M)
and Large (L). A sample DUT/SUT classification is described in
Appendix B.
The Access Control Rules (ACL) defined in Table 4 MUST be configured
from top to bottom in the correct order as shown in the table. This
is due to ACL types listed in specificity decreasing order, with
"block" first, followed by "allow", representing typical ACL based
security policy. The ACL entries SHOULD be configured with routable
IP subnets by the DUT/SUT. (Note: There will be differences between
how security vendors implement ACL decision making.) The configured
ACL MUST NOT block the security and measurement traffic used for the
benchmarking tests.
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+---------------+
| DUT/SUT |
| Classification|
| # Rules |
+-----------+-----------+--------------------+------+---+---+---+---+
| | Match | | | | | | |
| Rules Type| Criteria | Description |Action| XS| S | M | L |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Application|Application| Any application | block| 5 | 10| 20| 50|
|layer | | not included in | | | | | |
| | | the measurement | | | | | |
| | | traffic | | | | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Transport |Src IP and | Any src IP subnet | block| 25| 50|100|250|
|layer |TCP/UDP | used and any dst | | | | | |
| |Dst ports | ports not used in | | | | | |
| | | the measurement | | | | | |
| | | traffic | | | | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|IP layer |Src/Dst IP | Any src/dst IP | block| 25| 50|100|250|
| | | subnet not used | | | | | |
| | | in the measurement | | | | | |
| | | traffic | | | | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Application|Application| Half of the | allow| 10| 10| 10| 10|
|layer | | applications | | | | | |
| | | included in the | | | | | |
| | | measurement traffic| | | | | |
| | |(see the note below)| | | | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Transport |Src IP and | Half of the src | allow| >1| >1| >1| >1|
|layer |TCP/UDP | IP used and any | | | | | |
| |Dst ports | dst ports used in | | | | | |
| | | the measurement | | | | | |
| | | traffic | | | | | |
| | | (one rule per | | | | | |
| | | subnet) | | | | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|IP layer |Src IP | The rest of the | allow| >1| >1| >1| >1|
| | | src IP subnet | | | | | |
| | | range used in the | | | | | |
| | | measurement | | | | | |
| | | traffic | | | | | |
| | | (one rule per | | | | | |
| | | subnet) | | | | | |
+-----------+-----------+--------------------+------+---+---+---+---+
Table 4: DUT/SUT Access List
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Note: If the half of applications included in the measurement traffic
is less than 10, the missing number of ACL entries (dummy rules) can
be configured for any application traffic not included in the
measurement traffic.
4.2.1. Security Effectiveness Configuration
The Security features (defined in table 1 and 2) of the DUT/SUT MUST
be configured effectively in such a way to detect, prevent, and
report the defined security Vulnerability sets. This Section defines
the selection of the security Vulnerability sets from Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) list for the testing. The
vulnerability set MUST reflect a minimum of 500 CVEs from no older
than 10 calendar years to the current year. These CVEs SHOULD be
selected with a focus on in-use software commonly found in business
applications, with a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)
Severity of High (7-10).
This document is primarily focused on performance benchmarking.
However, it is RECOMMENDED to validate the security features
configuration of the DUT/SUT by evaluating the security effectiveness
as a prerequisite for performance benchmarking tests defined in the
section 7. In case the Benchmarking tests are performed without
evaluating security effectiveness, the test report MUST explain the
implications of this. The methodology for evaluating Security
effectiveness is defined in Appendix A.
4.3. Test Equipment Configuration
In general, test equipment allows configuring parameters in different
protocol layers. These parameters thereby influence the traffic
flows which will be offered and impact performance measurements.
This section specifies common test equipment configuration parameters
applicable for all benchmarking tests defined in Section 7. Any
benchmarking test specific parameters are described under the test
setup section of each benchmarking test individually.
4.3.1. Client Configuration
This section specifies which parameters SHOULD be considered while
configuring clients using test equipment. Also, this section
specifies the RECOMMENDED values for certain parameters.
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4.3.1.1. TCP Stack Attributes
The TCP stack SHOULD use a congestion control algorithm at client and
server endpoints. The default IPv4 and IPv6 MSS segments size SHOULD
be set to 1460 bytes and 1440 bytes respectively and a TX and RX
initial receive windows of 64 KByte. Client initial congestion
window SHOULD NOT exceed 10 times the MSS. Delayed ACKs are
permitted and the maximum client delayed ACK SHOULD NOT exceed 10
times the MSS before a forced ACK. Up to 3 retries SHOULD be allowed
before a timeout event is declared. All traffic MUST set the TCP PSH
flag to high. The source port range SHOULD be in the range of 1024 -
65535. Internal timeout SHOULD be dynamically scalable per RFC 793.
The client SHOULD initiate and close TCP connections. TCP
connections MUST be closed via FIN.
4.3.1.2. Client IP Address Space
The sum of the client IP space SHOULD contain the following
attributes.
o The IP blocks SHOULD consist of multiple unique, discontinuous
static address blocks.
o A default gateway is permitted.
o The IPv4 Type of Service (ToS) byte or IPv6 traffic class should
be set to '00' or '000000' respectively.
The following equation can be used to define the total number of
client IP addresses that will be configured on the test equipment.
Desired total number of client IP = Target throughput [Mbit/s] /
Average throughput per IP address [Mbit/s]
As shown in the example list below, the value for "Average throughput
per IP address" can be varied depending on the deployment and use
case scenario.
(Option 1) DUT/SUT deployment scenario 1 : 6-7 Mbit/s per IP (e.g.
1,400-1,700 IPs per 10Gbit/s throughput)
(Option 2) DUT/SUT deployment scenario 2 : 0.1-0.2 Mbit/s per IP
(e.g. 50,000-100,000 IPs per 10Gbit/s throughput)
Based on deployment and use case scenario, client IP addresses SHOULD
be distributed between IPv4 and IPv6 type. The Following options can
be considered for a selection of traffic mix ratio.
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(Option 1) 100 % IPv4, no IPv6
(Option 2) 80 % IPv4, 20% IPv6
(Option 3) 50 % IPv4, 50% IPv6
(Option 4) 20 % IPv4, 80% IPv6
(Option 5) no IPv4, 100% IPv6
Note: The IANA has assigned IP address range for the testing purpose
as described in Section 8.
4.3.1.3. Emulated Web Browser Attributes
The emulated web client contains attributes that will materially
affect how traffic is loaded. The objective is to emulate modern,
typical browser attributes to improve realism of the result set.
For HTTP traffic emulation, the emulated browser MUST negotiate HTTP
1.1. HTTP persistence MAY be enabled depending on the test scenario.
The browser MAY open multiple TCP connections per Server endpoint IP
at any time depending on how many sequential transactions are needed
to be processed. Within the TCP connection multiple transactions MAY
be processed if the emulated browser has available connections. The
browser SHOULD advertise a User-Agent header. Headers MUST be sent
uncompressed. The browser SHOULD enforce content length validation.
For encrypted traffic, the following attributes SHALL define the
negotiated encryption parameters. The test clients MUST use TLSv1.2
or higher. TLS record size MAY be optimized for the HTTPS response
object size up to a record size of 16 KByte. The client endpoint
SHOULD send TLS Extension Server Name Indication (SNI) information
when opening a security tunnel. Each client connection MUST perform
a full handshake with server certificate and MUST NOT use session
reuse or resumption.
The following ciphers and keys are RECOMMENDED to use for HTTPS based
benchmarking tests defined in Section 7.
1. ECHDE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 with Prime256v1 (Signature Hash
Algorithm: ecdsa_secp256r1_sha256 and Supported group: sepc256r1)
2. ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 with RSA 2048 (Signature Hash
Algorithm: rsa_pkcs1_sha256 and Supported group: sepc256)
3. ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 with Secp521 (Signature Hash
Algorithm: ecdsa_secp384r1_sha384 and Supported group: sepc521r1)
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4. ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 with RSA 4096 (Signature Hash
Algorithm: rsa_pkcs1_sha384 and Supported group: secp256)
Note: The above ciphers and keys were those commonly used enterprise
grade encryption cipher suites. It is recognized that these will
evolve over time. Individual certification bodies SHOULD use ciphers
and keys that reflect evolving use cases. These choices MUST be
documented in the resulting test reports with detailed information on
the ciphers and keys used along with reasons for the choices.
4.3.2. Backend Server Configuration
This section specifies which parameters should be considered while
configuring emulated backend servers using test equipment.
4.3.2.1. TCP Stack Attributes
The TCP stack on the server side SHOULD be configured similar to the
client side configuration described in Section 4.3.1.1. In addition,
server initial congestion window MUST NOT exceed 10 times the MSS.
Delayed ACKs are permitted and the maximum server delayed ACK MUST
NOT exceed 10 times the MSS before a forced ACK.
4.3.2.2. Server Endpoint IP Addressing
The sum of the server IP space SHOULD contain the following
attributes.
o The server IP blocks SHOULD consist of unique, discontinuous
static address blocks with one IP per Server Fully Qualified
Domain Name (FQDN) endpoint per test port.
o A default gateway is permitted. The IPv4 ToS byte and IPv6
traffic class bytes should be set to '00' and '000000'
respectively.
o The server IP addresses SHOULD be distributed between IPv4 and
IPv6 with a ratio identical to the clients distribution ratio.
Note: The IANA has assigned IP address range for the testing purpose
as described in Section 8.
4.3.2.3. HTTP / HTTPS Server Pool Endpoint Attributes
The server pool for HTTP SHOULD listen on TCP port 80 and emulate
HTTP version 1.1 with persistence. The Server MUST advertise server
type in the Server response header [RFC2616]. For HTTPS server, TLS
1.2 or higher MUST be used with a maximum record size of 16 KByte and
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MUST NOT use ticket resumption or Session ID reuse. The server MUST
listen on port TCP 443. The server SHALL serve a certificate to the
client. The HTTPS server MUST check Host SNI information with the
FQDN if the SNI is in use. Cipher suite and key size on the server
side MUST be configured similar to the client side configuration
described in Section 4.3.1.3.
4.3.3. Traffic Flow Definition
This section describes the traffic pattern between client and server
endpoints. At the beginning of the test, the server endpoint
initializes and will be ready to accept connection states including
initialization of the TCP stack as well as bound HTTP and HTTPS
servers. When a client endpoint is needed, it will initialize and be
given attributes such as a MAC and IP address. The behavior of the
client is to sweep through the given server IP space, sequentially
generating a recognizable service by the DUT. Thus, a balanced, mesh
between client endpoints and server endpoints will be generated in a
client port server port combination. Each client endpoint performs
the same actions as other endpoints, with the difference being the
source IP of the client endpoint and the target server IP pool. The
client MUST use the server's IP address or Fully Qualified Domain
Names (FQDN) in Host Headers [RFC2616]. For TLS the client MAY use
Server Name Indication (SNI).
4.3.3.1. Description of Intra-Client Behavior
Client endpoints are independent of other clients that are
concurrently executing. When a client endpoint initiates traffic,
this section describes how the client steps through different
services. Once the test is initialized, the client endpoints SHOULD
randomly hold (perform no operation) for a few milliseconds to allow
for better randomization of the start of client traffic. Each client
will either open a new TCP connection or connect to a TCP persistence
stack still open to that specific server. At any point that the
service profile may require encryption, a TLS encryption tunnel will
form presenting the URL or IP address request to the server. If
using SNI, the server will then perform an SNI name check with the
proposed FQDN compared to the domain embedded in the certificate.
Only when correct, will the server process the HTTPS response object.
The initial response object to the server MUST NOT have a fixed size;
its size is based on benchmarking tests described in Section 7.
Multiple additional sub-URLs (response objects on the service page)
MAY be requested simultaneously. This MAY be to the same server IP
as the initial URL. Each sub-object will also use a conical FQDN and
URL path, as observed in the traffic mix used.
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4.3.4. Traffic Load Profile
The loading of traffic is described in this section. The loading of
a traffic load profile has five distinct phases: Init, ramp up,
sustain, ramp down, and collection.
1. During the Init phase, test bed devices including the client and
server endpoints should negotiate layer 2-3 connectivity such as
MAC learning and ARP. Only after successful MAC learning or ARP/
ND resolution SHALL the test iteration move to the next phase.
No measurements are made in this phase. The minimum RECOMMEND
time for Init phase is 5 seconds. During this phase, the
emulated clients SHOULD NOT initiate any sessions with the DUT/
SUT, in contrast, the emulated servers should be ready to accept
requests from DUT/SUT or from emulated clients.
2. In the ramp up phase, the test equipment SHOULD start to generate
the test traffic. It SHOULD use a set approximate number of
unique client IP addresses actively to generate traffic. The
traffic SHOULD ramp from zero to desired target objective. The
target objective will be defined for each benchmarking test. The
duration for the ramp up phase MUST be configured long enough, so
that the test equipment does not overwhelm the DUT/SUT's stated
performance metrics namely; connections per second, throughput,
concurrent TCP connections, and application transactions per
second. No measurements are made in this phase.
3. Sustain phase starts when all required clients (connections) are
active and operating at their desired load condition. In the
sustain phase, the test equipment SHOULD continue generating
traffic to constant target value for a constant number of active
clients. The minimum RECOMMENDED time duration for sustain phase
is 300 seconds. This is the phase where measurements occur.
4. In the ramp down/close phase, no new connections are established,
and no measurements are made. The time duration for ramp up and
ramp down phase SHOULD be the same.
5. The last phase is administrative and will occur when the test
equipment merges and collates the report data.
5. Test Bed Considerations
This section recommends steps to control the test environment and
test equipment, specifically focusing on virtualized environments and
virtualized test equipment.
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1. Ensure that any ancillary switching or routing functions between
the system under test and the test equipment do not limit the
performance of the traffic generator. This is specifically
important for virtualized components (vSwitches, vRouters).
2. Verify that the performance of the test equipment matches and
reasonably exceeds the expected maximum performance of the system
under test.
3. Assert that the test bed characteristics are stable during the
entire test session. Several factors might influence stability
specifically, for virtualized test beds. For example, additional
workloads in a virtualized system, load balancing, and movement
of virtual machines during the test, or simple issues such as
additional heat created by high workloads leading to an emergency
CPU performance reduction.
Test bed reference pre-tests help to ensure that the maximum desired
traffic generator aspects such as throughput, transaction per second,
connection per second, concurrent connection, and latency.
Test bed preparation may be performed either by configuring the DUT
in the most trivial setup (fast forwarding) or without presence of
the DUT.
6. Reporting
This section describes how the final report should be formatted and
presented. The final test report MAY have two major sections;
Introduction and detailed test results sections.
6.1. Introduction
The following attributes SHOULD be present in the introduction
section of the test report.
1. The time and date of the execution of the test MUST be prominent.
2. Summary of test bed software and Hardware details
A. DUT/SUT Hardware/Virtual Configuration
+ This section SHOULD clearly identify the make and model of
the DUT/SUT
+ The port interfaces, including speed and link information
MUST be documented.
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+ If the DUT/SUT is a Virtual Network Function (VNF), host
(server) hardware and software details, interface
acceleration type such as DPDK and SR-IOV used CPU cores,
used RAM, and the resource sharing (e.g. Pinning details
and NUMA Node) configuration MUST be documented. The
virtual components such as Hypervisor, virtual switch
version MUST be also documented.
+ Any additional hardware relevant to the DUT/SUT such as
controllers MUST be documented
B. DUT/SUT Software
+ The operating system name MUST be documented
+ The version MUST be documented
+ The specific configuration MUST be documented
C. DUT/SUT Enabled Features
+ Configured DUT/SUT features (see Table 1 and Table 2) MUST
be documented
+ Attributes of those featured MUST be documented
+ Any additional relevant information about features MUST be
documented
D. Test equipment hardware and software
+ Test equipment vendor name
+ Hardware details including model number, interface type
+ Test equipment firmware and test application software
version
E. Key test parameters
+ Used cipher suites and keys
+ IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution
+ Number of configured ACL
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F. Details of application traffic mix used in the benchmarking
test Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix
(Section 7.1)
+ Name of applications and layer 7 protocols
+ Percentage of emulated traffic for each application and
layer 7 protocols
+ Percentage of encrypted traffic and used cipher suites and
keys (The RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys are defined in
Section 4.3.1.3)
+ Used object sizes for each application and layer 7
protocols
3. Results Summary / Executive Summary
A. Results SHOULD resemble a pyramid in how it is reported, with
the introduction section documenting the summary of results
in a prominent, easy to read block.
6.2. Detailed Test Results
In the result section of the test report, the following attributes
should be present for each benchmarking test.
a. KPIs MUST be documented separately for each benchmarking test.
The format of the KPI metrics should be presented as described in
Section 6.3.
b. The next level of details SHOULD be graphs showing each of these
metrics over the duration (sustain phase) of the test. This
allows the user to see the measured performance stability changes
over time.
6.3. Benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators
This section lists key performance indicators (KPIs) for overall
benchmarking tests. All KPIs MUST be measured during the sustain
phase of the traffic load profile described in Section 4.3.4. All
KPIs MUST be measured from the result output of test equipment.
o Concurrent TCP Connections
The aggregate number of simultaneous connections between hosts
across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the DUT/SUT (defined in
[RFC2647]).
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o TCP Connections Per Second
The average number of successfully established TCP connections per
second between hosts across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the
DUT/SUT. The TCP connection must be initiated via a TCP 3 way
handshake (SYN, SYN/ACK, ACK). Then the TCP session data is sent.
The TCP session MUST be closed via either a TCP 3 way close (FIN,
FIN/ACK, ACK), or a TCP 4 way close (FIN, ACK, FIN, ACK), and not
by a RST.
o Application Transactions Per Second
The average number of successfully completed transactions per
second. For a particular transaction to be considered successful,
all data must have been transferred in its entirety. In case of
HTTP(S) transaction, it must have a valid status code, and the
appropriate FIN, FIN/ACK sequence must have been completed.
o TLS Handshake Rate
The average number of successfully established TLS connections per
second between hosts across the DUT/SUT, or between hosts and the
DUT/SUT.
o Throughput
The number of bits per second of allowed traffic a DUT/SUT can be
observed to transmit to the correct destination interface(s) in
response to a specified offered load (defined in [RFC2647]). The
throughput benchmarking tests defined in Section 7 SHOULD measure
the average throughput value. This document recommends presenting
the throughput value in Gbit/s rounded to two places of precision
with a more specific Kbit/s in parenthesis.
o Time to First Byte (TTFB)
TTFB is the elapsed time between the start of sending the TCP SYN
packet from the client and the client receiving the first packet
of application data from the server or DUT/SUT. The benchmarking
tests HTTP Transaction Latency (Section 7.4) and HTTPS Transaction
Latency (Section 7.8) measure the minimum, average and maximum
TTFB. The value SHOULD be expressed in millisecond.
o URL Response time / Time to Last Byte (TTLB)
URL Response time / TTLB is the elapsed time between the start of
sending the TCP SYN packet from the client and the client
receiving the last packet of application data from the server or
DUT/SUT. The benchmarking tests HTTP Transaction Latency
(Section 7.4) and HTTP Transaction Latency (Section 7.8) measure
the minimum, average and maximum TTLB. The value SHOULD be
expressed in millisecond.
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7. Benchmarking Tests
7.1. Throughput Performance with Application Traffic Mix
7.1.1. Objective
Using a relevant application traffic mix, determine the sustainable
throughput performance supported by the DUT/SUT.
Based on customer use case, users can choose the application traffic
mix for this test. The details about the traffic mix MUST be
documented in the report. At least the following traffic mix details
MUST be documented and reported together with the test results:
Name of applications and layer 7 protocols
Percentage of emulated traffic for each application and layer 7
protocols
Percentage of encrypted traffic and used cipher suites and keys
(The RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys are defined in Section 4.3.1.3.)
Used object sizes for each application and layer 7 protocols
7.1.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup MUST be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
benchmarking test specific test bed configuration changes MUST be
documented.
7.1.3. Test Parameters
In this section, the benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.1.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented. In case the DUT is configured
without SSL inspection feature, the test report MUST explain the
implications of this to the relevant application traffic mix
encrypted traffic.
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7.1.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
noted for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target throughput: Aggregated line rate of interface(s) used in
the DUT/SUT or the value defined based on requirement for a
specific deployment scenario
Initial throughput: 10% of the "Target throughput"
One of the ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.3 are
RECOMMENDED to use for this benchmarking test.
7.1.3.3. Traffic Profile
Traffic profile: This test MUST be run with a relevant application
traffic mix profile.
7.1.3.4. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
a. Number of failed application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of total attempt transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
Note: Criteria a. and b. above are synonymous with the zero-packet
loss criteria for [RFC2544] Throughput, and recognize the additional
complexity of application layer performance.
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7.1.3.5. Measurement
Following KPI metrics MUST be reported for this benchmarking test:
Mandatory KPIs (benchmarks): Throughput, TTFB (minimum, average, and
maximum), TTLB (minimum, average, and maximum) and Application
Transactions Per Second
Note: TTLB MUST be reported along with the object size used in the
traffic profile.
Optional KPIs: TCP Connections Per Second and TLS Handshake Rate
7.1.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedures are designed to measure the throughput
performance of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of traffic load
profile. The test procedure consists of three major steps. This
test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
types; IPv4 only, IPv6 only and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
distribution.
7.1.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to generate test
traffic at the "Initial throughput" rate as described in the
parameters Section 7.1.3.2. The test equipment SHOULD follow the
traffic load profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4. The
DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial throughput" during the sustain
phase. Measure all KPI as defined in Section 7.1.3.5. The measured
KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test results validation
criteria "a" and "b" defined in Section 7.1.3.4.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to step 2.
7.1.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to generate traffic at the "Target
throughput" rate defined in the parameter table. The test equipment
SHOULD follow the traffic load profile definition as described in
Section 4.3.4. The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record
all specified KPIs and the frequency of measurements SHOULD be less
than 2 seconds. Continue the test until all traffic profile phases
are completed.
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Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target
throughput") in the sustain phase. Follow step 3, if the measured
value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the test
results validation criteria.
7.1.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable throughput within the test results
validation criteria. Final test iteration MUST be performed for the
test duration defined in Section 4.3.4.
7.2. TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second
7.2.1. Objective
Using HTTP traffic, determine the sustainable TCP connection
establishment rate supported by the DUT/SUT under different
throughput load conditions.
To measure connections per second, test iterations MUST use the
different fixed HTTP response object sizes (the different load
conditions) defined in Section 7.2.3.2.
7.2.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. MUST be documented.
7.2.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.2.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.2.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
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Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target connections per second: Initial value from product datasheet
or the value defined based on requirement for a specific deployment
scenario
Initial connections per second: 10% of "Target connections per
second" (an optional parameter for documentation)
The client SHOULD negotiate HTTP 1.1 and close the connection with
FIN immediately after completion of one transaction. In each test
iteration, client MUST send GET command requesting a fixed HTTP
response object size.
The RECOMMENDED response object sizes are 1, 2, 4, 16, and 64 KByte.
7.2.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of total attempt transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
c. During the sustain phase, traffic should be forwarded at a
constant rate.
d. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate.
7.2.3.4. Measurement
TCP Connections Per Second MUST be reported for each test iteration
(for each object size).
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7.2.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure the TCP connections per
second rate of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the traffic
load profile. The test procedure consists of three major steps.
This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IP
types; IPv4 only, IPv6 only and IPv4 and IPv6 mixed traffic
distribution.
7.2.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure the traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"initial connections per second" as defined in the parameters
Section 7.2.3.2. The traffic load profile SHOULD be defined as
described in Section 4.3.4.
The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial connections per second" before
the sustain phase. The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST
meet the test results validation criteria a, b, c, and d defined in
Section 7.2.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.2.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
connections per second") defined in the parameters table. The test
equipment SHOULD follow the traffic load profile definition as
described in Section 4.3.4.
During the ramp up and sustain phase of each test iteration, other
KPIs such as throughput, concurrent TCP connections and application
transactions per second MUST NOT reach to the maximum value the DUT/
SUT can support. The test results for specific test iterations
SHOULD NOT be reported, if the above mentioned KPI (especially
throughput) reaches the maximum value. (Example: If the test
iteration with 64 KByte of HTTP response object size reached the
maximum throughput limitation of the DUT, the test iteration MAY be
interrupted and the result for 64 KByte SHOULD NOT be reported).
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record all specified
KPIs and the frequency of measurements SHOULD be less than 2 seconds.
Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.
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Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target
connections per second") in the sustain phase. Follow step 3, if the
measured value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the
test results validation criteria.
7.2.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable TCP connections per second within the test
results validation criteria.
7.3. HTTP Throughput
7.3.1. Objective
Determine the sustainable throughput of the DUT/SUT for HTTP
transactions varying the HTTP response object size.
7.3.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. must be documented.
7.3.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.3.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.3.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
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Target Throughput: Aggregated line rate of interface(s) used in the
DUT/SUT or the value defined based on requirement for a specific
deployment scenario
Initial Throughput: 10% of "Target Throughput" (an optional parameter
for documentation)
Number of HTTP response object requests (transactions) per
connection: 10
RECOMMENDED HTTP response object size: 1, 16, 64, 256 KByte, and
mixed objects defined in the table
+---------------------+---------------------+
| Object size (KByte) | Number of requests/ |
| | Weight |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 0.2 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 6 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 8 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 9 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 10 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 25 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 26 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 35 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 59 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 347 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
Table 4: Mixed Objects
7.3.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
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a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.
b. Traffic should be forwarded constantly.
c. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate.
Note: Criteria a. above is synonymous with the zero-packet loss
criteria for [RFC2544] Throughput, and recognize the additional
complexity of application layer performance.
7.3.3.4. Measurement
Throughput and HTTP Transactions per Second MUST be reported for each
object size.
7.3.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure HTTP throughput of the DUT/
SUT. The test procedure consists of three major steps. This test
procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IPv4 and IPv6
traffic distribution and HTTP response object sizes.
7.3.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"Initial Throughput" as defined in the parameters Section 7.3.3.2.
The traffic load profile SHOULD be defined as described in
Section 4.3.4. The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial Throughput"
during the sustain phase. Measure all KPI as defined in
Section 7.3.3.4.
The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test results
validation criteria "a" defined in Section 7.3.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
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7.3.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
throughput") defined in the parameters table. The test equipment
SHOULD start to measure and record all specified KPIs and the
frequency of measurements SHOULD be less than 2 seconds. Continue
the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
phase. Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.
7.3.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable throughput within the test results
validation criteria and measure the KPI metric Transactions per
Second. Final test iteration MUST be performed for the test duration
defined in Section 4.3.4.
7.4. HTTP Transaction Latency
7.4.1. Objective
Using HTTP traffic, determine the HTTP transaction latency when DUT
is running with sustainable HTTP transactions per second supported by
the DUT/SUT under different HTTP response object sizes.
Test iterations MUST be performed with different HTTP response object
sizes in two different scenarios. One with a single transaction and
the other with multiple transactions within a single TCP connection.
For consistency both the single and multiple transaction test MUST be
configured with HTTP 1.1.
Scenario 1: The client MUST negotiate HTTP 1.1 and close the
connection with FIN immediately after completion of a single
transaction (GET and RESPONSE).
Scenario 2: The client MUST negotiate HTTP 1.1 and close the
connection FIN immediately after completion of 10 transactions (GET
and RESPONSE) within a single TCP connection.
7.4.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. MUST be documented.
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7.4.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.4.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.4.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target objective for scenario 1: 50% of the maximum connection per
second measured in benchmarking test TCP/HTTP Connections Per Second
(Section 7.2)
Target objective for scenario 2: 50% of the maximum throughput
measured in benchmarking test HTTP Throughput (Section 7.3)
Initial objective for scenario 1: 10% of Target objective for
scenario 1" (an optional parameter for documentation)
Initial objective for scenario 2: 10% of "Target objective for
scenario 2" (an optional parameter for documentation)
HTTP transaction per TCP connection: test scenario 1 with single
transaction and the second scenario with 10 transactions
HTTP 1.1 with GET command requesting a single object. The
RECOMMENDED object sizes are 1, 16, and 64 KByte. For each test
iteration, client MUST request a single HTTP response object size.
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7.4.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile. Ramp up and
ramp down phase SHOULD NOT be considered.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
c. During the sustain phase, traffic should be forwarded at a
constant rate.
d. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate.
e. After ramp up the DUT MUST achieve the "Target objective" defined
in the parameter Section 7.4.3.2 and remain in that state for the
entire test duration (sustain phase).
7.4.3.4. Measurement
TTFB (minimum, average and maximum) and TTLB (minimum, average and
maximum) MUST be reported for each object size.
7.4.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure TTFB or TTLB when the DUT/
SUT is operating close to 50% of its maximum achievable connections
per second or throughput. This test procedure MAY be repeated
multiple times with different IP types (IPv4 only, IPv6 only and IPv4
and IPv6 mixed traffic distribution), HTTP response object sizes and
single and multiple transactions per connection scenarios.
7.4.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"Initial objective" as defined in the parameters Section 7.4.3.2.
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The traffic load profile can be defined as described in
Section 4.3.4.
The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial objective" before the sustain
phase. The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test
results validation criteria a, b, c, d, e and f defined in
Section 7.4.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.4.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish "Target objective" defined in
the parameters table. The test equipment SHOULD follow the traffic
load profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record all specified
KPIs and the frequency of measurement SHOULD be less than 2 seconds.
Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT MUST reach
the desired value of the target objective in the sustain phase.
Measure the minimum, average and maximum values of TFB and TTLB.
7.5. Concurrent TCP/HTTP Connection Capacity
7.5.1. Objective
Determine the number of concurrent TCP connections that the DUT/ SUT
sustains when using HTTP traffic.
7.5.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. must be documented.
7.5.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
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7.5.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.5.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
noted for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target concurrent connection: Initial value from product datasheet
or the value defined based on requirement for a specific
deployment scenario.
Initial concurrent connection: 10% of "Target concurrent
connection" (an optional parameter for documentation)
Maximum connections per second during ramp up phase: 50% of
maximum connections per second measured in benchmarking test TCP/
HTTP Connections per second (Section 7.2)
Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Target concurrent
connection"): "Target concurrent connection" / "Maximum
connections per second during ramp up phase"
Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Initial concurrent
connection"): "Initial concurrent connection" / "Maximum
connections per second during ramp up phase"
The client MUST negotiate HTTP 1.1 with persistence and each client
MAY open multiple concurrent TCP connections per server endpoint IP.
Each client sends 10 GET commands requesting 1 KByte HTTP response
object in the same TCP connection (10 transactions/TCP connection)
and the delay (think time) between each transaction MUST be X
seconds.
X = ("Ramp up time" + "steady state time") /10
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The established connections SHOULD remain open until the ramp down
phase of the test. During the ramp down phase, all connections
SHOULD be successfully closed with FIN.
7.5.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transaction) of total attempted transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
c. During the sustain phase, traffic SHOULD be forwarded constantly.
7.5.3.4. Measurement
Average Concurrent TCP Connections MUST be reported for this
benchmarking test.
7.5.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure the concurrent TCP
connection capacity of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of
traffic load profile. The test procedure consists of three major
steps. This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with
different IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution.
7.5.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure test equipment to establish "Initial concurrent TCP
connections" defined in Section 7.5.3.2. Except ramp up time, the
traffic load profile SHOULD be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.
During the sustain phase, the DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial
concurrent TCP connections". The measured KPIs during the sustain
phase MUST meet the test results validation criteria "a" and "b"
defined in Section 7.5.3.3.
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If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.5.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
concurrent TCP connections"). The test equipment SHOULD follow the
traffic load profile definition (except ramp up time) as described in
Section 4.3.4.
During the ramp up and sustain phase, the other KPIs such as
throughput, TCP connections per second and application transactions
per second MUST NOT reach to the maximum value that the DUT/SUT can
support.
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record KPIs defined in
Section 7.5.3.4. The frequency of measurement SHOULD be less than 2
seconds. Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
phase. Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.
7.5.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable concurrent TCP connections capacity within
the test results validation criteria.
7.6. TCP/HTTPS Connections per Second
7.6.1. Objective
Using HTTPS traffic, determine the sustainable SSL/TLS session
establishment rate supported by the DUT/SUT under different
throughput load conditions.
Test iterations MUST include common cipher suites and key strengths
as well as forward looking stronger keys. Specific test iterations
MUST include ciphers and keys defined in Section 7.6.3.2.
For each cipher suite and key strengths, test iterations MUST use a
single HTTPS response object size defined in the test equipment
configuration parameters Section 7.6.3.2 to measure connections per
second performance under a variety of DUT Security inspection load
conditions.
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7.6.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. MUST be documented.
7.6.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.6.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.6.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target connections per second: Initial value from product datasheet
or the value defined based on requirement for a specific deployment
scenario.
Initial connections per second: 10% of "Target connections per
second" (an optional parameter for documentation)
RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.3
The client MUST negotiate HTTPS 1.1 and close the connection with FIN
immediately after completion of one transaction. In each test
iteration, client MUST send GET command requesting a fixed HTTPS
response object size. The RECOMMENDED object sizes are 1, 2, 4, 16,
and 64 KByte.
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7.6.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria:
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
c. During the sustain phase, traffic should be forwarded at a
constant rate.
d. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate.
7.6.3.4. Measurement
TCP Connections Per Second MUST be reported for each test iteration
(for each object size).
The KPI metric TLS Handshake Rate can be measured in the test using
1KByte object size.
7.6.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure the TCP connections per
second rate of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of traffic load
profile. The test procedure consists of three major steps. This
test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IPv4 and
IPv6 traffic distribution.
7.6.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"Initial connections per second" as defined in Section 7.6.3.2. The
traffic load profile MAY be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.
The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial connections per second" before
the sustain phase. The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST
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meet the test results validation criteria a, b, c, and d defined in
Section 7.6.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.6.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish "Target connections per second"
defined in the parameters table. The test equipment SHOULD follow
the traffic load profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.
During the ramp up and sustain phase, other KPIs such as throughput,
concurrent TCP connections and application transactions per second
MUST NOT reach the maximum value that the DUT/SUT can support. The
test results for specific test iteration SHOULD NOT be reported, if
the above mentioned KPI (especially throughput) reaches the maximum
value. (Example: If the test iteration with 64 KByte of HTTPS
response object size reached the maximum throughput limitation of the
DUT, the test iteration can be interrupted and the result for 64
KByte SHOULD NOT be reported).
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record all specified
KPIs. The frequency of measurement SHOULD be less than 2 seconds.
Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective ("Target
connections per second") in the sustain phase. Follow step 3, if the
measured value does not meet the target value or does not fulfill the
test results validation criteria.
7.6.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable connections per second within the test
results validation criteria.
7.7. HTTPS Throughput
7.7.1. Objective
Determine the throughput for HTTPS transactions varying the HTTPS
response object size.
Test iterations MUST include common cipher suites and key strengths
as well as forward looking stronger keys. Specific test iterations
MUST include the ciphers and keys defined in the parameter
Section 7.7.3.2.
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7.7.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. must be documented.
7.7.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.7.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.7.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
Target Throughput: Aggregated line rate of interface(s) used in the
DUT/SUT or the value defined based on requirement for a specific
deployment scenario.
Initial Throughput: 10% of "Target Throughput" (an optional parameter
for documentation)
Number of HTTPS response object requests (transactions) per
connection: 10
RECOMMENDED ciphers and keys defined in Section 4.3.1.3
RECOMMENDED HTTPS response object size: 1, 16, 64, 256 KByte, and
mixed objects defined in the table below.
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+---------------------+---------------------+
| Object size (KByte) | Number of requests/ |
| | Weight |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 0.2 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 6 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 8 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 9 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 10 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 25 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 26 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 35 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 59 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
| 347 | 1 |
+---------------------+---------------------+
Table 5: Mixed Objects
7.7.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.
b. Traffic should be forwarded constantly.
c. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate.
Note: Criteria a. above is synonymous with the zero-packet loss
criteria for [RFC2544] Throughput, and recognize the additional
complexity of application layer performance.
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7.7.3.4. Measurement
Throughput and HTTP Transactions per Second MUST be reported for each
object size.
7.7.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure consists of three major steps. This test
procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with different IPv4 and IPv6
traffic distribution and HTTPS response object sizes.
7.7.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"initial throughput" as defined in the parameters Section 7.7.3.2.
The traffic load profile should be defined as described in
Section 4.3.4. The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial Throughput"
during the sustain phase. Measure all KPI as defined in
Section 7.7.3.4.
The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test results
validation criteria "a" defined in Section 7.7.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.7.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
throughput") defined in the parameters table. The test equipment
SHOULD start to measure and record all specified KPIs. The frequency
of measurement SHOULD be less than 2 seconds. Continue the test
until all traffic profile phases are completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
phase. Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.
7.7.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable throughput within the test results
validation criteria. Final test iteration MUST be performed for the
test duration defined in Section 4.3.4.
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7.8. HTTPS Transaction Latency
7.8.1. Objective
Using HTTPS traffic, determine the HTTPS transaction latency when DUT
is running with sustainable HTTPS transactions per second supported
by the DUT/SUT under different HTTPS response object size.
Scenario 1: The client MUST negotiate HTTPS and close the connection
with FIN immediately after completion of a single transaction (GET
and RESPONSE).
Scenario 2: The client MUST negotiate HTTPS and close the connection
with FIN immediately after completion of 10 transactions (GET and
RESPONSE) within a single TCP connection.
7.8.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. MUST be documented.
7.8.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.8.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.8.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
RECOMMENDED cipher suites and key sizes defined in Section 4.3.1.3
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Target objective for scenario 1: 50% of the maximum connections per
second measured in benchmarking test TCP/HTTPS Connections per second
(Section 7.6)
Target objective for scenario 2: 50% of the maximum throughput
measured in benchmarking test HTTPS Throughput (Section 7.7)
Initial objective for scenario 1: 10% of Target objective for
scenario 1" (an optional parameter for documentation)
Initial objective for scenario 2: 10% of "Target objective for
scenario 2" (an optional parameter for documentation)
HTTPS transaction per TCP connection: test scenario 1 with single
transaction and the second scenario with 10 transactions
HTTPS 1.1 with GET command requesting a single object. The
RECOMMENDED object sizes are 1, 16, and 64 KByte. For each test
iteration, client MUST request a single HTTPS response object size.
7.8.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile. Ramp up and
ramp down phase SHOULD NOT be considered.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of attempt transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections
c. During the sustain phase, traffic should be forwarded at a
constant rate.
d. Concurrent TCP connections MUST be constant during steady state
and any deviation of concurrent TCP connections SHOULD be less
than 10%. This confirms the DUT opens and closes TCP connections
almost at the same rate
e. After ramp up the DUT MUST achieve the "Target objective" defined
in the parameter Section 7.8.3.2 and remain in that state for the
entire test duration (sustain phase).
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7.8.3.4. Measurement
TTFB (minimum, average and maximum) and TTLB (minimum, average and
maximum) MUST be reported for each object size.
7.8.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure TTFB or TTLB when the DUT/
SUT is operating close to 50% of its maximum achievable connections
per second or throughput. This test procedure MAY be repeated
multiple times with different IP types (IPv4 only, IPv6 only and IPv4
and IPv6 mixed traffic distribution), HTTPS response object sizes and
single and multiple transactions per connection scenarios.
7.8.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure traffic load profile of the test equipment to establish
"Initial objective" as defined in the parameters Section 7.8.3.2.
The traffic load profile can be defined as described in
Section 4.3.4.
The DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial objective" before the sustain
phase. The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test
results validation criteria a, b, c, d, e and f defined in
Section 7.8.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.8.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish "Target objective" defined in
the parameters table. The test equipment SHOULD follow the traffic
load profile definition as described in Section 4.3.4.
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record all specified
KPIs. The frequency of measurement SHOULD be less than 2 seconds.
Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT MUST reach
the desired value of the target objective in the sustain phase.
Measure the minimum, average and maximum values of TFB and TTLB.
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7.9. Concurrent TCP/HTTPS Connection Capacity
7.9.1. Objective
Determine the number of concurrent TCP connections that the DUT/SUT
sustains when using HTTPS traffic.
7.9.2. Test Setup
Test bed setup SHOULD be configured as defined in Section 4. Any
specific test bed configuration changes such as number of interfaces
and interface type, etc. MUST be documented.
7.9.3. Test Parameters
In this section, benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
7.9.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT parameters MUST conform to the requirements defined in
Section 4.2. Any configuration changes for this specific
benchmarking test MUST be documented.
7.9.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. Following parameters MUST be
documented for this benchmarking test:
Client IP address range defined in Section 4.3.1.2
Server IP address range defined in Section 4.3.2.2
Traffic distribution ratio between IPv4 and IPv6 defined in
Section 4.3.1.2
RECOMMENDED cipher suites and key sizes defined in Section 4.3.1.3
Target concurrent connections: Initial value from product
datasheet or the value defined based on requirement for a specific
deployment scenario.
Initial concurrent connections: 10% of "Target concurrent
connections" (an optional parameter for documentation)
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Connections per second during ramp up phase: 50% of maximum
connections per second measured in benchmarking test TCP/HTTPS
Connections per second (Section 7.6)
Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Target concurrent
connections"): "Target concurrent connections" / "Maximum
connections per second during ramp up phase"
Ramp up time (in traffic load profile for "Initial concurrent
connections"): "Initial concurrent connections" / "Maximum
connections per second during ramp up phase"
The client MUST perform HTTPS transaction with persistence and each
client can open multiple concurrent TCP connections per server
endpoint IP.
Each client sends 10 GET commands requesting 1 KByte HTTPS response
objects in the same TCP connections (10 transactions/TCP connection)
and the delay (think time) between each transaction MUST be X
seconds.
X = ("Ramp up time" + "steady state time") /10
The established connections SHOULD remain open until the ramp down
phase of the test. During the ramp down phase, all connections
SHOULD be successfully closed with FIN.
7.9.3.3. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole sustain phase of the traffic load profile.
a. Number of failed Application transactions (receiving any HTTP
response code other than 200 OK) MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out
of 100,000 transactions) of total attempted transactions.
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections due to unexpected TCP RST
sent by DUT/SUT MUST be less than 0.001% (1 out of 100,000
connections) of total initiated TCP connections.
c. During the sustain phase, traffic SHOULD be forwarded constantly.
7.9.3.4. Measurement
Average Concurrent TCP Connections MUST be reported for this
benchmarking test.
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7.9.4. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure the concurrent TCP
connection capacity of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of
traffic load profile. The test procedure consists of three major
steps. This test procedure MAY be repeated multiple times with
different IPv4 and IPv6 traffic distribution.
7.9.4.1. Step 1: Test Initialization and Qualification
Verify the link status of all connected physical interfaces. All
interfaces are expected to be in "UP" status.
Configure test equipment to establish "initial concurrent TCP
connections" defined in Section 7.9.3.2. Except ramp up time, the
traffic load profile SHOULD be defined as described in Section 4.3.4.
During the sustain phase, the DUT/SUT SHOULD reach the "Initial
concurrent TCP connections". The measured KPIs during the sustain
phase MUST meet the test results validation criteria "a" and "b"
defined in Section 7.9.3.3.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the test results validation criteria,
the test procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
7.9.4.2. Step 2: Test Run with Target Objective
Configure test equipment to establish the target objective ("Target
concurrent TCP connections"). The test equipment SHOULD follow the
traffic load profile definition (except ramp up time) as described in
Section 4.3.4.
During the ramp up and sustain phase, the other KPIs such as
throughput, TCP connections per second and application transactions
per second MUST NOT reach to the maximum value that the DUT/SUT can
support.
The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record KPIs defined in
Section 7.9.3.4. The frequency of measurement SHOULD be less than 2
seconds. Continue the test until all traffic profile phases are
completed.
Within the test results validation criteria, the DUT/SUT is expected
to reach the desired value of the target objective in the sustain
phase. Follow step 3, if the measured value does not meet the target
value or does not fulfill the test results validation criteria.
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7.9.4.3. Step 3: Test Iteration
Determine the achievable concurrent TCP connections within the test
results validation criteria.
8. IANA Considerations
The IANA has allocated 2001:0200::/48 for IPv6 testing, which is a
48-bit prefix from the [RFC4733] pool. For IPv4 testing, the IP
subnet 198.18.0.0/15 has been assigned to the BMWG by the IANA. 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. The specific use of the IPv4 addresses is detailed in
[RFC2544] Appendix C.
9. Security Considerations
The primary goal of this document is to provide benchmarking
terminology and methodology for next-generation network security
devices. However, readers should be aware that there is some overlap
between performance and security issues. Specifically, the optimal
configuration for network security device performance may not be the
most secure, and vice-versa. The Cipher suites recommended in this
document are just for test purpose only. The Cipher suite
recommendation for a real deployment is outside the scope of this
document.
10. Contributors
The following individuals contributed significantly to the creation
of this document:
Alex Samonte, Amritam Putatunda, Aria Eslambolchizadeh, David
DeSanto, Jurrie Van Den Breekel, Ryan Liles, Samaresh Nair, Stephen
Goudreault, and Tim Otto
11. Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the members of NetSecOPEN for their
participation in the creation of this document. Additionally, the
following members need to be acknowledged:
Anand Vijayan, Baski Mohan, Chao Guo, Chris Brown, Chris Marshall,
Jay Lindenauer, Michael Shannon, Mike Deichman, Ray Vinson, Ryan
Riese, Tim Carlin, and Toulnay Orkun
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12. References
12.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.
12.2. Informative References
[RFC2544] Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2544, March 1999,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2544>.
[RFC2616] Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H.,
Masinter, L., Leach, P., and T. Berners-Lee, "Hypertext
Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1", RFC 2616,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2616, June 1999,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2616>.
[RFC2647] Newman, D., "Benchmarking Terminology for Firewall
Performance", RFC 2647, DOI 10.17487/RFC2647, August 1999,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2647>.
[RFC3511] Hickman, B., Newman, D., Tadjudin, S., and T. Martin,
"Benchmarking Methodology for Firewall Performance",
RFC 3511, DOI 10.17487/RFC3511, April 2003,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3511>.
[RFC4733] Schulzrinne, H. and T. Taylor, "RTP Payload for DTMF
Digits, Telephony Tones, and Telephony Signals", RFC 4733,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4733, December 2006,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4733>.
[RFC6815] Bradner, S., Dubray, K., McQuaid, J., and A. Morton,
"Applicability Statement for RFC 2544: Use on Production
Networks Considered Harmful", RFC 6815,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6815, November 2012,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6815>.
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Appendix A. Test Methodology - Security Effectiveness Evaluation
A.1. Test Objective
This test methodology verifies the DUT/SUT is able to detect, prevent
and report the vulnerabilities.
In this test, background test traffic will be generated in order to
utilize the DUT/SUT. In parallel, the CVEs will be sent to the DUT/
SUT as encrypted and as well as clear text payload formats using a
traffic generator. The selection of the CVEs is described in
Section 4.2.1.
o Number of blocked CVEs
o Number of bypassed (nonblocked) CVEs
o Background traffic performance (verify if the background traffic
is impacted while sending CVE toward DUT/SUT)
o Accuracy of DUT/SUT statistics in term of vulnerabilities
reporting
A.2. Test Bed Setup
The same Test bed MUST be used for security effectiveness test and as
well as for benchmarking test cases defined in Section 7.
A.3. Test Parameters
In this section, the benchmarking test specific parameters SHOULD be
defined.
A.3.1. DUT/SUT Configuration Parameters
DUT/SUT configuration Parameters MUST conform to the requirements
defined in Section 4.2. The same DUT configuration MUST be used for
Security effectiveness test and as well as for benchmarking test
cases defined in Section 7. The DUT/SUT MUST be configured in inline
mode and all detected attack traffic MUST be dropped and the session
Should be reset
A.3.2. Test Equipment Configuration Parameters
Test equipment configuration parameters MUST conform to the
requirements defined in Section 4.3. The same Client and server IP
ranges MUST be configured as used in the benchmarking test cases. In
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addition, the following parameters MUST be documented for this
benchmarking test:
o Background Traffic: 45% of maximum HTTP throughput and 45% of
Maximum HTTPS throughput supported by the DUT/SUT (measured with
object size 64 KByte in the benchmarking tests "HTTP(S)
Throughput" defined in Section 7.3 and Section 7.7.
o RECOMMENDED CVE traffic transmission Rate: 10 CVEs per second
o RECOMMEND to generate each CVE multiple times (sequentially) at 10
CVEs per second
o Ciphers and Keys for the encrypted CVE traffic MUST use the same
cipher configured for HTTPS traffic related benchmarking tests
(Section 7.6 - Section 7.9)
A.4. Test Results Validation Criteria
The following test Criteria is defined as test results validation
criteria. Test results validation criteria MUST be monitored during
the whole test duration.
a. Number of failed Application transaction in the background
traffic MUST be less than 0.01% of attempted transactions
b. Number of Terminated TCP connections of the background traffic
(due to unexpected TCP RST sent by DUT/SUT) MUST be less than
0.01% of total initiated TCP connections in the background
traffic
c. During the sustain phase, traffic should be forwarded at a
constant rate
d. False positive MUST NOT occur in the background traffic
A.5. Measurement
Following KPI metrics MUST be reported for this test scenario:
Mandatory KPIs:
o Blocked CVEs: It should be represented in the following ways:
* Number of blocked CVEs out of total CVEs
* Percentage of blocked CVEs
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o Unblocked CVEs: It should be represented in the following ways:
* Number of unblocked CVEs out of total CVEs
* Percentage of unblocked CVEs
o Background traffic behavior: it should represent one of the
followings ways:
* No impact (traffic transmission at a constant rate)
* Minor impact (e.g. small spikes- +/- 100 Mbit/s)
* Heavily impacted (e.g. large spikes and reduced the background
throughput > 100 Mbit/s)
o DUT/SUT reporting accuracy: DUT/SUT MUST report all detected
vulnerabilities.
Optional KPIs:
o List of unblocked CVEs
A.6. Test Procedures and Expected Results
The test procedure is designed to measure the security effectiveness
of the DUT/SUT at the sustaining period of the traffic load profile.
The test procedure consists of two major steps. This test procedure
MAY be repeated multiple times with different IPv4 and IPv6 traffic
distribution.
A.6.1. Step 1: Background Traffic
Generate the background traffic at the transmission rate defined in
the parameter section.
The DUT/SUT MUST reach the target objective (throughput) in sustain
phase. The measured KPIs during the sustain phase MUST meet the test
results validation criteria a, b, c and d defined in Appendix A.4.
If the KPI metrics do not meet the acceptance criteria, the test
procedure MUST NOT be continued to "Step 2".
A.6.2. Step 2: CVE Emulation
While generating the background traffic (in sustain phase), send the
CVE traffic as defined in the parameter section.
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The test equipment SHOULD start to measure and record all specified
KPIs. The frequency of measurement MUST be less than 2 seconds.
Continue the test until all CVEs are sent.
The measured KPIs MUST meet all the test results validation criteria
a, b, c, and d defined in Appendix A.4.
In addition, the DUT/SUT SHOULD report the vulnerabilities correctly.
Appendix B. DUT/SUT Classification
This document attempts to classify the DUT/SUT in four different four
different categories based on its maximum supported firewall
throughput performance number defined in the vendor datasheet. This
classification MAY help user to determine specific configuration
scale (e.g., number of ACL entries), traffic profiles, and attack
traffic profiles, scaling those proportionally to DUT/SUT sizing
category.
The four different categories are Extra Small, Small, Medium, and
Large. The RECOMMENDED throughput values for the following
categories are:
Extra Small (XS) - supported throughput less than 1Gbit/s
Small (S) - supported throughput less than 5Gbit/s
Medium (M) - supported throughput greater than 5Gbit/s and less than
10Gbit/s
Large (L) - supported throughput greater than 10Gbit/s
Authors' Addresses
Balamuhunthan Balarajah
Berlin
Germany
Email: bm.balarajah@gmail.com
Carsten Rossenhoevel
EANTC AG
Salzufer 14
Berlin 10587
Germany
Email: cross@eantc.de
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Brian Monkman
NetSecOPEN
417 Independence Court
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
USA
Email: bmonkman@netsecopen.org
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